Why we’re focusing on ‘Glimmers’ in 2024

Jody Coffey

We are going to continue embracing this gorgeous mental health trend this year

Before you automatically think ‘Glimmers’ are connected to a hair or beauty trend, they’re not.

It’s actually so much deeper than that, and it’s one of the more wholesome viral fads on TikTok in 2023.

Glimmers are the opposite of triggers and are micro-moments that spark awe, hope, joy, or peace, which can help cue our nervous system to feel safe or calm.

Despite gaining wider recognition on the platform, the term was actually coined by Deb Dana in 2018.

The licenced clinical social worker who specialises in complex trauma wrote in her book, The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, that ‘glimmers’ allude to little moments when our biology is in a place of connection or regulation.

“We’re not talking great, big, expansive experiences of joy, safety, or connection. These are micro-moments that begin to shape our system in very gentle ways.

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“You feel something happen inside. There’s an energy that happens around a glimmer, and then your brain marks it as well.”

This little mind-shift can also evoke relaxation, ease, connection, safety, or a feeling that the world is okay, even if only for a brief moment.

Glimmers can also help strengthen the nervous system and bring positive energy into our bodies, which is beneficial for everyone, particularly anyone who has experienced trauma.

Finding glimmers is easy, and they can be found in pretty much any area of our lives, so long as we are looking out for them.

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By spending time in nature admiring flowers or watching the stars, paying attention and taking in a stranger’s smile, hugging your pet, your favourite song coming on the radio, that first sip of coffee in the morning, the sound of rain against your window as you cosy up in bed—these are all examples of glimmers.

However, the list is endless and unique to everyone.

The best part about ‘glimmering’ is that once you start, you can’t stop. Gratitude attracts more gratitude.

“It’s just what we do, and we then delight in finding them. That’s your nervous system beginning to shape toward the patterns of connection that are inherently waiting in there to be deepened and brought alive,” Dana explains.

She also suggests setting a ‘glimmer intention,’ which can be great for getting started. Decide you are going to look at something to marvel at or appreciate and glimmer it up.

Sending lots of glimmers your way in 2024!