Learn to control your emotions to reduce stress.

These days, it's simple to feel overburdened and to believe that we can't keep up with our daily activities. Both our personal and professional lives can experience stressful conditions, and when we are in a stressful position, it can be challenging to avoid conflict. The techniques for managing and overcoming conflict and stressful circumstances were covered in this course through both theoretical and practical activities.

The new edition of the course “Stress and Conflict Management: the way to resilience and satisfaction​” took place in Bologna from 05/12/2022 to 10/12/2022. The participants came from all across Europe, with Ildikó Gyirkis from VIK Középiskola in Hungary, Manuel Neftalí Peral Joris from OÜ Hispaania Maja in Estonia and Neslihan ZENGİN from GEBKIM Eğitim, Araştırma ve Sağlık Vakfı in Turkey.
On the first day participants reflected on the meaning of the word stress by brainstorming in groups. Stress is caused by a series of stressors that can be related to many factors: physical, environmental, family-related or work-related. However, small amounts of stress can also have positive outcomes and push us to achieve our goals or to respect a deadline for example. For this reason the participants learnt to distinguish between Distress (negative) and Eustress (positive). 
During this course the participants learnt about a series of strategies, both cognitive and behavioural, designed to overcome stressful situations in the workplace. Through group activities they had the opportunity to increase their planning and time management skills. In order to manage stressful situations better they practised breathing exercises, muscle relaxation and visualisation. 
Another topic that was discussed during the course was empathy, which is a fundamental skill when it comes to dealing with conflicts. It can be tricky sometimes to show an empathic response, especially when we haven’t experienced the same feeling as the person in front of us. However, it is possible to practise it and the participants learnt how to distinguish it from other types of responses.
In order to solve conflicts it is necessary to know how to communicate effectively. The participants discovered the different communication styles and were asked to do a group activity in which each member had to contribute in resolving a conflict. Although it can be difficult to solve a conflict, as this activity demonstrated, the team members saw how this situation could also be an opportunity to grow and learn. This method can also be applied to a workplace and a classroom.   
Participants had the chance to confront one another and learn from their common experiences because they hailed from diverse cultural backgrounds. More importantly, this training demonstrated to them that, in addition to having the skills to handle challenging circumstances, there may occasionally be a constructive end from an ongoing conflict.
Discover more about this course here