CA 170 - Stress Management: Staying Grounded in the Hustle

During our weekly in-person meetings, students focus on hands-on experiences, including group discussions and practical exercises, to build essential stress management skills. CA 170 Stress Management: Staying Grounded in the Hustle is a course that can transform your personal and professional life. It equips you with tools to handle stress effectively, improve well-being, and build personal resilience in the demanding yet rewarding culinary, craft brewing, and hospitality industries.

Enrollment by department consent only.

1. Understand Stress: Explore the physiological, psychological, and emotional aspects of stress and gain insight into the impact of stress on overall well-being [demonstrated through Discussions and Journals]
2. Mind-Body Connection: Learn how the mind and body are interconnected, and discover techniques for harnessing this connection to reduce stress and enhance resilience [demonstrated through Discussions and Journals].
3. Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: Develop mindfulness and relaxation practices that can be integrated into daily routines to reduce stress and increase mental clarity [demonstrated through Discussions and Journals].
4. Effective Communication: Improve communication skills to foster positive relationships with colleagues, supervisors, and guests and manage conflicts constructively [demonstrated through Discussions and Journals].
5. Self-Care and Wellness: Explore self-care strategies that promote a healthy work-life balance and bolster physical and mental health [demonstrated through Discussions and Journals].
6. Resilience Building: Discover tools for building personal resilience, adaptability, and emotional intelligence, which are essential in the hospitality industry [demonstrated through Discussions and Journals]
7. Stress Management in Specific Scenarios: Explore stress management techniques tailored to the unique challenges encountered in various hospitality roles, including culinary, customer service, management, event planning, etc. [demonstrated through Discussions and Journals].
8. Creating a Supportive Work Environment: Learn how to foster a workplace culture that promotes well-being and supports stress management for yourself and your colleagues [demonstrated through Discussions and Journals].
9. Course Graduation and Beyond: Students will have the skills to continue their stress management and self-care journey beyond the classroom.

1. Week 1: Creating the Container
   1. To establish the class as a safe place for exploration and learning.
   2. To explain the purpose, structure, and guidelines for the 7-week group experience!
   3. Invite group members to “enter in” to this new experience with themselves and each other.
   4. To establish mindfulness and meditation as a way of being in the world and bringing about changes in the body and mind.
   5. To use imagery through drawing to explore an issue and develop solutions to it.
2. Week 2: Guided Imagery and Visualization
   1. To demonstrate how imagery can be used to:
      1. Affect physical change.
      2. Create feelings of ease and safety. 
      3. Explore issues of personal importance.
3. Week 3: Mindfulness and Meditation
   1. To establish self-care as a fundamental principle and practice for healthy living.
   2. To ensure that participants understand and experience mindfulness and meditation as central to dealing with stress.
4. Week 4: Breath and Movement
   1. To become aware of the importance of breathing and movement in our lives.
   2. To learn to consciously use breath and movement to create relaxation and break up fixed patterns of thought, feelings, and physical functions. 
   3. To enhance energy and promote greater emotional and physical freedom.
5. Week 5: Wise Guide Imagery
   1. To experience the use of imagery to discover a reliable source of ongoing intuitive guidance and support.
6. Week 6: Mindful Eating
   1. Provide a practical way to bring mindfulness into everyday life.
   2. Offer a practical way for class members to explore their ideas and feelings about food, eating, and body image.
   3. Appreciate eating as a communal, joyous, and celebrative experience.
7. Week 7: ​​Drawings and Closing Ritual
   1. To bring the 7-week class to a satisfying and heartfelt closing.
   2. Give participants a way to use imagery to set the course for the next steps on the journey.

• Mini-Lectures: 20-35% 
• Experiential (hands-on) Learning: 20-35%
• Facilitated Small-Group Discussion: 10-15%
• Reading for Meaning: 10-15%
• Journaling: 10-15%
• Reflection/Student self-assessment: 15-30% 

1. Attendance Policy
2. Student Handbook
3. Photo Release Form
4. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) or 21-Item Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21)
5. Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) assessment
6. Other forms as needed