Stress Management

Who Is This Course For?

This course is designed for anyone who wants to manage the stress they encounter either in work or elsewhere. It is recommended as a first course for newcomers to stress management or as a refresher for those who have attended Stress Management training before.

In this course, you will learn techniques and form personal strategies to make positive changes in your work and life.  You will do this by developing the skills and techniques that will enable you to deal positively with the stresses encountered in the workplace and in life.

This course is designed to be interactive, providing lots of opportunities for each learner to relate the content to his/her own experience.

What Will Learners Gain From Participation?

By the end of the 1 day programme, participants will:

• Understand the nature and causes of stress

• Be able to recognise the symptoms of stress in self and others

• Diagnose own personal stressors by exploring own current experience

• Identify and be able to change own behaviours and reactions that add to and/or prolong the stress experience

• Be able to identify situations that can be influenced to reduce stress

• Develop positive strategies to deal with situations that can’t be influenced

Course Outline

Course Overview

What is stress

• Introduction to stress

• Positive vs negative stress

• Small group exercise; facilitated group discussion

Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress

• Signs and symptoms of stress

• Outcomes of negative stress

• Presentation; small group exercise; facilitated group discussion

Understanding the causes of stress

• 4 Sources of stress

• Costs and impact of stress on individual and organisation

• Presentation; facilitated group discussion

Clinic 1: diagnosing personal sources of stress

• Diagnosing own personal sources of stress

• Diagnosing own behaviours and reactions that add to or prolong stress

• Exploring your current ‘coping’ strategies

• Individual exercise; pairs discussion; facilitated group discussion

Toolkit A: Stress Management

• Techniques to manage stress caused by conflict

• Techniques to manage stress caused by demands and time constraints

• Presentation; facilitated group discussion

Toolkit B: Avoiding Burnout

• Work-life balance

• Building resilience

• Relaxation techniques

• Managing fatigue

• Engaging with your job

• Presentation; small group exercise; facilitated group discussion

Clinic 2: Building your personal stress management plan

• Review and categorise your stressors

• Create personal stress management strategies and plan

• Individual exercise; pairs discussion

Putting plans into action

• Timelines and first steps

• Pairs discussion

Summary and close