Hobbies And Interests
Role Playing
This group activity requires a leader who will create a description for three different people who are under a lot of stress for different reasons. Divide your group into smaller groups of three and have one person in each group role play as if he is one of the three characters. When people have the opportunity to put themselves in other people's shoes, it helps them to step away from their own stress a bit. Have the groups talk through the voices of those characters for a while before coming back to the main group. Discuss with everyone how these characters can deal with their stress and how it relates to their own stress.
Sports Game
Physical activity is one of the frequently recommended exercises for reducing stress. Moving your body increases the flow of oxygen to the brain, which also increases your endorphin hormone levels. Have your group decide on a game to play together. Play basketball, tennis, Ultimate Frisbee or any other game that gets your group to move around and have a good time. Keep the competition of the game light and consider not even keeping score to make it more about teamwork and playing than winning.
Compliments
This is a good activity to do with your group when they have been together for a few weeks. Have one person in the group get in front of the room. Each person in the group will take a turn saying at least one nice, positive thing about the person in the front. Sometimes people are stressed because they don't receive much positivity at work or home. In this compliment gauntlet, everybody in class will say something they think is great about the person. This makes both the person being complimented and the person saying the compliment feel better.
Hold the Laughs
Laughter may be one of the best ways to relieve stress and this exercise is purely based on that concept. Have one person get up in front of the room and sit down. His objective is to not laugh, no matter what happens. Each other person in the group will do everything in his power to make the person in the front laugh. More often than not, the person up front will start laughing right away, which in turn will make the rest of the group laugh. This leads to a room full of laughter and a reduction in stress. If the person survives everyone in the class without laughing, provide him with a prize and give him a hug.