Brad SchipkeFounder of Broken To Unbreakable

The 3-step trick that calms trauma symptoms

7 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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1:07

In this brief self‑help video Brad Schipke introduces the "butterfly hug," a three‑step bilateral tapping technique designed to stabilize trauma‑related symptoms such as panic and anxiety. He explains the steps—crossing the arms, tapping alternately, and continuing the rhythm—while acknowledging the method may sound simplistic. Schipke offers a physiological rationale, claiming the tapping stimulates both brain hemispheres, engages the REM sleep cycle, and thereby helps the brain process emotional memories in the moment. He also notes practical variations (tapping under the shoulder blades, moving the eyes, tapping thighs) and encourages viewers to try the free, low‑risk technique. The overall message is supportive, urging desperate individuals to give the method a chance.

Chapters

You cross your arms, you start tapping, and then you keep tapping. If you have trauma or PTSD, one of the best tools to stabilize your symptoms is something called the butterfly hug. It's super easy. You do it in 3 steps. You cross your arms, you start tapping, and then you keep tapping. That's it. You keep doing that. And what it does— it sounds silly, it sounds stupid, I know. I didn't believe it in the beginning, but I tried it out of desperation. I was like, this looks silly and this looks stupid, but I'm gonna do it anyways because my life I just, I need something. So if you just try this out, what you'll find is that your symptoms start to calm down. Your panic will reduce, your anxiety will reduce simply from the tapping. Because what the tapping does is it actually stimulates the left and right hemispheres of your brain, which stimulates REM sleep cycle. In the REM sleep cycle, what your brain is doing is processing memories and things from the day and anything in the past, which is where all of our dreams happen. So when you're doing that tapping left and right, and it doesn't have to be under your shoulder blades here. You can move your eyes left, left and right. You can tap the top of your thighs, whatever works for you. But by doing that, you are hacking into that part of your brain and helping you process the emotions in the moment. So give it a try. It's free. Nothing to lose.