EmotionAid Training

On Friday 01 March the Peer Support portfolio kick-started the month with an insightful programme called EmotionAid. During the course of these 2 hours, we learnt different self-regulation tools that will help us grow and develop personally as we begin to notice ourselves, our emotions, bodies and surroundings. Additionally, these strategies will also help us help those around us. EmotionAid’s mission is to strengthen the world’s resilience by helping people overcome their own challenges, mentally and emotionally.

The first step we were guided through was called ‘The Butterfly Tap’ and the focus of this movement was to notice the sensations in your body, and take a second to focus on some specific feeling. With Step 2, we were encouraged to ground ourselves by sitting comfortably in a chair and acknowledging our surroundings by counting certain objects around us. The purpose of these is to reduce your heart rate and regulate your breathing, as when emotions become high, either stress or anxiety, these are the two prominent symptoms that spike in the body’s reaction. 

What most people agreed they found the most useful, was the grounding step, or the process of discharging (Step 4) which meant focusing on a small part of your body that was tight or filled with tension, and just taking a moment to relax and stretch that part. Finally, Step 5 was incredibly important: Resources. In Cape Town, and the whole of South Africa, there are many resources available for different crises. The process of EmotionAid is for managing reactions and emotions during times of stress or crisis, but after that there are different resources that are more targeted to different areas of life. A main cause for high stress was established to be school work and exams. To help with this, we worked together to come up with some supposed solutions:

At school, there are the teachers around us who are ready to help and support. There are online resources such as studying tools, and thirdly, the need to take some time away from work and rather spend time doing something you love, like drawing, reading or listening to music. A key takeaway was the need for the outdoors and nature – the benefits of fresh air is indisputable, and so being encouraged to play sports or go on walks.

As the Peer Support portfolio, we are immensely grateful for the time Jo and Karen spent guiding us through these self regulation steps, and look forward to using these tools on ourselves and those around us.

– By Kiera