Workshop on "Stress Management and Coping Skills" for class 9 Students at Manjughoksha Academy

On Friday, Drokpo Nepal held a workshop on “Stress Management and Coping skills” to the students of class 9 at Manjughoksha Academy.

Overview of the program:
- Total number of students: 31
- Male:11, Female: 20
- Method of presentation: asking questions, group discussions, verbal
reinforcement and lecture.
- Use of resources: videos, pictures, balloons, and blank sheets.

Aims and objectives of the program:
- To let the students, know what stress is.
- To verify their stress by knowing its symptoms.
- To let the students, know the various ways and methods to tackle up and
manage their stress in their day-to-day life.

The workshop started at 1:50 pm with greetings and introduction by the members of the coordinator. The facilitator then distributes the attendance sheet to the class for the verification of the students. The workshop begins with an interesting game called “Character game”. The students showed keen interest in the workshop. The game lasted for 20 minutes and ended at 2:12pm.

Miss Pasang Lhamo Sherpa initiated the topic “Stress Management and coping its skills” by asking interesting questions and discussing their daily lives. She introduced the topic by using a PowerPoint presentation which involved a lot of visuals that were relevant in today's date. She explained the topic in detail. She then asked the class to share their experiences on their stress and let them verify their stress.

She taught them about the various signs and symptoms of stress and the ways to deal with them. She showed a relatable video according to their level of understanding. The workshop was then taken over by our facilitator “Miss Ojashwi Sharma” who continued the topic using interesting methods. She let the class speak up their opinion and discuss the types of stress. She let the students perform a practical mindfulness activity which they could use in their daily lives that will help them manage their stress. At the end of the session, two different activities were conducted in class i.e., study habit test and balloon bursting game. The whole session successfully ended at 4:43pm with a beautiful group photo.

At the end of the program, we asked the students for their feedback. The whole class acknowledged the workshop. They found the tips to release their stress very helpful. They learned how to verify their stress and know the signs and symptoms of stress. The mediation therapy was one of their favorites from the session. They also thoroughly enjoyed the balloon bursting activity which created a fun and light environment. For future programs, the students had some suggestions, they asked for more videos and games. They loved the presentation that helped them understand the topic better. Many of the students expressed their willingness to volunteer at Drokpo Nepal in the future.
Similarly, there were some limitations seen in the workshop related to time
management. The initial plan to start the program was from 1:30pm to 3:45pm.

However due to seating arrangements and other factors, the program was able to start only at 1:50pm and lasted up to 5pm. But overall, the program was a success. This program specially helped children to cope up with stress that arises during the exams. Hence Drokpo believes workshops such as this are very useful for the younger generations who face various kinds of problems and stress during exams, assignments and other activities.