Everyone hears that stress can be harmful to us and that they need to lower their stress levels but many people don’t understand the stress process and how it affects our bodies and mind. This course will describe the stress response from its beginning in the brain to how our body reacts. Included in this course will be the stress pathways and how these pathways trigger reactions in our body and mind. Both short-term and long-term effects of stress as well as the positive and negative aspects of stress will be discussed. Various stress management techniques will be discussed and each class will end with a short stress relief technique.

Do you feel dissatisfied after you leave your doctor appointment? Have your questions been answered within the allotted time frame given with your provider? Today’s health care system challenges us to face the reality of minimal time with our medical providers during our doctor visits. The uncertainty of having our concerns addressed confronts all of us, so what can we do to address these challenges within the short time given to us? This course is designed to address these issues through an informative and interactive approach. Topics to be presented are Plan Ahead Tips, Prioritization Tips, and Self-Advocacy options. Small group interaction will also be utilized to discuss how some of the tips presented can be put into action using fictional case examples.