A joint initiative aimed at helping people to deal with stress in their lives has been launched by the HSE South and the local GAA.

Starting on Wednesday, January 29, the HSE South and the GAA clubs in Midleton and St Finbarr's in Togher, Cork will run a 'Stress Control' course at each venue for six weeks.

According to the HSE, this is the first ever sport and healthcare partnership to help tackle stress in the community, organised in Ireland.

The aim of the initiative is to bring information on stress to the public in their communities at the local GAA club rather than having them attending a healthcare facility.

The course is provided free of charge and open to anyone aged who is over 18 and interested in learning how to manage stress.

Dr Jennifer Hayes, Principal Psychologist with HSE South says stress is a normal part of life with virtually everybody being affected at some point in their lives.

"When stress levels rise or get out of control it can affect every aspect of our lives and the lives of those around us. It can affect our sleep and it can interfere with home life, work life and with our social lives."

"Participants in the course won't be asked to talk about their problems or 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.

Dr Hayes said classes will be 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.

The stress control course will be held on six consecutive Wednesday evenings from January 29 to March 5 (inclusive) from 7.30pm - 9pm. People who wish to attend have a choice of venue and can either register to do the course in Midleton Park Hotel, Cork Road., Midleton or St. Finbarr's GAA Club, Neenan Park, Togher, Cork.

To register to take part in the course and to book a place, please email your name and contact phone number to: CorkBeatsStress@hse.ie