"Emotional First Aid Kit" - how to take care of our emotional health in difficult situations

Описание: Short animated video created by BO STUDIO and commissioned by BISEI - Bulgarian Institute for Social and Emotional Intelligence. The video is a part of BISEI's “Self Care” program to support emotional health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The animation presents in a comprehensible way 5 of the 15 emotional intelligence skills, which can be useful during crisis situations, as well as in everyday life.

Screenplay and animation: Bo Studio - https://animation.bostudio.bg/

Voice: Kalina Stefanova - https://tobekalina.com/

Commissioned by: BISEI - https://www.bi-sei.com/
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How and when to use this "Emotional First Aid Kit"?

Emergencies most often occur unexpectedly. Rules of action are currently being created to describe what our behavior should be in the outside world. However, there are no prescriptions what to do with our inner world.

This "First Aid Kit" will help you to provide emotional help to yourself and the people around you. Invest in learning about your skills and benefits will outlive this COVID-19 emergency and will serve you in your daily life long after it.

"Emotional First Aid Kit" contains five of the fifteen skills of emotional intelligence.
We chose to tell about these five because we believe that each of us owns them and could use them without practicing for years. It is a matter of decision, and that decision can be made now.
If in doubt, let's review them briefly again:

Self-regard.
The fact is that we know how to take care of ourselves. The question is when and how we choose to do it. We can now decide that it is important to do so with priority when the situation requires it. How do we know when? Asking ourselves if it is crucial for our mental and physical health. And not only at this particular moment, but as well in a long-term perspective.

Impulse control.
The fact is that we know how to refrain from reacting. We do it every day, often without realizing it. Now we can decide to do it more consciously and motivated. How? As in the specific situation, imagine what is the most ecological behavior that we can choose. "Ecological behavior" means being good towards both ourselves and our social environment.

Reality check.
The fact is that we can look for information - to ask other people or to read and listen to different media. We can now decide to seek balance and objectivity, instead of supporting only our own opinion. We can consciously look for sources of information that are different in views. We can choose not to ignore the differences in the points of view they offer.

Assertiveness.
The fact is that we have feelings and thoughts and that we express them in different ways. Now we can decide to do it consciously and assertively. How? By sharing aloud what we are experiencing and what excites us. Our inner experiences are something that cannot be disputed. We can decide to talk only about ourselves, without entering the personal space of others. In this way we will give a chance to be heard, and we will give ourselves a chance to hear what they have to say to us.

Empathy.
The fact is that we can ask questions and look for reasons. Now we can decide to do it in terms of the feelings and thoughts of the people around us. We can consciously choose the effort to summit the peak called "to understand the other" instead of going downhill easily with "I don't care, but it annoys me so much!" How to motivate ourselves for the summit? Remembering a time when we ourselves received acceptance and understanding from someone else.