Balancing Your Stress

Agenda Juggle Mania Reflection Identifying Stress Ideas for Self-Care Self-Care Plan Check Out

Juggle Mania Divide participants into groups of six to twelve and assign a facilitator to each group. Provide each group with four balls (or soft objects) to throw, a stopwatch or clock to keep time, and enough space to stand in a circle. The objective of this activity is to introduce participants to an increasingly stressful activity and see how they manage their responses.   Gather each group of participants in a circle and bring one ball to each group. Explain to participants: I’m going to throw the ball to someone in the circle. When that person catches it, they will throw the ball to someone else in the circle who has not yet received it. Continue this pattern until everyone has caught and thrown the ball and someone finally throws it back to me. It’s important to remember who you threw the ball to, because you are going to repeat this throwing rotation again. After the first round, move out of the circle. Ask participants: How does it feel to ‘juggle’ one object? What is something that you have to juggle or deal with in your life every day? Answers to the second question might include school, homework, chores, friends, sports teams, etc. Choose three responses to the second question, and write them down on three separate two-inch pieces of tape. Stick one piece of tape on each of the balls. Inform participants: The game will now continue for eight rounds, each lasting thirty seconds. I’m going to use a timer to keep track of the thirty second time limit for each round. Whoever I throw the ball to first will mark the beginning and end of each rotation. Explain to participants: With each new round of the game, I’m going to add in a new task. In the first round, you have to complete the first task; in the second round, you have to complete the first and second task; in the third round, complete all three tasks; and so on until we complete all of the final eight tasks in the eighth round. We’re all going to throw the ball “underhand” so that no one gets hurt. The tasks for each round are listed below. Ask participants: Do you have any questions before I start the first round of the game? At the beginning of each round, introduce the new task. For the first, second, and third rounds, give participants a practice rotation, or a chance to complete a full rotation and to get familiar with the new task. After the third round is over, inform participants that there will no longer be any practice rounds. Each time a new ball is added, read out the word written on the piece of tape. Rounds: Toss the ball around the circle, with each participant catching and throwing the ball once. Participants must say the name of the person they are throwing the ball to. Participants must clap their hands twice after they throw the ball. Add a second ball to be thrown after the first ball. Add a third ball. Participants must stand on one foot during each round. Pick 3-6 participants and move them to another spot in the circle. The throwing order must stay the same. Add a fourth ball.

Reflection

Reflection What happened in this activity? How did you feel at the beginning? As the rounds progressed? When was the activity most fun? Why? What challenges did you face? How did those challenges affect how you felt about the activity? What happened if someone dropped the ball? What strategies did you or the group use to help juggle all of the tasks within the given time frame? Can any of those strategies help us juggle many different aspects of our lives? After the eighth round is over, instruct participants: Stay in your small groups and sit down in a circle. There will be one facilitator with each group who is going to lead you through a debrief of the activity.   In small groups, ask participants: What happened in this activity? How did you feel at the beginning? How did you feel as the rounds of the activity progressed? When was the activity most fun? Why? What challenges did you face? How did those challenges change how you felt about the activity? What happened if someone in the circle dropped the ball? What strategies did you or the group use to help you juggle all of the tasks within the given time frame? Can any of those strategies help us juggle many different aspects of our lives?

Identifying Stress

Identifying Stress Keep the answer sheet face down! Let’s work through the “Identifying Stress” worksheet together Keep the answer sheet face down! Distribute the Identifying Stress worksheets, the Identifying Stress: Answer Keys, and pens or pencils. Explain to participants: We have handed out worksheets about stress. One handout has questions on it and the other has the answers. Make sure that you keep the answer key face-down until I tell you to flip it over. I’m now going to read aloud some statements about stress. You will have fifteen seconds to think about your answer and choose either true or false.   Read the statements aloud, and provide fifteen seconds for participants to think and make a choice. Proceed in this manner until all of the questions have been answered.

Identifying Stress 1 Stress looks the same for 2 Stress is always bad Now let’s go over the “Identifying Stress: Answer Key” 1 Stress looks the same for every person 2 Stress is always bad 3 Stress can affect my body 4 There is nothing you can do about stress – it happens and you endure it False True Instruct participants: Turn over your worksheet to the Identifying Stress: Answer Key. Solicit a different participant to read aloud each correct answer and supporting explanation.   After all of the True/False questions have been fully answered, instruct participants: Think back to the juggling game. The tasks and the labels on each ball were “stressors” – stimuli that cause stress. The more stressors you and your group had to deal with, the more difficult the stressors were to effectively juggle. In order to deal with stress, you all must identify the sources of stress in your life and how that stress makes you feel.

How did you deal with this stress? Was this strategy effective? Identifying Stress Tell your group about a time when you experienced stress. What “life category” did the stress fall under – school, work, family commitments, sports, clubs, or relationships? How did you deal with this stress? Was this strategy effective? What are some other ways you could have dealt with this stress effectively? Ask your group for input. Divide participants into groups of two to three. Instruct them to take turns answering the following prompts (to be displayed on a flipchart or PowerPoint): Tell your group about a time when you experienced stress. What “life category” did the stress fall under – school, work, family commitments, sports, clubs, or relationships? How did you deal with this stress? Was this strategy effective? Ask your group members for input: what are some other ways you could have dealt with this stress effectively?   After eight minutes have passed, inform participants: Identifying and talking about the sources of stress in life makes it easier to target those stressors effectively. The next activity will introduce various strategies to manage stress and maintain a high level of mental, emotional, and physical health.

Ideas for Self-Care Distribute the handout How to Take Care of Yourself, and divide all participants into three groups. Direct each group to a different station. Explain to participants: We’re going to do a circuit exercise now. Each group will spend six minutes engaging in a stress-reducing activity. When six minutes is up, you and your group will move to the next station. The activity will be over when all of the groups have completed the three stations.

Self-Care Plan Gather participants back in one large group.

Self-Care Plan List 2 areas of your life in which you experience stress List 2 strategies you can use to manage the stressors Distribute the Self-Care Plan handout to each participant. Instruct participants: On the handout you just received, list two areas of your life where you experience stress. Then, try to list two strategies you can use to manage the stressors based on what you learned today.   After three minutes have passed, inform participants: You all did a great job making a plan to deal with your stress. All of the strategies we learned today are really useful in coping with life challenges. However, remember that your plans will probably change. Stressors change constantly, and when that happens, you need to reevaluate the stressors in your life and try out new coping methods.

Check Out

Check Out Turn to the person next to you Share a sentence about how you felt during the session Share a sentence about how you’re feeling about the week ahead Instruct participants: We’re now going to “check out” of the session. Turn to the person next to you. Each of you should share one sentence about how you felt during the session and one sentence about how you are feeling about the week ahead.   Explain that the session has ended and thank participants for their participation.

Think about… Do you know that you are enough and you are loved?

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