BUTTERFLY HUGS

It upsets me that most trauma survivors don’t know about butterfly hugs. I didn’t know about butterfly hugs until a kind therapist told me about them and showed me how to give them to myself. Why didn’t I know this? I’d been dealing with having trauma for over 15 years already - shouldn’t this be common knowledge?

Apparently it’s not.

What are butterfly hugs? They are a way to reset a triggered nervous system. They will calm us in simple do-able steps that anyone can manage. They help!

How do we do them? Give yourself a hug so that each hand is on the opposite arm. Then pat each arm with each hand that is hugging there. The right hand, then the left, in a slow tapping way. Or cross your hands at the wrist and let each hand rest on your clavicles, tap one hand then the next in a slow calming rhythm.

Why does this work? It’s a form of bilateral stimulation like walking or knitting, it will calm you automatically - it’s the way we’re wired. So if you find yourself triggered or hyper-aroused or upset, you can give yourself a butterfly hug and feel better quickly.

There are so many different things that need to be shared so that everyone knows. So I will keep sharing what I can even though I am not a trained therapist. I am merely a person who has lived through trauma and likes to find ways to feel better. I also can’t keep anything to myself. I believe secrets are toxic. So I’m sharing.