The pandemic has been hard on adults and families with young kids. As we move forward and look for some level of normal, adults and children both need to find ways to deal with fear and uncertainty, to calm and soothe themselves during times of high intensity and change. Establishing new habits using coping skills can help. Below are some links to quick and easy techniques you can use for your kids and yourself, to calm the body more quickly and reduce anxious feelings.

A quick way to lower anxiety is to calm the body in the moment.

One way to do this is to practice a technique called the “The Butterfly Hug.” This simple body-based technique helps the flight or fight response to relax, and enables the body to calm itself quickly. When your body is calm, this helps kids and others around you to be more calm too. Try the technique on yourself first and see how you feel. Watch the videos below and follow along:

1. The Soothing Butterfly Hug can calm and rebalance the nervous system using bilateral stimulation. It can help you better manage traumatic reactions, and lessen intense emotions and symptoms of stress:

2. If you found the Butterfly Hug helpful, here are a few more tools you can use to calm anxiety:

Simplified Safe Havening

Healing Head Hold

Calm Breathing