Stress and Conflict Management: Key Strategies for Resilience and Personal Fulfillment

Nowadays it is easy to feel overwhelmed and to think that we cannot manage our daily tasks. Stressful situations can manifest themselves both in our professional and personal life and it can be difficult to avoid conflict when we find ourselves in a stressful environment. In this course the participants had the opportunity, through theory and practical activities, to learn about the tools to manage and overcome conflict and stressful situations. 

The new edition of the course “Stress and Conflict Management: the way to resilience and satisfaction​” took place in Palermo from24/05/2026 to 30/05/2026. The participants came from all across Europe, with Lina and Christine from Vuxenutbildningen i Partille in Sweden, Iringó and Pawel from Helen-Keller-Schule-Weinheim and Oberschule an der Koblenzer Straße in Germany, Diana from Agrupamento de Escolas de Vilela, Ana, Maria and Maria Helena from Agrupamento de Escolas de Arouca all in Portugal, Salvinija, Lina and Simona from Siauliai Technology Training Center in Lithuania and Jacob from JC Zaanstad in the Netherlands.

On the first day participants reflected on the meaning of the word stress by brainstorming in groups. Stress is caused by a series of stressors that can be related to many factors: physical, environmental, family-related or work-related. However, small amounts of stress can also have positive outcomes and push us to achieve our goals or to respect a deadline for example. For this reason the participants learnt to distinguish between Distress (negative) and Eustress (positive). 

During this course the participants learnt about a series of strategies, both cognitive and behavioural, designed to overcome stressful situations in the workplace. Through group activities they had the opportunity to increase their planning and time management skills. In order to manage stressful situations better they practiced breathing exercises, muscle relaxation and visualisation. 

Another topic that was brought to table during the course was about emotional intelligence, specifically the focus was on the empathy skill, which is a fundamental social competence when it comes to dealing with conflicts. It can be tricky sometimes to show an empathic response, especially when we haven’t experienced the same feeling as the person in front of us. However, it is possible to practice it and the participants learnt how to distinguish it from other types of responses.

In order to solve conflicts it is necessary to know how to communicate effectively and to apply mindfulness. The participants discovered the different communication styles and were asked to do a group activity in which each member had to contribute in resolving a conflict. Although it can be difficult to solve one, as this activity demonstrated, the team members saw how this situation could also be an opportunity to grow and learn. Also, they could certainly take advantage of this method as it could be applied to a classroom and a workplace as well.   

Since participants came from different cultural backgrounds, it was an opportunity for them to confront themselves with each other and learn from their shared experiences. More importantly, this course showed them that not only they have the tools with dealing with stressful situation but that sometimes there can also be a positive out come from an existing conflict. 

Discover more about this course here.