Maggie's Programme

Relaxation and Stress Management

Managing Stress, Learning Relaxation and Visualisation: six week course

A six-week course for people who have had a cancer diagnosis as well as their carers, family and friends. 

This course will introduce you to some of the relaxation and stress management techniques that research has shown can help people affected by cancer. You will have an opportunity to experience various methods of relaxation and stress management including, controlling anxious thinking, meditation, visualisation and ‘quick’ or emergency relaxation. You will also learn about the effects that stress and anxiety have on your body.

Each week there will be a short presentation and discussion.  However the course is mainly practical, giving you a chance to experience, practise and develop the skills that you learn. Course material will include handouts covering the theory and research presented during the course and a CD so that you can practice at home.

Week 1
What is stress and anxiety? An introduction to the physical and psychological aspects of stress.
What is relaxation? The importance of relaxation and stress management. Learn some relaxation techniques.

Week 2
The impact of relaxation on the mind. Dealing with negative thoughts and anxious thinking. How psychological techniques can help manage stress. ‘First aid’ relaxation for dealing with acute stress.

Week 3
Everyday life and stress. Why anxiety is ‘normal’.
Why we are ‘programmed’ to worry and be anxious.
Changing the ‘programming’.

Week 4
Choosing the right technique for you. Discussion on the different ways of achieving relaxation. Lifestyles, stress and anxiety.

Week 5
Developing your skills. How to incorporate relaxation into every day life and deepen your experience. Making time and getting it right for you.

Week 6
Your Relaxation Plan. Building on what you have learnt and planning for the future.

Relaxation and Visualisation: Individual and Group Sessions

For anyone with a cancer diagnosis, and their friends, families and carers.  These are drop in sessions that last up to an hour where you are shown relaxation techniques and have the opportunity to try them out.

Expressive Art

* For anyone who has, or who has had, cancer

* Each group is led by a cancer support specialist

The aim is to get a better understanding of what is happening to us. The concentration involved in making an image helps us to slow down, relax and gather our thoughts. Our unconscious minds may find it easier to express our feelings visually in pictures, colours and shapes, than in words. We may learn something from what we have created that helps us feel more confident about what we are going through.

Expressive Writing

*For anyone who has, or who has had, cancer

*Each group is led by a cancer support specialist

The aim of the group is to provide the opportunity to reflect on and understand our reactions to cancer. Writing about our experiences can help us to better understand and find new ways of expressing our feelings and can help us to feel more confident in what we are going through.