Final Project

KAPLAN UNIVERSITY
HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and
Prevention
StressManagementand
Prevention Program
ResourceGuide
1

K A P L A N U N I V E R S I T Y
Stress Management and Prevention
Program Resource Guide
By
Kenneth P. Fogel
Kaplan University
HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention
2/10/15

Table of Contents
U N I T 1 T H E N A T U R E O F S T R E S S
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing: Journal Writing
U N I T 2 T H E B O D Y A S B A T T L E F I E L D
U N I T 3 F E A S T O R F A M I N I N E
U N I T 4 O N E P L A N E T U N D E R S T R E S S
Tools: Journal Writing
U N I T 5 U N D E R S T R E S S : W H A T N O W ?
Resources: Exercises
U N I T 6 A G E L E S S W I S D O M O F M E D I T A T I O N
U N I T 7 S I G H T , S O U N D , A N D B O D Y W O R K

U N I T 8 T H E W E L L N E S S M A N D A L A
U N I T 9 A P P L Y I N G S T R E S S : C R I T I C A L M A N A G E M E N T A N D
P R E V E N T I O N T O Y O U R P R O F E S S I O N A L L I F E
U N I T 1 0 A P P L Y I N G S T R E S S : C R I T I C A L M A N A G E M E N T A N D
P R E V E N T I O N T O Y O U R P R O F E S S I O N A L L I F E
A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N
(End of the Guide)

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Unit 1: The Nature of Stress
Information to Remember:
 How could you best define stress?
Stress is the inability to cope with a perceived threat to one’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual
well-being, which in turn results in a series of different physiological responses and adaptions (Seaward,
2009, p. 6). The best way for me to describe stress is a method of your body’s reaction to a challenge.
When a stressful event occurs your body responds with sympathetic nervous system activation which
results in the fight-or-flight response.
 How does stress effect sleep?
Emotional stress is one of the primary causes of insomnia. Insomnia can be described as poor
quality sleep or the inability to sleep. (Seaward, 2009, p19). A regular good night sleep is essential
for one’s optimal health. The result of insomnia is an anxious state of mind where your mind is
constantly racing thoughts threw your head. Most people who have insomnia tend to fall asleep at
work or get into car accidents because of the poor sleep quality.
 How does the growing influence of technology affect one’s stress levels?
As technology grows and gets more high-tech, our reference points get smaller because people will
need to learn the updates for most programs. This causes people’s stress level to increase because
it’s “something new”. It’s hard for a lot of people to learn all the new upgrades because they are so
use to the old ways. Change is happening very fast and it leaves people without a reference point to
stay grounded. There are many people that have a hard time dealing with technostress but most
people have become addicted to technology.
Unit
1
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Resources: Exercises:
 Exercise 1.4 A Good Night’s Sleep
I chose this portion of the exercise because I feel this gives me more of an understanding of how
much sleep you actually need to keep your body going. A good night sleep is keen in order to
perform your daily functions perfectly. Even though the recommended hours of sleep is sex to eight
hours a night, there is really no way to determine if you didn’t have enough sleep.
Tools: Journal Writing:
 Exercise 1.7 College Students Daily Stressors Survey
This exercise was very interesting to me because I’m now a college student myself. This exercise
allowed me to determine how much stress is actually involved in school work. College students these
days don’t realize how stressful college life can be, some people take it easy while others bust their
buts to do the best they can. I will definitely look back on this assignment when I’m finished college
and remember how much stress was involved in making sure everything was done correctly and on
time.
Unit 2: The Body as Battlefield
 What role does the endocrine system play in the stress response?
The endocrine system consists of series of glands located throughout the body that regulate
metabolic functions requiring endurance rather than speed. The glands that are most closely involved
with any type of stress are the pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands.
 Explain the concept of neuroplasticity.
Unit
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Neuroplasticity is an umbrella term that encompasses both synaptic plasticity and non-synaptic
plasticity. It commonly refers to changes in the neural pathways and synapses due to changes in
behavior.
 Describe which part of the brain is associated with multitasking.
When it comes to multitasking there really isn’t a side of the brain associated with it. When you
multitask your brain actually uses more than one side. This is how you tend to loose your focus on
certain things and you tend to forget.
 2.2 Immediate, Intermediate, and Prolonged Stress Effects
Since this was the only exercise we did, it definitely helped me understand how to create a baseline on
how stress affects my daily schedule. This exercise made me realize that your body sends you signals for
each type of stress. This is very helpful and will help me remind myself how to react in a certain situation
when it comes around again.
 Unit 2 Journal Exercise 3.3 My Health Profile
This journal entry reminds me of how my body was when I first started this class. After completing
this exercise I knew that I needed to improve my overall health so I went and got myself checked
out. It’s always good for you to know what your baseline is so you can determine what needs to be
improved on or needs immediate attention. I also learned that I needed to get my blood pressure
checked since normal blood pressure should be 120/60.
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Unit 3: Feast or Famine
 What are the four common roadblocks to the creative process?
Perceptual roadblocks – these are obstacle’s that involve the inability to separate yourself from the
problem, a lot of people tend to forget that their ego gets in the way of this. Most problems occur
when left-brained skills overrule your primary creative process through analysis, judgment and
negative perceptions.
Emotional Roadblocks – Fear is the main obstacle in this roadblock. A lot of people are afraid of
failure in any activity so they just chose not to do it. Fears are definitely natural but with work most
fears can be overcome.
Cultural roadblocks – Western Culture is now widely recognized as encouraging the left-brain
dominant thinkers. These roadblocks limit our ability to take in new ideas, leading to asymmetrical
thinking.
Environmental roadblocks – these roadblocks include personal constraints such as time, friends, and
other outside support networks. Negative feedback on this type of roadblock has a toxic effect on
creativity.
 Why do many stress-related problems involve poor communication?
Poor communication does have a lot of stress that goes with it, this makes people angry and very
agitated. People get stress very easy with this because people want to know what’s going on in their
workplace. People need to communicate new updates and make sure all works are up to speed not
just certain people.
 What are some pillars of human spirituality?
Relationships- are a major key in building families. They help and support each other, making sure they
are on the right track to success.
Unit
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Values – These can be both personal and spiritual, you can never blame a person for their values because
you hold your own values as well. Spiritual values build a person spiritually such as your faith or other
means. These help create whop you are and how you will become later in life.
Meaningful purpose – Life is a whole different experience when you understand what guides you. Never
let anyone tell you how to go about your life, you decide how things go.
 Unit 3 Exercise 5.1 Anger Recognition Checklist
I chose this exercise because this made me understand how anger can surface in a normal work day,
and how it should be treated. During the course of my day I tend to get very angry over the little
things because they are not getting done correctly. This helped me realize to overcome my anger and
do my best to relax and move on.
 Unit 3 Journal 4.1 The Psychology of Your Stress
I like this journal writing very much because it did make me more aware of what my attitude is like
when I’m stressed. I never knew how much your body tells you and tries to let you know when you
are getting stressed until after this exercise. I have found way to cope with stress and make sure not
to harm others during this process.
Unit 4: One Planet Under Stress
 List the stress-prone personalities.
Unit
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Type A personality – is a time aggressive personality that rushes to meet deadlines. This is thought to
compromise several types of behaviors such as time urgency, anger, lack of planning and polyphagia
(Seaward, 2009, p313)
Codependency - A stress-prone personality with many traits and behaviors that seem to increase the
likelihood of perceived stress and the inability to cope effectively with it’ additive in nature; based on
the need to make others dependent to receive self-validation (Seaward, 2009, p. 139)
Procrastinator - Procrastination is a diversion tactic. Procrastinators avoid responsibilities and put off
until tomorrow what should have been done today. There are three factors associated with
procrastination: laziness or apathy, fear of failure, and need for instant gratification.(Seward, 2009, p
313)
 Key learning point from the unit about One Planet Under Stress <insert your text>
 Key learning point from the unit about One Planet Under Stress <insert your text>
 Unit 4 Exercise 7.5 Your Personal Value System
I chose this exercise because it helped realize there are a lot of supporting values which help guide me
every day. I realized without those supporting values it is defiantly hard to go about your daily life
knowing that there is nobody there to support you and your decisions.
 Unit 4 Journal Exercise 6.2
I chose this exercise because this survey helped me realize how involved in work I really am at any
given time. It helped me choose the right path in order to not overwhelm my brain and started to
take out my frustration with family and/or friends. You can definitely learn a lot from this survey and
see how much people actually appreciate what you do for them.
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Unit 5: Under Stress: What Now?
 What does Sapolsky say are ways to apply the principles of coping with psychological stress?
Sapolsky states and obviously knows that not all of us were held by our parents, not poor, etc. It is like
there is another road that one can take but you have to follow it and make it your decision to change
otherwise you have to face the consequences. As one might know that exercising is good for your organs
but one might not know how wonderful it is as a stress reliever; it is like you are killing two birds with
one stone
 Steps to initiate cognitive restructuring
Awareness - The awareness process has three steps. In the first, stressors are identified and
acknowledged. This may include writing down what is on your mind, including all frustrations and
worries. The second step of the awareness process is to identify why these situations and events are
stressors and, more specifically, what emotional attitudes are associated with each.
Reappraisal of the situation - A secondary appraisal, or reappraisal, is a “second opinion” you generate in
your mind to offer a different viewpoint. A reappraisal is a new assembly or restructuring of the factors
involved, and the openness to accept a new frame of mind. At this stage, a second or third opinion
involves choosing a neutral, or preferably positive, stance to favorably deal with the issues at hand.
(Sward, 2009, p 213)
Adoption and substation - The most difficult part of any attitudinal change is its implementation.
Once a new frame of mind is created, it must then be adopted and implemented. Humans tend to
be creatures of habit, finding comfort in known entities even if the “known” is less than desirable.
Pessimism is a defense mechanism, and although it is not seen as enhancing human potential, there
is comfort in the familiarity of old ways, and change does not come easily.
Evaluation - The test of any new venture is to measure its effectiveness. The first attempt to shoot
a basket through the hoop may result in an embarrassing miss. If it turns out that the new mind
Unit
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frame was a complete failure, return to stage 2 and create a new reappraisal. If the new mind frame
worked, repeat this process with stressors that demand a change in attitude to resolve and bring
closure.
 What is the thinking process model?
The human mind is an extremely complex phenomenon, and one that we are just beginning to
comprehend. Scholars in the discipline of cognitive science have created a theory, the information-
processing model, to attempt to explain exactly how the mind processes information. This theory
suggests that sensory input (e.g., a flashing blue light in your rearview mirror), sensory manipulation,
and cognitive/behavioral output as well as a feedback system to correct or refine this mechanism, are
synthesized to produce a linear progression of mental processes. Each cognitive deciphering process
begins with an interpretation of the stimulus that comes into any of the five senses to determine its
threat potential. In simple terms, stimuli can be interpreted as either threats or non-threats.(Seward,
2009, p 203)
 Exercise 5.7 Fear this!
Fear is believed to be one of the main reasons people have stress. I chose this exercise because it
allowed me to realize that fear is always around. I fear a lot of things in life but I need to understand
that it’s a normal body function. After these past few weeks I’ve come back to this exercise and
notice slight changes here and there, meaning I’m learning to understand my fears better and find
ways to make them not my fears.
 Exercise 9.1 Value Assessment and Clarification.
This journal entry helped me understand my core values and different situations make me the most
stressed. This has definitely helped me clarify and resolve my issues associated with the conflicts that
I hold.
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Unit 6: Ageless Wisdom of
Meditation
 What is diaphragmatic breathing? Diaphragmatic breathing is unequivocally the easiest method of
relaxation to practice. It is easy because breathing is an action that we do normally without thought or
hesitation. In its simplest form, diaphragmatic breathing is controlled by deep breathing. It is symbolic of
a deep sigh, or a big breath taken when one is about to regroup one’s thoughts, gain composure, or direct
one’s energies for a challenging task. (Seaward, 2009, p 347)
 Why is diaphragmatic breathing thought to be an effective relaxation technique? The beauty of this
technique is its simplicity. It can be done anywhere, at any time. To benefit most, first learn and then
practice diaphragmatic breathing in a comfortable position, either sitting or, preferably, lying down on
your back with your eyes closed
 What is an altered state of consciousness?
In a “normal” state of consciousness, the predominant brain waves emitted are rapid and jagged beta
waves. They appear to signify rapid neural conductivity. Thought processes in our typical waking
state are those characteristically observed when the left hemisphere of the brain is performing its
specific cognitive functions. In other words, during a normal state of consciousness, the mind leans
toward censorship, analysis, judgment, and rationality. Critics theorize that this normal state of
consciousness is rewarded in academic, cultural, and social practices, and that as a result, alternative
ways of thinking and processing information are frowned upon. The normal state of consciousness
can be quite taxing to the brain: every now and then, for brief periods, we may catch ourselves in an
altered pattern of consciousness, most likely daydreaming. (Seaward, 2009 pg 363)
 Exercise 18.3 Bridging the Hemispheres of Thought
Unit
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This exercise helped me analyze which side of my brain was the dominant side. Since I loved doing
math and am time consciousness I learned that my left side of my brain is more dominant. I really
enjoyed doing this exercise, and having a better understanding of which side of my brain is the
dominant side.
 Exercise 17.1 Dolphin Breath Meditation.
This exercise helped me to understand just how important breathing is when trying to relax. I never
knew that if you don’t focus on breathing that your body doesn’t relax fully. I did learn to properly
breathe and focus on your breathing in order to calm yourself down.
Unit 7: Sight, Sound and Body Work
 How does stress affect eating habits?
Nutrition is a complex subject consisting of five aspects: nutrients, digestion, absorption, metabolism,
and elimination. The focus is often placed on the first aspect, nutrients, but the other four are equally
important. For if the nutrients are not digested, absorbed, and metabolized, and waste products are not
eliminated properly, then there is a real problem with one’s state of well-being. This section deals
primarily with nutrients, but keep the other factors in mind as well.
 What foods help trigger the stress response?
There are a number of foods that trigger the stress response. These foods are said to work on the
sympathetic nervous system. Such foods include Caffeine, Carbohydrates, Processed foods, and Alcohol.
 How do herbs help promote homeostasis?
Unit
7
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There are two metabolic mechanisms involved in aging that are constantly operating in our body called
anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism is a restorative, healing, balancing process, while catabolism is
active, degenerative and stressful. Increasing anabolism to more effectively counteract catabolism is key
to the art of graceful aging.
 Exercise 7.5 Your Personal Value System
This exercise was very important to me, it helped me realize that even though I get stressed out about
the not so important things, that I always have a supporting system. No matter what happens in life
stress will always be around me, this helps my worry about the things that are most important to me.
 Exercise 27.1 Stress-Related Eating Behaviors
In this exercise we learned how good or how bad our eating habits were. A lot of people, such as
myself, don’t really know that eating excessively can definitely harm you in the long run. If you keep
to a strict food intake, you can defiantly feel better about yourself and be able to conquer more things
than you could before.
Unit 8: The Wellness Mandala
 Explain how physical exercise is stress but also helps reduce stress.
There are six components of fitness: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance,
flexibility, agility, power, and balance. Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the heart, lungs, and
blood vessels to transport oxygenated blood to the working muscles for energy
metabolism. Muscular strength is the ability to exert maximal force against a resistance, and muscular
Unit
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endurance is the ability to sustain repeated contractions over a prolonged period of time. Flexibility is
defined as the ability to use a muscle group throughout its entire range of motion. These are thought
to be the three most important components of fitness. Agility refers to maneuverability and
coordination of fine and gross motor movements. Power is defined as force time’s distance over
time; balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium in motion. Agility, power, and balance supplement
the first three components. Some or all of these components are used in every type of physical
activity.
 How does anaerobic exercise differ from aerobic exercise?
Anaerobic Exercise is defined as a physical motion intense in power and strength, yet short in
duration theoretically speaking, anaerobic activity is the type of movement or exercise used in the
“fight” response. When expression of anger comes to mind, it is associated with power and strength.
That is, when someone becomes angry and attempts to defend self or territory, it had better be
forceful, quick, and decisive. Without these qualities, this half of the stress response proves ineffective
for survival.
 Exercise 28.1 Physical Exercise
I chose this exercise because it helps me to realize just how important exercise is. Most people think
it’s to make your body look great but it has so much, more meaning than that. If you take just a few
minutes a day and exercise you will notice and improvement in body weight as well as stamina. It’s
hard to make time to exercise with our work schedules but I now take 10 minutes and day and
exercise and have definitely noticed that I’m not breathing as heavy as I use to.
 Exercise 28.2 My Body, My Physique
I chose this journal entry because I do believe that you can turn all negatives into positives. It’s
important to know that positive things help motivate people because they believe they are doing well.
This exercise helped me to realize that I need to be happy on the inside in order to be happy on the
outside as well because if I’m not it’s false.
15

Unit 9: Applying Stress: Critical
Management to your Professional
Life
 How do hobbies help one to reduce stress?
Hobbies are considered the time spent away from your work or other daily activities, its your “me”
time. It’s best to develop some sort of a hobby to help you relax and take your mind off things and
focus just solely on your project.
 Why is forgiveness considered an effective coping skill?
Forgiveness helps your mind ease down from holding grudges against others. It is built up frustration
that can lead your body into major overload, plus in the end it makes you feel like a better person
because you finally let go of the problem.
 Why is prayer considered an effective coping technique?
Prayer is one of the oldest and most commonly used coping mechanisms known to humankind. In
its simplest form, prayer is thought: a desire of the heart, and often a call for help in what can best be
described as a plea for divine intervention. Although prayer is not synonymous with meditation, these
two processes share many similarities in that they both initiate a process of centering, increased
concentration, and connectedness. (Seward, 2009, p 333)
 Exercise 1.5 Personal Stress Inventory
Unit
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This exercise helped me out with my long term stressors because I was able to write them down and
evaluate each one. As time goes by I will come back and take a look at this and see if anything has
changed and if it did how I made it happen.
 Exercise 27.2 Self-Assessment: Nutritional Eating Habits
This exercise reminds me of how I’m doing on my daily diet. It helps me to realize that soda and
caffeine can affect me in the long run and to try to avoid them as much as possible.
Unit
17

Additional Information
I love this picture and saying because it is true, you need to keep your body relaxed in
order to perform the best that you can each day.
“A sound mind in a sound body.”
— Juvenal
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References:
Seaward, L. B. (n.d.). Managing stress PowerPoint. Retrieved March 23, 2012 from PowerPoint
presentation online Web site: http://content-
hsc.kaplan.edu/HW410_1101C/images/product/Seaward_6e_CH01_PPTS.ppt
Sapolsky, R. M. (2004) Why zebras don’t get ulcers (3rd ed.). St. Martin’s Press, NY: New York.
19

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