People can learn how to control stress at free weekly classes being given by the HSE West in the city.
The six classes are being run by its psychology department and will take place from November 5 to December 10 at the Jigsaw building on the Fairgreen Road (opposite the Bus Station ) from 7.30pm until 9pm.
The six session programme aims to help the large number of people who experience stress through learning new ways to help overcome it, explains a spokesperson for the HSE West.
Each session will deal with a separate aspect of stress including:
• Learning about stress
• Controlling your body
• Controlling your thoughts
• Controlling your actions
• Controlling your panic
• Controlling your sleep and maintaining wellbeing for the future
As all of these elements link together, it is recommended that participants attend all six sessions.
Clare Gormley, a clinical psychologist, with the HSE in Galway will run the classes with her colleague Eoin Ryan.
“The classes are for people who want to learn new ways to control common problems such as anxiety, depression, panic, poor sleep, burnout, loss of confidence or low self esteem,” she says.
“They will teach you to become your own therapist so we recommend that you practise the things that you learn in each session. Participants do not talk about their problems on the course and they do not need to do any writing in the classes. On the night - just turn up, take a seat wherever you want, then sit back and learn some great ways to control stress.”
The Stress Control programme is made up of classes and is not a therapy. The system was devised 26 years ago by Dr Jim White, a clinical psychologist with the NHS in Glasgow and is now used around the world. There is strong research evidence for the effectiveness of this programme.
The classes are free, says the HSE, but people may wish to donate €5 towards the cost of tea, coffee, stress and relaxation CDs and handouts.
To book a place contact Bernadette Furey or Stephanie Somers at the HSE’s psychology department at (091 ) 775315 (office hours ) or email [email protected]
