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HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

Stress Management and Prevention Program Resource Guide

Kaplan University

Stress Management and Prevention Program Resource Guide

By

Windy Immer

Kaplan University

HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

February 24, 2011

Table of Contents

Unit 1 The nature of stress

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing: Journal Writing

Unit 2 the Body as battlefield

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing: Journal Writing

Unit 3 feast or faminine

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing: Journal Writing

Unit 4 one planet under stress

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing

Unit 5 under stress: what now?

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing

Unit 6 ageless wisdom of meditation

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing

Unit 7 sight, sound, and body work

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing

Unit 8 the wellness mandala

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing

Unit 9 applying stress: critical management and prevention to your professional life

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing

Unit 10 applying stress: critical management and prevention to your professional life

Information to Remember

Resources: Exercises

Tools: Journal Writing

Additional Information

(End of the Guide)

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Unit

1

Unit 1: The Nature of Stress

Information to Remember:

▪ There are different types of stress and stressors. Stress is referred to in Eastern philosophy as the absence of inner peace yet, in Western philosophy stress is thought to be the loss of emotional control (Seaward, 2009). A stressor could be anything that is considered real or imagined that is a potential threat (Seaward).

▪ Our busy lifestyles and fast paced world seem to accept more and more stress into our lives. Stress can bring about physical illness in our bodies. It is important to counter balance the stress that we take in on a daily basis so that our bodies will be in better working condition and able to fight off disease and illness.

▪ There is a rating scale called the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and it is designed to help determine the level of stress that an individual is experiencing. This rating scale helps to evaluate different life events’ going on in that individual’s life. Each event is given a numerical value and that value is determined by Life Changing Units or LCU’s (Seaward, 2009).

Resources: Exercises:

▪ EXERCISE 1.7 College Students Daily Stressors Survey. I found this exercise to be especially beneficial and relevant to my daily life. I thought that as a college student it showed how additional stress affects our life. I have noticed that since starting school my patience is not what it used to be and I feel like I am always rushing around. This puts some of that additional stress I was feeling into perspective.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 1.1 Are You Stressed? This journal writing assignment made me evaluate and determine how stressed I was. According to this specific journal writing assignment I have a low level of stress and maintain good coping skills.

Unit

2

Unit 2: The Body as Battlefield

Information to Remember:

▪ Multitasking on the job is a good quality to have but, overstimulation can affect the quality of performance that one is hoping to achieve. If the mind is continuously stimulated the neurological impulses that are in charge of rewiring the brain are set up for permanent stress if the body does not find ways to relax and calm the mind (Seaward, 2009).

▪ There is much hype these days as to how our bodies are affected by stress and cortisol plays a role in this. Cortisol is a stress hormone that helps to breakdown the fats in our body and in return gives us energy (Seaward, 2009). Recent studies indicate that high levels or cortisol can suppress the immune system which can gear our bodies up for an increased risk for disease and illness. This is the same hormone that is responsible for the fight or flight response. There is a correlation between the effects of cortisol and heart disease (Seaward).

▪ Chakras are meridians that run throughout the body. The first chakra starts at the base of the head and continue all the way to the end of the spine. There are seven chakras altogether and they each are linked to a specific organ or gland throughout the body. Chakras are said to represent the mind-body-spirit connection. Most of the Western culture only recognizes the root chakra or the first chakra (Seaward, 2009).

Resources: Exercises:

EXERCISE 2.2 Immediate, Intermediate, and Prolonged Stress Effects Tools: Journal Writing:

It was interesting to see exactly how I react to stress stimuli. I have known that my body reacts in a certain way to stress. Now I am to pinpoint exactly how my body is affected immediately after meaning a few seconds to a few hours post stress response. This exercise has helped me to distinguish between not having enough sleep and the stress response. For the longest time I thought that my eye twitching was brought on by not getting enough sleep now I realize that not having enough sleep causes undue stress on my body and my eye twitches are a secondary symptom that my body is reacting to from the stress response.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 3.3 My Health Profile. I was able to see what my THR is and how there is a minimum and a maximum for the THR. This journal assignment laid out for you your weight, height, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, target heart rate and then we analyzed our overall health. For example, it asked about our vision, dental and hearing status and then asked other questions such as our gastrointestinal tract, reproductive tract and skin conditions. This would be an eye opener for most people that did not have optimum weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. I would think it would be hard to face those numbers knowing the outcome wasn’t good.

Unit

3

Unit 3: Feast or Famine

Information to Remember:

▪ There are five stages of grief. These stages were summarized by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross when she was working with her patients that were dying from cancer. The stages that she found that her patients went through are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (Seaward, 2009). These stages can be applied to any sort of loss such as divorce or being fired from a job or death of an unmet expectation (Seaward).

▪ Abraham Maslow shows us in his hierarchy of needs what is really important to human civilization. There are six levels in the hierarchy of needs. Once one level is completed then the higher needs can start to be met, but if the first level is not completed then the higher needs disappear until the original needs can be met (Seaward, 2009). The order of needs are physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, need for self-esteem, self-actualization and self-transcendence (Seaward).

▪ Catharsis is a term that means purification (Seaward, 2009). This notion allows one to pour out their emotions. This can be done by several different emotions for example, crying, yelling, and laughing (Seaward). It is often therapeutic or cathartic to write a book based on tragic events in one’s life such as child abuse or drug use. It allows the individual to release the anger or frustration that they were hanging onto in a positive way.

Resources: Exercises:

▪ EXERCISE 5.1 Anger Recognition Checklists. This was a great exercise at a glance to show how I my anger whether it is inwardly or outwardly. After completing this exercise I really made an effort to redirect my anger. I was realizing that my kids were watching me become angry several times a day due to my parenting skills. If I changed my thinking hopefully that would change some of the anger that was being displaced.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 4.1 The Psychology of Your Stress. This journal writing assignment is compiled of many different aspects from the chapter 4 reading. We are to look at how we view and use defense mechanisms to protect your ego in times of stress. We were also asked to discuss our dreams and if we remember our dreams and do we try to interpret our dreams. In the next section we were to talk about an unmet expectation that has happened recently. Mine was holding on to my 4.0 while traveling abroad. Unfortunately, I was not able to keep my 4.0 but, came out with a 90% which is still an A. Who knows maybe the results would have been the same had I stayed in town. Lastly, writing down our anger based and fear based stressors show that they both are connected.

Unit

4

Unit 4: One Planet under Stress

Information to Remember:

▪ Type A personality we learn leads a stressful lifestyle. This is caused by the rushed and face pace that they try to meet on a daily basis. There is a direct link to Type A personality types and heart disease (Seaward, 2009). Type A personality is thought to be due to unsettled resentment (Seaward).

▪ Codependency was first thought to be a term that was used for psychotherapists that were recovering from an addictive behavior (Seaward, 2009). This type of behavior is often seen in children that come from alcoholic parents. It was then realized that many times children of parents that had addictive personalities would try and protect their parents so that they would not get into trouble causing this codependency to be formed (Seaward). Often codependent people seek the approval or acceptance of others.

▪ Spiritual Hunger was a term that caught my eye the first time I read about it. I had never heard of this expression before. I found it fascinating that there was a term for wanting to find out what lies ahead for each of us. What are we destined to do and how do we all fit into this equation (Seaward, 2009)?

Resources: Exercises:

▪ EXERCISE 7.5 Your Personal Value System. This was actually one of the toughest assignments that I thought we had. I really had to dig down into myself and find out what my core values are. Then having to think about the supporting values was equally as difficult. They all seemed so important to me and I didn’t want to leave any out. I’m sure if I were to do this assignment again I would continue to add to the core values.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 6.2 Stress-Prone Personality Survey. This was a fun and easy way to look at my codependency personality traits. I liked the fact that I had to be honest with myself even if the trait I was answering was not the most favorable. I scored 31 points which means that I border on having codependency personality traits. Anything over 30 was the cutoff.

Unit

5

Unit 5: Under Stress: What Now?

Information to Remember:

▪ Toxic thoughts are negative images and ideas that consume our thoughts. As a child we hear more negative comments than positive and we can either chose to except that comment or combat it with a more favorable positive thought (Seaward, 2009). These negative thoughts become a learned behavior of conditioning.

▪ There are several different types of humor. Humor is an opinion that can leave one feeling amused. These opinions often leave the audience with a feeling of pleasure and excitement. My favorite types of humor are double entendre, absurd-nonsense and puns. I feel that without humor life would be very dull. We need humor to help get us though the tough times. Humor can help to combat the stress in our daily lives. I listen to a radio station that is 24 hours of comedy. That way I’m not subjected to the negativity that the news brings us and I can start and end my day on a good note.

▪ Time management is NOT something that everyone has a grasp on. I know that I have a hard time getting where I need to be on time. With today’s hurried lifestyle and the need to be there in fastest time possible it is hard to handle. Couple that with all the electronic devices we have, it is easy to get side tracked. The internet, Facebook, IPads, IPods and the new E-readers all distract us from things that we should be doing. These devices make our spare more enjoyable but, now it is even harder to manage our time appropriately thus causing more stress.

Resources: Exercises:

▪ Exercise 5.2 Mismanaged Anger Style Indicators. This exercise was interesting because I only scored 8 points out of a possible 30. When I went back to determined which type of mismanaged anger I have the highest number in any category I had was 3. That was from the self-punisher category. I am normally a very patient and level headed type of person, I have extensive background working with the public which has taught me that one’s personality needs to flexible.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 15.1 The Time-Crunch Questionnaire. It is said that I do not have a good sense of time and that I am always late for whatever I do. It does bother me that I am often late for important meetings, work, or even person engagements. This journal exercise helped me to see how poorly my time management skills are and where I need to improve so that I can make better use of my time.

Unit

6

Unit 6: Ageless Wisdom of Meditation

Information to Remember:

▪ Breathing is an important part of relaxation. It is the one thing that is always with us during a time of meditation or when we simply need to relax. Diaphragmatic breathing is the ability to breathe from the lower stomach instead of breathing from the throat (Seaward, 2009). This popular form of breathing can also be done at any time the person is feeling stressed (Seaward, 2009).

▪ Mental imagery is a series of visualization techniques used for relaxation purposes, healing ailments or body tissue, and also ceasing a negative behavior for a more positive one such as smoking to non smoking. Some athletes use mental imagery to help prepare them for a big event or for physical training purposes (Seaward, 2009).

▪ The mind-body connection can be so powerful when used for healing purposes. The body has been known to rid itself of cancer, hypertension, and migraines (Seaward, 2009). This is all done with metal imagery.

Resources: Exercises:

▪ EXERCISE 18.3 Bridging the Hemispheres of Thought. I found this exercise to be fascinating. I enjoyed learning about the different reactions that the left brain has versus the right brain. Generally speaking I tend to be more right brained in my thinking. Since returning to school I have needed to learn to be more left brain oriented.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 20.1 I Have a Vision: The Art of Visualization. I enjoyed the first part of the guided mental imagery which was called A Mountain Lake. I felt very calm and relaxed and was able to really put myself into that guided imagery. I thought that this would be a fantastic way to start or finish one’s day. However, the second guided imagery was much more difficult for me to do. These specific types of meditations where you are imagining beams of light coming out of my body seem awkward and I then become self-conscious and lose sight of the imagery altogether.

Unit

7

Unit 7: Sight, Sound and Body Work

Information to Remember:

▪ There are coffee shops around every corner in just about every city. All the buzz about coffee and many people don’t realize the affects that caffeine has on the body. It is a diuretic and can cause the fight or flight response with as little as two 8 oz, cups (Seaward, 2009). Caffeine also depletes the body of valuable minerals such as calcium and magnesium (Seaward).

▪ Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are altered by splicing genes from one food into another food. Worst yet, scientist’s are taking genes from foods and injecting pesticides into the specific foods such as corn to help keep down the insect population thus killing thousands of monarch butterflies in the process (Seaward, 2009). It is also said that about 65% of our foods come from GMO (Seaward).

▪ Nutraceuticals are an area that I am very much familiar with. Nutraceuticals can be a food or part of a food that provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and/or treatment of a disease (Kalra, 2003). Nutraceuticals are also known for promoting organic and synthetic compounds (Seaward, 2009).

Resources: Exercises:

▪ Exercise 7.4 Personal and Interpersonal Relationships. This exercise was fun and I had to think outside the box. I noticed that all of my family where on this exercise as well as my pets and my property. Some of the extra relationships that need some extra nurturing would be my dad and a few of my friends that the relationship has been strained.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 27.3 The Rainbow Diet. I absolutely loved this journal assignment. I found this exercise to be one of my favorites. I am very passionate about nutrition and I hope that I can motivate others to become excited about nutrition as well. I think that the rainbow diet is a fun way to teach kids about making sure that they are eating foods of all different colors and not just one color. Often people are not exposed to unusual or different kinds of fruits and vegetables so this helps to get people to try something new. It also makes since to me that different colors represent different areas of the body.

Unit

8

Unit 8: The Wellness Mandala

Information to Remember:

▪ Exercise is a great stress reliever. Exercise has many other benefits as well. Some additional advantages would be decreased resting heart, decreased resting blood pressure, reduced muscle tension, better quality sleep, boosts immune system, and lowers triglycerides and cholesterol levels (Seaward, 2009).

▪ The All or None Conditioning principle is an interesting theory. It thought that for an exercise training program to be most beneficial one needs to look into the four aspects called FITT (Seaward, 2009). This stands for frequency, intensity, time or duration and type of exercise that one performs.

▪ It has been noted that exercise especially running elicits endorphins which can have a euphoric like sensation. This is commonly known as a runner high. Endocannabinoids are neurotransmitters that pass though the blood-brain barrier to increase pleasure and decrease pain (Seaward, 2009). The effects of the runner high can also be felt from swimming, walking and cycling.

Resources: Exercises:

▪ Exercise 8.6 Healthy Pleasures. This was a simple exercise that took me no time to come up with 25 things that I find enjoyable. I will graduate in May and can’t wait to start having free time again. Some of the 25 things are things that I have done before others are new to me list. Having more time for me, time with the family along with exercising was at the top of my list.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 28.3 Your Circadian Rhythms. I learned a lot about myself from this specific journal writing assignment. I learned that although my life seems crazy at times and I feel extremely rushed and lose track of what time it is I am have set schedule I that I adhere too. I think that is one of the things that keep me from going crazy. I did not realize that I had that much structure in my life. I knew that I was getting up at the same time every day except on Sunday’s. I went to bed at relatively the same time throughout the week. It was nice to see it one paper that my eating habits and exercise remained fairly constant.

Unit

9

Unit 9: Applying Stress: Critical Management to your Professional Life

Information to Remember:

▪ Hobbies are an important part of our life. They help to distract us from our real or perceived problems. Hobbies bring pleasure and happiness to our lives (Seaward, 2009). Hobbies can also bring about some control to a busy choatic lifestyle (Seaward).

▪ Forgiveness if not properly worked through will continue to wear on one’s mental state. Holding a grudge or feelings of resentment appears to be a form of control over the person or circumstance involved (Seaward, 2009). It is considered a form of healing to forgive someone. There are 6 essential phases that one goes through in order to be a survivor and not a victim (Seaward).

▪ Dream therapy helps us to interpret our dreams. It gives us a better understanding as to what our dreams mean and how certain stressors in our life can affect our dreams. Some believe that our dreams are a means to communicating with divine powers (Seaward, 2009).

Resources: Exercises:

▪ Exercise 9.4 Reinventing Yourself (Again). This was a challenging and rewarding exercise. I am finding that as I rapidly approach 40 that I am a different person than I was in my 20’s or even early 30’s. Then as I move toward graduation I have a new and exciting journey ahead of me and I am looking forward to embarking on this journey with a fresh new outlook and a renewed sense of myself.

Tools: Journal Writing:

▪ EXERCISE 28.1 Physical Exercises. This was a nice summation of my workout habits. In reading over this exercise I reaffirmed that I am an active individual. Even though my workout schedule isn’t as consistent as I would like it to be I do try hard when I am there and I think that it shows. I am anxiously awaiting my graduation so I can go in the mornings and in the evenings to the gym. I’m supposed to start biking with my step-dad in the summer so I believe that I will have a physically active summer ahead of me. This will help keep me fit on track for the rest of my life.

Unit

10

Unit 10: Applying Stress: Critical Management to your Personal Life

Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit about Applying Stress: Critical Management to Your Personal Life

Key learning point from the unit about Applying Stress: Critical Management to Your Personal Life

Key learning point from the unit about Applying Stress: Critical Management to Your Personal Life

Resources: Exercises:

List the title (s) of Exercise (s) selected to include in the resource guide

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s)of Journal Writing (s)selected to include in the resource guide

Additional Information

Primary Source: Books

Seaward, B. L. (2009). Managing Stress Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

This book was our main book that we read in class. I thought that this was a good representation of how stress affects our everyday lives and how we can benefit from staying stress free.

Byrne, R. (2006). The Secret. Hillsboro, Oregon: Beyond Words Publishing.

Guided Meditation Audio . (2011). Retrieved 03 10, 2011, from

This is one of my favorite books that I have read lately. The Secret was referenced in the book Managing Stress Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. I found this book to be an excellent source for inspiration. After reading the book or listening to the audio book I always feel like anything is possible. This book would be great for anyone wanting to detoxify their life and get a new start.

Primary Source: Websites

Kalra, E. K. (2003, 09 03). Nutraceutrical-Defination and Introduction. Retrieved 03 10, 2011, from

I enjoyed this website and I am hoping to become a Nutraceutrical representative after I graduate. I find that field of study fascinating. I am very passionate about herbal remedies.

Secondary Source: Websites

(Guided Meditation Audio . (2011). Retrieved 03 10, 2011, from

This is a great resourse for relaxation. The meditations are short and easy to follow. I have tried many of them and feel refreshed after completing one of the meditations. The music is peaceful and the meditations bring calmness and serene quality to my day.

Secondary Source: Video

Dailymotion. (2010, 02 09). stress management techniques - music curing your stress fast. Retrieved 03 03, 2011, from

This video is filled with relaxing music that plays for 10 minutes. It is a harmonious tune with birds chirping and water babbling. I think if an individual just wanted a stress break and were to play this video it would help that individual unwind.

Secondary Source: Microsoft PPT Presentation

Microsoft® PowerPoint Presentation: Brian Luke Seaward, Managing Stress: Strategies for Health and Well-Being. Chapter 8 Section III Effective Coping Strategies.

I thought that this was a great source on Effective coping strategies. The topics of toxic thoughts are mentioned in this chapter. Toxic thoughts are ruled by negativity. We have to learn as a group, community, and nation that toxic thoughts only go as far as we give them power. It is up to us to stop the cycle and become a more positive world.

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