CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – Department of the Army civilian employees enjoyed cookies and warm beverages while taking part in a stress management workshop, Feb. 21, at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys. The workshop focused on developing self awareness and was open to all DA civilian employees, as well as non-appropriated fund employees and Korean nationals.

“Self awareness if very important to stress management, said Dr. Jihye Park, Employee Assistance Program coordinator. “If you don’t know why you’re reacting a certain way, how can you help yourself? We all respond differently, but if you don’t have the tools to manage stress, then you’ll be lost.”

The workshop was designed to be interactive from the moment participants arrived. Each person wrote their name on a name tag along with a word that described who they were and then shared the word with the group. They then were each handed a photograph of an individual. Each person was asked to consider the facts gained from the image (hair color, eye color, age range), then to consider what they believe about the individual’s character or personality, and finally how the photograph makes them feel.

“There were no right or wrong answers,” said Park. “Even though we see the same thing, we may interpret it differently. We have associations built around our experiences. Everybody does it. Sometimes it’s right and sometimes it’s wrong.”

The group also completed a worksheet that assisted in identifying each person’s individual response to stress. The guided worksheet explored thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and other responses. The worksheet was designed to highlight strengths and weaknesses to help empower individuals to handle stress.

“Not all stress is bad,” said Park. “It can enable you to do things. But to change your thoughts, you have to be able to recognize your thoughts.”

The workshop’s final exercise was a story – in the story a professor holds a glass of water and asks his students how heavy is the glass? He explains that holding the glass for a moment is easy, however after holding it for an hour, the glass feels heavier despite its weight never changing.

“The story tells the importance of dealing with stress as it occurs, not holding onto it for long periods of time otherwise, it may become so heavy and overwhelming,” said Park. “The last paragraph of the story says: ‘The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed—incapable of doing anything.’

Emily Froehlich, a budget analyst with the Resource Management Office of Camp Humphreys, said she was able to learn from the instructor as well as from participants who shared their coping strategies, such as taking breaks, listening to music, and positive self-talk.

“The biggest takeaway from the workshop was that we must increase our self-awareness to better deal with our stress,” said Froehlich. “You cannot solve a problem if you are unaware that one exists. By increasing self-awareness, we can come up with better coping techniques, and as a result, improve our overall well-being.”

Park says the office will put an invitation to attend their workshop on Facebook however, those who are interested in attending this workshop, or in bringing it to their unit, can contact the Employee Assistance Program office at: 315-755-1086.