The GAA and the HSE South are teaming up in an attempt to tackle stress in the community.

This marks the first time that a healthcare and sporting organisation have worked in partnership to deal with this serious mental health issue. People in Cork will be able to access information on stress at their local GAA club, rather than having to attend a mental health facility.

According to HSE South principal psychologist, Dr Jennifer Hayes, stress is a normal part of life, with most people being affected at some point. However, if stress levels get out of control, ‘it can affect every aspect of our lives and the lives of those around us'.

"When stress gets a grip it can affect how we think and feel, what we do or don't do. It can affect our sleep and it can interfere with home life, work life and with our social lives," she said.

From January 29, the HSE South and the GAA clubs in Middleton and St Finbarr's in Togher will run ‘Stress Control' courses at both venues for a six-week period. These courses are free of charge and are open to anyone aged 18 and older.

"This course is open to anybody who is currently experiencing stress or interested in learning how to manage stress better and therefore improve their quality of life," Dr Hayes explained.

She emphasised that people taking part will not be asked to talk about their problems, nor will they be asked any personal questions.

"Each class will deal with a different topic and will include the causes of stress, skills to control your stress and anxiety and solutions to sleep problems. Classes are very easy to follow and participants are given booklets with explanations on how to control stress at the end of each class so that people can read them at home at their own pace," Dr Hayes said.

Meanwhile, according to Pearse McCarthy, project leader of Middleton GAA Healthy Club, the course will also help people who ‘are not sure what the cause of their stress is, which is a common experience for many'.

The Stress Control course was developed by Jim White, a clinical psychologist based in Scotland. It has been running successfully in the UK for many years and has been run by the HSE in Ireland already, however not on this large scale.

Research has found that the course helps to reduce participants' stress levels.

It will be held every Wednesday from January 29 to March 5, from 7.30pm to 9pm. People can choose to attend in Middleton or St Finbarr's in Togher.

If you would like to book a place, email your name and contact phone number to CorkBeatsStress@hse.ie or call 086 787 1016.