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What is the Butterfly Project?

211 Answers
Last Updated: 12/14/2020 at 2:56pm
What is the Butterfly Project?
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
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Brenda King, PsyD

Psychologist

I treat life changes, women’s issues, and issues of aging using evidence-based treatments with healthy doses of warmth, empathy and humor to enhance healing and growth.

Top Rated Answers
Gracey
November 8th, 2014 11:17pm
The butterfly project is a project that can aid people who self harm to resist the urges. A butterfly is drawn in the place/s where the individual self-harms and they can use the butterfly to represent someone they love, then when they feel the need to self harm they can look at the butterfly and try to resist so that they do not harm the butterfly.
cakebaker
July 30th, 2015 5:06am
When you feel sad and when you feel like giving up because it seems that the pressure is too much and life isn't, its in those times when you need to be brave. Take a pen or marker and draw a butterfly where you would harm yourself or anywhere on your arm or hand or wrist. You can also draw a butterfly on a piece of paper or on someone else and you can dedicate that butterfly to someone. Butterfly means that when this pressure to be perfect and also the sadness got overwhelming you are thought about someone who loves you not inspite of your flaws but because of them, a friend who showed you kindness or your sister who made you laugh. It can be anyone, butterfly is the representation of being brave, of love, of support, of letting the bad thought fly fly away shoo them, its saying to the world "butterfly you". Butterfly project is a coping mechanism for self harmers, and self harming is both on the body and inside the body. So the next time you itch to cut yourself or have bad thoughts just draw a butterfly and think that it exists for one reason; that you still have a lot worth living for. What's important about Butterfly Project is that its positive and there will be a butterfly that you will dedicate to yourself too because you also love yourself.
Anonymous
August 7th, 2015 5:12am
The butterfly project has helped me immensely in the past in overcoming self harm. The project includes drawing a butterfly on your wrist and, if you would like, naming it someone you love. If you cut/scratch the butterfly dies. In my experience I would draw butterflies on my arm and try to stop self harming for a certain amount of time and then draw another one and repeat the process. It soon got to the point where I would just draw beautiful things on my arm instead of self harming to cope with my anxiety and depression. Surprisingly, this was the only solution to curing my depression and most of my anxiety that worked. At first I doubted it but I was willing to try anything and I'm glad I was able to find the butterfly project.
Hannahx
October 23rd, 2014 7:47am
The Butterfly Project is when you draw a butterfly in permanent marker on places that you self-harm. Then you name the butterflies after someone you love and means a lot to you. If you self-harm where the butterfly is, you hurt the person you named it after.
Anonymous
February 22nd, 2018 2:48pm
The butterfly project is where you draw a butterfly on yourself using something like a sharpie, you name it and then you try to refrain from self harm until the butterfly completely fade away
Anonymous
March 20th, 2015 2:46pm
The Butterfly Project has been created for self-harmers who feel they are ready to stop and need the motivation or support to do so. All you have to do is simply draws a butterfly where you'd normally self-harm and, if the butterfly fades without you self-harming, it means it has lived and flown away. However if you do self-harm with the butterfly there; you have to wash it off. If that does happen, you can start again by drawing a new one on. You can name the butterfly after someone supporting you in your recovery, or a friend, for added motivation. You can also draw a butterfly on someone else to show them your support.
ItsJoel
August 16th, 2015 9:11pm
When you feel like you want to cut, take a marker, pen, or sharpies and draw a butterfly on your arm or hand. Name the butterfly after a loved one, or someone that really wants you to get better. You must let the butterfly fade naturally. NO scrubbing it off. If you cut before the butterfly is gone, you’ve killed it. If you dont cut, it lives. If you have more than one butterfly, cutting kills all of them. Another person may draw them on you. These butterflies are extra special. Take good care of them. Even if you don’t cut, feel free to draw a butterfly anyways, to show your support. If you do this, name it after someone you know that cuts or is suffering right now, and tell them. It could help.
Jenniferroseh98
August 16th, 2015 1:39pm
The Butterfly project is for people who self harm. Every time you feel like cutting you are to draw a butterfly instead.
Spiderman93
August 4th, 2015 7:02pm
The Butterfly Project is a project to help those who self harm. The idea of is is to draw a butterfly on the place where you self harm. If you self harm while the butterfly is still there, you are supposed to clean the butterfly off and start over. if you do not self harm during the time the butterfly is there, when it fades away, you have succeeded and the butterfly has "flown away" without injury. its a great coping tool for so many and it really helps to raise awareness.
MissLilith
June 24th, 2015 11:49am
The Butterfly Project is something that is based on an idea of overcoming self-harm by relating the pain to loved ones. Every time you feel the need to cut, or harm in anyway you draw a butterfly with the name of someone you loved in the area. If you cut you kill the butterfly and the person in the butterfly. You can't wash the butterflies off you have to wait for them to naturally disappear. It's a coping mechanism.
Anonymous
September 15th, 2014 11:56am
The Butterfly Project is a "coping method" specifically for selfharm. Draw a butterfly on your skin and don't harm yourself, or whatever else you are trying not to do, until it is gone naturally - you are not allowed to scrub it off!:)
Hopefulxyou
November 6th, 2018 11:04pm
1. When you feel like you want to cut, take a marker, pen, or sharpies and draw a butterfly on your arm or hand. 2. Name the butterfly after a loved one, or someone that really wants you to get better. 3. You must let the butterfly fade naturally. NO scrubbing it off. 4. If you cut before the butterfly is gone, you’ve killed it. If you dont cut, it lives. 5. If you have more than one butterfly, cutting kills all of them. 6. Another person may draw them on you. These butterflies are extra special. Take good care of them. 7. Even if you don’t cut, feel free to draw a butterfly anyways, to show your support. If you do this, name it after someone you know that cuts or is suffering right now, and tell them. It could help.
SaraC13
October 31st, 2014 2:04pm
The butterfly project is when you feel like you have to/want to cut take out a marker and draw a butterfly on your arm. Go even further and name the butterfly after a loved one, friend, or pet. Do not wash it off. If you cut you kill the butterfly. If your friends or family are aware of your self harm allow them to draw butterflies on you so it is extra special.
beautifulRose92
August 6th, 2015 11:39am
the butterfly project is for people who struggle with self harm and when they feel the urge to self harm they draw a butterfly on themselves where they would like to self harm and try keep the butterflies alive by not self harming
warriorlxv3
November 15th, 2014 3:15pm
The butterfly project is a selfharm project where you draw butterflies to represent important people to you to avoid cutting. If you cut, all of the butterflies die and you killed them. But if you leave them alone until they fade away naturally, they survive. The object is to see how important those people really are to you.
Anonymous
July 2nd, 2015 8:47am
the butterfly project is where when you draw a butterfly on the place where you self harm and you try to let it fade away this meant to show it has lived and flown away it can lead to a sense of achievement by not self harming. however if the person does self harm it's ok they can simple start again and see if they can build it up like last another day.
xMonaSx
October 6th, 2014 2:34pm
The butterfly Project, has been known as an organization that deals with people who have self harmed, know someone that deals with self harm. It is shared that everytime you want to cut draw a butterfly on your arm. If you know someone that self harms you draw a butterfly on them, those butterflies are extra special. If you do self harm all the butterflies are dead. At the end of the day you have to look at how many butterflies are on your arm, or leg or anywhere on your body and see how many people care about you, and how many times you have defeated the urge and overcome self harm.
Raylen
August 6th, 2015 11:27pm
The butterfly project is a self harming coping method or alternative, When you feel the urgue to cut you draw a butterfly on your body, this butterfly represent someone you love or you care about, when you draw it you have not to cut and if you did it means that the butterfly is dead, you have not to wash it and let it fade away naturally.
ReaderHannah
October 3rd, 2017 6:10pm
The Butterfly Project is a project that helped me end self-harm. You draw a butterfly somewhere you would harm yourself and you can name it after someone you care for or just leave it. You want the butterfly to fade away naturally, like it's able to fly away. If you harm yourself, it's like you harm the butterfly.
EmeliaHelps
September 16th, 2014 5:16am
The butterfly Project is an anti self-harm method some people use. You draw a butterfly with the name of a person that wants you to stop self harming. If you stay clean until the drawing fades, the butterfly gets set free. If you self harm or wash it off then the butterfly dies.
writingsunshine
June 23rd, 2015 1:59am
The Butterfly Project is an activity for people who practice self harm to do as an alternative. You have to draw a butterfly on your wrist, arm, or hand, using a marker, pen, Sharpies, etcetera. You can name the butterfly, if you want after someone who gives you positivity. The butterfly can also be named after a loved one. One of the rules is that you have to let the butterfly fade. You can't scrub at it or itch it to make it go away. If you self harm while the butterfly is on your arm/wrist/hand, then you have killed it. If it fades after a period of no self harm, it has lived a life. You can look at the butterfly whenever you feel the urge to self harm. :)
hopefulCupcake
August 8th, 2015 2:06am
The butterfly project is for when you want to cut/self harm and you draw a butterfly on your arm or hand (and don't scrub it off, it has to fade naturally). Name the butterfly after a loved one/friend and when you want to cut you will see the butterfly and not want to cut.
peacelovemusic03
November 11th, 2015 2:26am
This is project mainly designed for self-harmers. The self-harmer will have someone they care about draw a butterfly on their wrist and name it after someone they love. If they burn, cut etc. to the butterfly, it dies, like killing who ever's name it was. It helps them resist the urge to self-harm in a healthy way.
SashaMor
October 31st, 2014 4:11pm
The butterfly project is made for people who are into self-harm. When you fell like you gonna cut, please stop and draw a butterfly on a place of supposed cut. Than name a buttefly after someone who is important to you. Or someone close can draw it. Don't wash off or scrub off it. If you cut it, the buttefly lives, if don't - well done, it's alive! And if you wanna support this project but you don't cut, you can draw it anyways. Good luck!
Anonymous
September 27th, 2014 4:01am
They Butterfly Project is a wonderful way to keep from self harming. You draw a butterfly on yourself and name it after someone important to you. The idea is if you self harm the butterfly dies, and no one wants to hurt someone they care about.
SorrelKlara
October 12th, 2014 8:10pm
It's basically where people who self-harm draw a little butterfly on them self, and name it after someone they love. They can't wash it off, and if they cut the butterfly dies. People who are supporting can also draw butterflies and name them after people they are supporting.
Anonymous
November 9th, 2014 10:07am
The Butterfly Project is a project for people who self harm for don't realpse. There's 6 rules, and it's about drawing butterflies on your skin instead of cutting yourself.
tessamichelle
August 16th, 2015 5:59am
the butterfly project is to bring attention to self-harm. Sadly i cannot go into more depth but it is located all over the internet. i do know that you draw a butterfly on your wrist in order to bring attention to self-harm and to those battling alongside it.
Harshyourfriend
November 15th, 2014 4:32pm
http://butterfly-project.tumblr.com/ here is the link describinf it and variou experiences of people...
Areoo
October 6th, 2014 6:11am
The Butterfly Project is a way to help people who are struggling with self harm stop. Its something I used to give up the never-ending loop that self harm was for me. I had my best friend draw multiple butterflies on my arm where I was self harming and promised not to cut again. The concept to the Butterfly Project is to draw something beautiful on your self harm spots; the butterfly, and keep it alive. To keep it alive you cannot cut again. If it was drawn by somebody you care about its an extra special butterfly. If you cut again the butterfly dies and you have to start over again with a new butterfly.