Hectic Harmony

A shared journey through stress, calm and optimal performance

Stress – can’t live with it, can’t live without it. Fundamentally, stress is healthy. Since its inception, stress has provided humanity with an evolutionary advantage that continues to benefit us today. Stress makes us more alert, helps us perform better, and causes us to draw closer to each other. However, in today’s society, where everything has to move fast and we have never set such high expectations on each other, many experience too much stress. Negative stimuli, too long periods of sustained stress or intense periods of stress peaks, can eventually lead to burnout. Under-stimulation then takes us towards bore-out in the long run.

Hectic Harmony is a very accessible way to talk about stressors and coping mechanisms without touching on themes that might be too heavy for some.

Talking to each other about stress is important but remains difficult. People often do not have the right words or phrases, or even have no idea what stresses or calms them. And the fact that there is still a stigma attached to stress-related disorders certainly doesn’t help either. Training courses on stress often do not go beyond theory and do not give participants the right tools to learn to better regulate their stress levels.

Hectic Harmony is a game simulation by CrisisCare and PM specifically designed to introduce players to the basics of stress management in an interactive way. As fictional characters, they experience a stressful day. Gradually, they learn to recognise stressors and react to them appropriately with the aim of avoiding burn-outs or bore-outs. The game emphasises that we perform best when we are optimally stimulated. It underlines the importance of a social safety net and teaches players to talk about how they experience stress.

For those looking for an extra challenge, there is the ‘crisis expansion pack’ for Hectic Harmony. It was specifically designed to teach crisis team members how to deal with the impact of both chronic and acute stress on the crisis team. The expansion includes numerous acute stress triggers specific to crisis situations, such as team members being unavailable, political tensions within the organisation or indecisiveness in the team.

The target audience for Hectic Harmony is broad. Anyone experiencing stress in their personal life or career will benefit from the message the game delivers. The expansion pack is specifically aimed at crisis team members. The game is available for single purchase or as part of a licence.