If you put stress on one end of a continuum, what do you think would be at the other end?  The opposite of stress is not relaxation, but apathy. Stress is how we feel in response to our environment when something happens to someone or something we care about. Stress occurs when we have something at stake, which means stress is a sign that we are engaged with life. For this reason, we don’t want to eliminate stress. Instead, we want to leverage stress to make it work for us.

“How to Make Stress Work for You,” the next Lay Academy course at First Presbyterian Church, Charleston, is intended to help you leverage stress to your advantage, become a champion of your own life, make you good at stress and make stress work for you. You will rethink your relationship with stress, with yourself, and with the people around you. 

The 18-week lecture course will run Oct. 7, 2018 through April 14, 2019, with breaks Nov. 12-Jan. 12 and Feb. 18-March 9 (full class schedule at end of article). Classes are 4-5:30 p.m. Sundays in the dining hall of the First Presbyterian activities building. 

The program is a video series by Dr. Kimberlee Bethany Bonura and will also feature panel presentations by Charleston community leaders and class discussions. Dr. Bonura holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, is a triple-certified yoga instructor and holds certifications as a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, kickboxing instructor, Tai Chi and Chigong instructor, senior fitness specialist, weight management instructor, and prenatal and youth fitness specialist.

The Lay Academy is free and open to the public. For more information, call Dr. Bob Newman at 304-345-0225 or the church office at 304-343-8961.

Class schedule

Fall series

Oct. 7: A New Mindset about Stress

Oct. 14: Happiness: A Fickle Queen

Oct. 21: Anger: A Tyrannical King

Oct. 28: Swimming in an Ocean of Sorrow

Nov. 4: Why You Stress: Arousal and Value Judgment

Nov. 11: Choose Your Adventure: Choose Your Stress

Nov. 12-Jan. 12: break for reading time and Christmastide

Winter series

Jan. 13: Heaven and Hell Can Be Other People

Jan. 20: Our Overstressed, Overscheduled Kids

Jan. 27: Change Your Mind to Change Your Stress

Feb. 3: Emergency Stress Management

Feb. 10: Good Stress Helps You Handle All Stress

Feb. 17: The Stress of Learning and Mastery

Feb. 18-March 9: break for reading assignments and Lent/Easter

Spring series

March 10: Alternative Approaches to Stress

March 17: Mindfulness: Heart Healing to Manage Stress

March 24: Channeling Stress for a Competitive Edge

March 31: Emerging Stress Management Technology

April 7: Rest, Recover, Restore Your Resilience

April 14: Learning from Your Stress