CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME: WORKSHOP FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT

 As prescribed for EDU-07, Perspectives of Learning and Teaching, a Capacity Building Programme was organized in the college auditorium on 27 October 2022. For this, the class was divided into seven groups and each group had to organize two activities on stress management. The Capacity Building Programme was actually a workshop for ‘Stress Management.’ I could be a part of the second group which comprised eight members.

     Each group came up with certain activities that involved stress-free procedures. The techniques used in the activities were all related to stress management in one way or the other. While some groups introduced activities that made use of psychological remedies for stress management, other groups came up with games that helped the players to release their stress. Presentations on stress management before the beginning of each activity ensured the objective of the workshop. The conclusion after each activity showed the relevance of that particular activity.

  Different fun-filled experiences were also included. The group that included me selected two activities that focused on cheering the participants. It was an attempt to show that through cheers, the stress could be managed. This attempt grew into a success with the expected result. The ones present in the class began relaxing through laughter. Their laughter was indeed contagious. I could sense their joy right in their eyes. Some blushed, some even blinked back tears! The practice of laughter aimed at laughing away the stress. A person could be relieved from the hold of negative emotions by suppressing them and letting out positivity through laughter. While making an emphatic command ‘Get out,’ the speaker tend to be serious and the listener is expected to give a very serious look. If this situation is enacted through laughter alone without the use of verbal language, the whole scenario changes into an amusing one. So, laughter has the potential to ease any rigid situation. Thus, it proves to be an effective technique to manage stress.

      Clapping both the hands together make the individual loosen the muscles and attain positive energy.  Clapping can curb anxiety, reduce stress, cure insomnia and treat depression. It is associated with better mental health. The act of clapping does not just include the hands. The entire body’s energy is expanded during the process of clapping and it automatically improves the mood and elevates one’s energy. While instructed to clap in particular ways according to the music played on the background, the act of clapping becomes even more energizing. The positivity thus accumulated helps the individual in reducing stress. 

    Other activities performed in the class by other groups included Progressive Muscle Relaxation [PMR], Art therapy, Music therapy, Chicken dance, hugging and other stress-killing games. The workshop on stress management was an effective one as it made sure that every trainee got an opportunity to participate in one or the other activity. Also, the groups made sure that the instructions and guidelines were all appropriate to match the activities. Most of these activities are conductible in classroom contexts to relieve the students from the evil clutches of stress. On the whole, the capacity building programme on stress management was a fruitful one which really refreshed everybody involved in the activities.