The Butterfly Hug
A post about the bilateral stimulation technique the Butterfly Hug.
Recently, someone said to me that they just started getting into crystals and rocks but amethyst is their current favorite. I half-jokingly replied that amethyst is the “gateway drug” to get everyone involved in rock collecting. I started with amethyst and now I try not to buy anymore in favor of others to round out my collection. In a similar analogy, The Butterfly Hug (BH) is the “gateway drug” to learn about techniques that you can do to regulate yourself in the moment.
The BH was created in 1988 by EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapists Lucina (Lucy) Artigas and her husband Ignacio (Nacho) Jarero while they were working with the survivors of Hurricane Pauline in Acapulco, Mexico. EMDR is a form of psychotherapy recommended for treament of PTSD. In a writing from the creators in March of 2020, they specifially say that the BH is not a self-soothing technique, but it can be used in place of other self-soothing techniques that do not work or do not work fast enough during high levels of distress. The BH is a method for self-administered bilateral stimulation and has become standard practice for EMDR professionals while working with survivors who have ongoing or prolonged traumatic stress.
Bilateral stimulation (BLS) can help reduce unwanted emotions and sensations associated with traumatic events, increase functional connections between neural networks, and promote accelerated reprocessing of dysfunctional memory. It works by crossing the mid line of the body which activates both hemispheres of the brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (which we learned about in the previous Emotional Dysregulation & The Window of Tolerance post). When used in conjunction with EMDR therapy, it is supposed to help trauma survivors reprocess and store memories in a more beneficial way.
How to do the Butterfly Hug:
Cross your arms in front of your chest. Ensure that your middle finger on each hand is beneath the collarbone and the rest of your fingers are in the space between your sternum and shoulder. Your hands and fingers should be as vertical as possible, pointing towards your neck and not your arms.
You can interlock your thumbs to create the “butterfly’s” body with your other fingers as the wings. Hooking your thumbs may help you feel anchored.
Close or partially close (soften) your eyes with the focus on the tip of your nose.
Start tapping your hands lightly (like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings) by lifting one side of fingers up from your chest and then back down. Alternate left and right slowly and rhythmically.
Breathe slowly and deeply (abdominal/belly/diaphragmatic breathing).
Observe what is happening in your mind and body. Let thoughts, images, feelings, and sensations come and go naturally without judgement or attempts to change or stop them. Envision them as clouds just passing by.
Stop this Butterfly Hug technique when you feel in your body that it has been enough. Usually, it will be anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes. You should feel calmer and more grounded in the present moment than when you started.
When you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or stressed, try the Butterfly Hug to relieve feelings of tension and stress. This tapping technique does not require anything beyond yourself and can be done anywhere. It is considered a simple but highly effective technique for anyone trying to ease anxiety and help regulate themselves.
I am going to try to make a daily practice of this technique over the following week before the next post. Learning techniques when I am not in a heightened state helps me remember to use them when I am dysregulated because I am already familiar with them instead of waiting to try something new when I’m already stressed.
~The Overstimulated
If you’d like a video demonstration:
The Butterfly Hug (Instagram Reel by Trauma & EMDR Therapist Summer Forlenza)
*alternative options included in the below video guide*
The Butterfly Hug (YouTube video by TYF Support Group)
For further reading, I encourage you to check out some of the source material I used to create this piece.
The EMDR Therapy Butterfly Hug Method for Self-Administer Bilateral Stimulation (EMDR Disaster.net)
The Butterfly Hug: A Sensory-Based EMDR Method for Bilateral Stimulation (Corala Blanket)
Story of the Butterfly Hug (Comprehensive Therapy Approach)
Try the Butterfly Hug to Help with PTSD Symptoms (Counseling Connections)
