ERGT and some healthier coping skills

(TW: mentions of SH in relation to a therapy form)

I met with my therapist today, and we discussed something called ERGT, or emotion regulation group therapy. It's a therapy form developed for people who have issues with self-harm, and it's based on the theory that self-harm is because the person has difficulty regulating emotions. I think it's something that would be really beneficial for me and a lot of other people! It's supposed to be a group therapy, but no new groups are starting here until after the summer, so we are going to go through the material together and hopefully that will be very beneficial too.

I got a binder with all the material, and from what I've seen there's a lot of good things in there. It's 16 different parts with different themes in each part, but all themes have to do with emotions and feelings/actions surrounding them. All the parts also have informational sheets and worksheets, so I'm looking forward to learning more and filling out the worksheets! I like having things to work on, so I think this will be a good thing to do.

It also contained some lists with other - healthier - ways to cope, and a few of those things are things I've never seen before. There was an entire page full of things to do to really activate and stimulate different senses, such as biting into a raw jalapeño or a spoonful of tabasco, cutting an

onion and smelling it, blowing into a whistle or turning the shower temperature between really hot

and cold when you're showering. I've never heard of these before, but I think it kind of makes sense to stimulate your senses like this instead of unhealthier coping skills!

Take care and stay safe <3

(I took the info about ERGT off the Swedish national self-harm projects website, here's the link )