Get Started with a Dealing with Stress Workshop

Getting started is easy. Decide which workshop you will complete. Print off worksheets, as needed, before you begin. Then click on the link below to start the workshop.

You will be linked to a narrated presentation. There are brief instructions at the beginning of each workshop for navigating through the narrated presentation. Most people find it self-explanatory once they begin. If you find you need additional help with the system, help is available.

At the end of each workshop you will be asked to give us feedback on the workshop you just completed and give us suggestions for improving them. We will also ask for general demographic information so we know more about our audience for these workshops. All responses are anonymous and confidential.

Remember to keep the handouts that you print out. You will need them for later workshops and for applying what you learn.

The Workshops

Workshop 1: All About Stress – Learn about stress, including the typical responses, when stress can be good and bad, and what phases people typically go through when they are stressed.

• Start Workshop 1

Workshop 2: Decisions About Stress – Discover what areas cause you the most stress and identify which ones are most important for you to change.

• Questionnaire (56 K PDF) - Print before viewing Workshop 2
• Worksheet (59 K PDF) - Print before viewing Workshop 2
• Start Workshop 2

Workshop 3: Managing the Physical Effects of Stress with Exercise and Nutrition – Discover some of the physical effects of your stress and then hear how exercise and nutrition skills can help you manage them.

• Physical Effects of Stress Questionnaire 1 (39 K PDF) - Print before viewing Workshop 3
• Nutrition and Exercise Guidelines (47 K PDF) - Print before viewing Workshop 3
• Start Workshop 3

Workshop 4: Managing the Muscle Tension and Sleep Effects of Stress – Learn how stress affects muscle tension and sleep and discover some techniques for combating these specific effects of stress.

• Physical Effects of Stress Questionnaire 2 (38 K PDF) - Print before viewing Workshop 4
• Tensing-Relaxing Exercise (41 K PDF) - Print before viewing Workshop 4
• Sleep Guidelines (39 K PDF) - Print before viewing Workshop 4
• Start Workshop 4

Workshop 5: Communication and Social Support Skills – Discover skills that will help you communicate and build social support in ways that make you resilient when you are stressed.

• Emotional Stress Questionnaire 1 (26 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 5
• “I” Message Guidelines (36 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 5
• Social Support Guidelines (36 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 5
• Start Workshop 5

Workshop 6: Self-Esteem and Pleasant Activities Skills – Learn skills to build self-esteem and increase pleasant activities in your life, both of which will help you become more resilient to stress.

• Emotional Stress Questionnaire 2 (18.5 K PDF) – Print before viewing
  Workshop 6
• Guidelines for Increasing Your Self-Esteem (17 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 6
• Guidelines for Adding Pleasant Activities to Your Life (13 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 6
• Start Workshop 6
• Pleasant Events Schedule – Additional resource referred to in Workshop 6

Workshop 7: Attitude Skills – Hear about the effects that your attitudes have on your stress and discover ways to make your attitudes more positive.

• Attitude Stress Questionnaire (16 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 7
• Guidelines for Developing Optimistic Attitudes (27 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 7
• Start Workshop 7

Workshop 8: Skills to Change What I Do – Work on skills to change the actions you take so you can manage your high priority stresses.

• Action Change Skills Questionnaire (11 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 8.
• Guidelines for an Action Change Plan (23 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 8
• Start Workshop 8

Workshop 9: Skills to Change How You Think – Discover skills to deal with negative habits of thinking that get in the way of living happily and effectively.

• Thinking Habits Questionnaire (14 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 9
• Guidelines for Changing How You Think (30 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 9
• Habits of Thinking Worksheet (41 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 9
• Start Workshop 9

Workshop 10: Skills to Deal with Conflict – Explore why conflict is so hard to face and how you can proactively manage and resolve conflict.

• Conflict Skills Questionnaire (46 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 10
• Guidelines for Shared Problem Solving (39 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 10; print two copies if working with a partner
• Start Workshop 10

Workshop 11: Getting Good Professional Help – Look at your own behavioral health, become better informed about when professional intervention is needed, and better understand how to find and pay for professional behavioral health help.

• Behavioral Health Questionnaire (14 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 11
• Guidelines for Taking Behavioral Health Action (35 K PDF) – Print before viewing Workshop 11
• Start Workshop 11

Need additional help?

Crisis Connection, a Minnesota Crisis line, is a partner with this project. Staff have been trained how to use these workshops and are prepared to answer your basic questions on the workshops and stress in general. Call them toll-free at 1-866-379-6363, 24 hours a day. This service is available to those with Minnesota area codes.

If you have technical questions, you can get help and support guides at UMConnect - Office of Information Technology (OIT) at the University of Minnesota. A brief Orientation for UTTC Live Online Courses is also available for navigating the Adobe Presenter software used for these workshops.

See more resources for dealing with stress or the sources used for this series.

If you still have question on these workshops, please contact Heather Lee (hmlee@umn.edu; 612-626-6602).