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Balancing stress now and into the future

A recap of the programme and how to prevent stress into the future (42 minutes).

What you will learn

You will learn how to use positive psychology to manage and prevent stress, including:

  • practising gratitude and kindness
  • recognising your positive qualities (character strengths)
  • enjoying positive experiences (savouring)

Things you can do

You can practise some activities to help you manage stress:

Think about your character strengths

Character strengths are the positive qualities that make you who you are.

For example:

  • kindness
  • fairness
  • forgiveness
  • gratitude
  • hope
  • humour

Take a moment to think about:

  • the strengths you see in yourself
  • how other people would describe you
  • what other people compliment you on
  • the strengths that make up the real you
  • how you can use your strengths
Make gratitude part of your day

Every day, think about 3 things that went well and why.

You could write them on a piece of paper that you put in a jar or in a notebook.

You could also say thank you to someone in a note, text message or letter.

Find ways to show kindness

Doing something nice for yourself or others can make you feel good.

Even small acts of kindness can help, for example:

  • let someone ahead of you in a queue
  • smile at someone or start a conversation in a waiting room
  • treat yourself like you would a friend in the same situation

You could look for opportunities to volunteer in your area.

Volunteer Ireland - volunteer.ie

Make savouring part of your day

Savouring is when you pause and appreciate positive experiences.

Take some time every day to practise savouring.

For example:

  • think about a positive experience in the past
  • pay attention to an enjoyable moment as it happens
  • imagine an enjoyable event in the future
Try positive affirmations

To focus on your strengths and reduce negative thinking, try using positive affirmations.

Positive affirmations (video, 3 minutes)

Use tension down

When you notice physical symptoms of stress, try the tension down breathing exercise.

Tension down (video, 3 minutes)