The current pandemic has increased stress levels for people everywhere. These stressors emanate from mandated self-isolation, increasing risks to essential workers, businesses forced to close, impending budget constraints for local governments and more people becoming unemployed every week. Having the ability to recognize and manage stress is crucial.

University of Illinois Extension Community and Economic Development program will be presenting a free webinar titled, “Recognizing and Managing Stress”. This University of Illinois Extension program will provide participants with: (1) methods for identifying stress within themselves and others; (2) techniques on providing empathy and active listening; (3) examples of constructive emotion-focused coping skills; and (4) a guide to identifying warning signs of suicide and effective research-based actions to take if you feel someone is having thoughts of death or dying.

The presenter, Pam Schallhorn is an Extension Specialist in Community & Economic Development. For the last two years, she has been working with a small team of professors and Extension specialists, led by Michigan State University, teaching Farm Stress training to Farm Service Agency employees, and members of the American Farm Bureau and National Farmers Union.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, June 10 from noon to 1:45 p.m. You can register for this webinar at go.illinois.edu/ManagingStressWebinar or call the Montgomery County Extension Office at 217-532-3941. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Valerie Belusko, Community & Economic Development Program Coordinator at valerieb@illinois.edu.

University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, please contact 217-532-3941. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time for meeting your access needs.