Hello I am dr. Ignacio Jarero also
known as Dr. Nacho.
I am a field worker mental health
professional with almost 200 deployments
around the world working in worst-case
scenarios after natural or human
probably disasters
I would like to share with you the
method I have been using the last 23
years for my psycho-emotional self-care
during deployment
the name of this method is the Butterfly Hug.
The butterfly Hawk was developed by the
Mexican clinician named Lucena or Lucy
Artiguez
following hurricane Polina in 1998 in
Mexico.
Since that time it has been used around
the world in many settings with
thousands of children adolescents and
adults who have experienced adverse life
experiences.
This is a self-administered bilateral
stimulation method to process
distressing or adverse life experiences
and the person using this method has
total control. The butterfly hug helps in
the processing of unpleasant or annoying
emotions and/or physical sensations
produced by the distressing or adverse
experiences. At this moment I am going to
show you how to do the butterfly hug please follow my instruction: one
hand like this the other hand like this,
interlock your thumbs, place your hands
on your chest, middle fingers below the
clavicle and now do this alternating
movement.
At your own pace. Very good very good.
Step 1: before dinner
or right after a distressing event do
the following with your eyes open or
partially closed, not totally closed, run
a mental movie of the whole distressing
event or the whole day if you are doing
this on daily basis. For example, if you
are a frontliner in a hospital or other
setting helping persons with the
coronavirus issue,
from right before the beginning until
today or even looking into the future
for any distressing scenario you have
imagined, for any distressing scenario
you have imagined.
Once you finish running the mental
movie, Step 2: observe and notice your
body not just observe, notice your body, scan your body, then
assess your level of disturbance from zero,
which is no disturbance, to ten, which is
the maximum disturbance you can feel.
From zero (no disturbance), to ten
(the maximum disturbance you can feel). Step 3: do the butterfly hug
while walking or sitting in a chair
pretending you are marching at your own
pace like this at your own pace, like this, at your own pace.
Now, with
your eyes open or partially closed draw
a mental movie of the whole distressing
event or the whole day if you are doing
this on daily basis, I'd recommend it,
from right before the beginning until
today or even looking into the future to
any distress in scenario you have
imagined. At the end of the mental movie
stop the butterfly hug and the walking
or marching in your own seat. Now,
breathe deeply twice. Again breathe deeply twice.
Step 4:
observe and notice your body, scan
your whole body.
Then assess your level of disturbance
at this moment from zero, which is no
disturbance, to ten which, is the maximum
disturbance you can feel.
Now if your disturbance is four, five, six,
up to ten repeat steps 3 & 4 until your
disturbance reach levels between 0, 1, 2
or 3.
If your disturbance is 4 or more repeat
steps 3 & 4 until your disturbance
reached levels between 0, 1, 2 or 3.
Important note, if the
distressing symptoms do not decrease, or
increases
contact immediately a mental health
professional expert in trauma treatment.
Thank you very much for your attention
and butterfly hugs for each one of you.
 
