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What is butterflies in your stomach?

By Anonymous January 18, 2009 - 3:34pm
 
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Can someone tell me why we get butterflies in our stomachs. What exactly makes that happen?

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EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

some girls aint use to what i call them i was confused about the idea

October 20, 2009 - 4:56am
(reply to Anonymous)

Anon,

What those "butterflies" mean in this case is that something is giving you anxiety in this situation. You know that when you see this former boyfriend that there is a "situation" between you, and it makes you a bit nervous. You are wondering if you should talk to him. You are wondering if he will talk to you. You haven't resolved all your feelings in this situation, and when you see him, your stomach is telling you this.

Do you really love him? Only you can really figure that out. But I am guessing that if you broke up with him, there were some problems there to begin with. The "butterflies" just mean that you are still unsettled about it all. Does that make sense?

October 21, 2009 - 9:23am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

well..i had this boyfriend..and i ened him now evey time i c him i get butterflies..i still like thing just got complicated so i had to end it.....i like him alot...but do i love..its not my first boyfriend..but its the best.... he wants to get but i need to no wat the butterflies really mean...do i love him...or am i just nervous to b around him??..

someone plzz help....

September 9, 2009 - 7:31pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

i ment to say i ended it with him..sorry..

September 9, 2009 - 7:32pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

So, when your like, kissing a boy, the reason you're having butterflies is because you get a sudden rush of adrenaline? How does that work?

June 13, 2009 - 3:05pm

I wish I could tell you what to do to get rid of it, but the truth is that is your bodies natural response. People get "butterflies in their stomachs" for many reasons..stress, anxiety, nervousness, etc. Over time, you may not get butterflies in your stomach for the same reasons you did before. Embrace it, if you had no butterflies in your stomach for anything, then we'd probably be worried about our bodies not working properly, wouldn't we?

June 8, 2009 - 5:11am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

see i was hanging out with this boy last night and we were talking it was a pretty deep conversation and all of a sudden I got butterflies in my stomach. And I am in love with him. He doesnt know that. We he kinda does. but I still need help on what to do. Please give me some advice.
<3Ms. Comes out swingin<3

June 7, 2009 - 4:02pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

you... love him?
i'm going on a first date this friday with a boy, and the butterflies come everytime he talks to me. but i don't love him. he just makes me flutter lol.

August 3, 2009 - 4:32pm
(reply to Anonymous)

How can we help you regarding "what to do?"

Maybe a better question: what choices do you have, or what options are causing you to internally struggle?

June 7, 2009 - 6:57pm

Anon, because your body is in "flight or fight" mode, you have to do something to soothe it. And that depends on why you're feeling the butterflies.

For instance, if you are feeling nerves, why? If it's something like stage fright, sometimes the best thing to do is move forward -- it goes away once you're actually on stage. If it's the butterflies because you're on a date with a new acquaintance, you need to ask yourself if you're just nervous or if you actually feel that there's something to worry about (our intuition is a powerful thing, and it warns us in physical ways when it needs to.)

People can get the butterflies -- or a full-blown stomach ache/near panic attack -- due to anxiety. If you know there's no actual danger and that you are just anxious, self-talk and deep breathing will help more than anything.

Show yourself the "right" movie in your head -- instead of worrying that you'll trip on stage or have a horrible time on a day, visualize the performance going well or the date being a lot of fun. Take long, slow, deep breaths -- hold them for a count of three -- then exhale slowly, to a count of three. And when you breathe in, be sure you're breathing from your diaphragm -- you'll know that you are because your stomach rises.

The good thing is, butterflies do go away! But breathing and visualization will help you in the meantime.

April 24, 2009 - 2:15pm
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