THE Shoalhaven has faced plenty of trauma over the past couple of years.
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Initially having faced drought, then the devastating 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, throw a couple of floods in there as well and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Quest for Life Foundation has partnered with South Coast community organisations to deliver a series of free trauma recovery workshops for disaster affected communities.
A series of one-day Your Life Matters Regional and Rural Wellbeing workshops will take place from March 20 to March 31.
A workshop will be held in Nowra on Thursday, March 31 as part of the series of presentations, including at Batemans Bay and Tathra on the South Coast, Mallacoota on the Victorian border and in the Central Coast.
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The aim of the workshops is to help participants to improve their sleep, memory and focus, make better decisions, and feel more connected to other people.
"The resilience of people living in rural and regional communities is immense," said Quest for Life Foundation CEO Petrea King, who will deliver the workshops together with Quest's senior facilitator Margie Braunstein.
"People living in rural and regional communities - especially those experiencing exhaustion, emotional and financial strain, trauma, hardship or loss after floods, fires and the ongoing impacts of the pandemic - need support now more than ever.
"They face challenges regularly and are constantly at the mercy of the elements - many have experienced drought, fires, an invasion of mice and now, floods.
"They eke out their resources - financially, materially, physically and emotionally - for so long, until they simply cannot any longer."
The Your Life Matters workshops are open to people on the land and their extended families, indeed anyone residing or working in the communities listed.
"We understand there's always a flow-on effect which can engulf people in unexpected ways," Ms King said.
Quest's Margie Braunstein invited community members to attend what she described as "non-confronting workshops" to learn practical self-care skills.
"If you're feeling financially, mentally, or emotionally stretched, this workshop is for you," Ms Braunstein said.
"You will take home skills and strategies that will help you in your life, in your community, in your family."
She said the workshops will introduce the four key principles of building resilience and peace of mind, the symptoms of burnout and stress, and more importantly what can help people in their daily life.
"We'll also touch on meditation and mindfulness," she said.
"There's a lot of science behind meditation and mindfulness now to show how it can soothe the nervous system. You can learn how to destress, decompress and relax your nervous system."
The workshops run from 9.30am-3pm and are free, having been fully subsided for all participants through generous grant funding and are supported by community organisations in each area.
Bookings are essential and for the Nowra workshop on March 31 contact Shoalhaven Women's Health Centre on 4421 0730.
The Quest for Life Foundation is a charity that has helped more than 125,000 people over the last 33 years.
Established in 1989 by Petrea King after a series of personal traumas, Quest provides educational self-help programs and community-based workshops that encourage, educate and empower people to improve their resilience and peace of mind during times of illness, depression, grief and trauma.
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