Sarah guarin final project hw410

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
Sarah Guarin
Kaplan University
HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention
April 28, 2015

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........................................................................................................
Self-Assessment Exercises.........................................................................................................
Journal Writing............................................................................................................................
U N I T 2 T H E P H Y S I O L O G Y O F S T R E S S
Journal Writing............................................................................................................................
U N I T 3 P S Y C H O L O G Y O F S T R E S S
Journal Writing............................................................................................................................
U N I T 4 P E R S O N A L I T Y T R A I T S A N D T H E H U M A N S P I R I T U A L I T Y
Journal Writing............................................................................................................................
U N I T 5 D E A L I N G W I T H S T R E S S : C O P I N G S T R A T E G I E S
Journal Writing............................................................................................................................
U N I T 6 R E L A X A T I O N T E C H I Q U E S 1 : B R E A T H I N G , M E D I T A T I O N ,
A N D M E N T A L I M A G E R Y
Journal Writing............................................................................................................................
U N I T 7 N U T R I T I O N A N D S T R E S S

U N I T 8 P H Y S I C A L E X E R C I S E A N D A C T I V I T Y
Journal Writing............................................................................................................................
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 I S S U E S F O R 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
R E F E R E N C E S
Place your final page numbers on the right hand side of this line. 21
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Unit 1: The Nature of Stress
Stress is a Health Factor: The national Center of Health Statistics recognizes that stress is negatively
impacts a person’s health. Stress can be linked to heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents,
cirrhosis and suicide. Forty-three percent of adults suffer the adverse effects of stress on their health.
Eighty percent of visits to a person’s primary care doctor are due to stress related health disorders and
complaints. (Seaward, 2015, p.5).
The Definition of Stress: Western culture defines stress as the loss of emotional control in a person.
Eastern culture defines stress is the absence of inner peace in a person. Richard Lazarus defines the
physiological definition of stress is a state of anxiety produced by events that are beyond a person’s
coping abilities. It is a threat to a person’s physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being and
results in many physiological responses (Seaward, 2015, p.5).
Stress Reaction: The body’s central nervous system reaction to a direct threat. One reaction is
Flight-or-Fight, when the body prepares to either fight or flee from a threatening situation. Freeze
response is when you neither flee or fight, but actually freezes and is still. This response is associated
to PTSD (Seaward, 2015, p. 6).
Self-Assessment Exercise:
I believe that mind, body and spirit work together to create a whole a person. Each one is just as
important as the other. Your mental state is important to function and enjoy everyday life. Your mental
state is impacted by how you treat your body, for instance, exercise releases endorphins and gives keeps
you fit. This state of mind allows you to have better self-esteem and less stress due to the endorphins
being released. You walk tall, feeling strong, mentally and physically. The center of all this is our Spirit.
Our spirit keeps us centered, keeps us grounded, and keeps us hopeful. It exuberates life into our body
and mind. Keeping in tuned with our mind, body and spirit, will keep us healthy and happy as a whole
person (Seaward, 2015).
Unit
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Journal Writing:
Situation Start Midway End
Work , Dr. Hancock, New employee to the office. Her
attitude and professionalism towards me as a person. Very
demeaning.
7 5 1
Work, Health Fairs I set up and execute 5 3 1
Time management with work and school 5 5 3
Tenant in my townhouse 3 3 2
My senior dog and managing her health problems 2 5 3
Family. Making time to visit 3 5 1
Dating. No time for it and wish I could meet Mr. Right 4 3 2
(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).
Unit 2: The Physiology of Stress
Information to Remember:
Human Energy Field: Is a subtle human anatomy that is an electromagnetic field around an object
and looks like a colorful aura. It is composed of layers of consciousness that surround and permeate
the physical body. There are several layers of energy beginning with the closet to the body Etheric
Energy , then Astral, next mental, and the most outermost is casual (Seaward, 2015, p.71).
Chakra: Is Sanskrit for the spinning wheel. The physical body has various points that correspond to
specific organs of the endocrine and central nervous systems. The chakras are invisible to the naked
eye, and act as transducers between the various layers of subtle energy (Seaward, 2015, p.74).
Unit
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Seven Chakras: First chakra is the root chakra located at the base of the spine and is associated with
safety and security issues. The second chakra is the sacral chakra and relates to the sex organs and is
associated with emotional issues and relates to issues with sexuality and self-worth. The third chakra
is the solar plexus and is located in the upper stomach, G.I tract. The organs that are included are the
small intestine, gallbladder, colon, liver, kidneys, pancreas, adrenal glands, and spleen. This chakra is
associated with self-confidence, self-respect, and empowerment. Fourth chakra is the heart chakra
and is the most important chakra and represents the ability to express love. The fifth chakra is located
in the throat, and includes thyroid, parathyroid glands, mouth, vocal cords, and trachea. This chakra
represents self- expression, creativity, purpose in life, and willpower. The sixth chakra is the brow
chakra, the third eye and is associated with universal wisdom. Disease caused by the dysfunction of
the fifth chakra, are brain tumors hemorrhages, blood clots, blindness, coma, depression and
schizophrenia. The seventh chakra is the crown chakra and is associated with the soul and our
spiritual quest (Seaward, 2015, p.62).
Disease and ailments can be caused by daily stresses we deal with in our life. Without minimizing stress and
redirecting stress by meditation, acupuncture, mind awareness and many other tools, it can cause damage to
our cells. This damage then can cause cancer, disease, chronic ailments and much more. Five diseases that
affect the nervous system due to stress are Stroke, Migraines, TMJD, digestive disorders, and hypertension
Stress can lower immune system response and Tcells. Stress can trigger diseases such as Lupus,
Schrogen’s and R.A to flare up and be over reactive. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can be genetic or
can be caused by long term stress. The body actually attacks its own immune system. The joints swell and
ache, memory and speech can be affected, and heart, blood, and organs are negatively affected. The skin can
be affected when a flare up occurs or over time during the disease process. Lesions and rashes can show up
on the skin, and ulcers may appear in the mouth and nose. Hair loss and depression are side effects of this
disease as well as high blood pressure and anemia. All of the symptoms and ailments can be triggered by
stress. This disease can be managed by drugs but stress and environmental factors can raise flare ups.
Suggested ways of minimizing and controlling stress are acupuncture, breathing techniques, journaling, yoga,
and being aware of what is causing the stress. Awareness of what triggers your flare up is important to help
avoid future flare ups. Noticing how you handle stressful situations and what is causing the stress and
journaling it can help with future flare ups. Sometimes we can do everything in our power to remain calm or
handle situations but sometimes the solution is to cut out the stress all together. (Seaward, 2015).
Journal Writing:
The people I love or care about can often stress me but that’s because I take their criticism of my life to heart.
I know they have their best intentions and I should listen and examine my life choices, but it's stressful
because I feel like a loser being so lost in my career and life right now. I get anxious thinking about the future
and that maybe I should have listen to my family and friends about some decisions I made. I do get stressed
dealing with my father and mother and their medical issues. I am an only child and my parents have been
divorced for 20 some years. I am closest with my mom and get stressed out about taking care of her and
worrying about all her medical problems. I feel guilty saying that but honestly it’s true. She leans on me for
support and help. The negativity and hearing how she hurts breaks my heart and wish she was young and
vibrant again. The kicker to all that is she is a nurse and I am studying Health and Wellness; she will not
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listen or try any of my suggestions. The general public or coworkers don’t stress me out, they may annoy me
but I don’t let it stress me out. When people act stupid, I chalk it up to ignorance.
How is stress or anxiety about work affecting your life?
I definitely bring home work stress. I did a major career move and worry if I made the right decision
financially. I do remind myself that money does not replace happiness. The small private workplace is
tougher to work for than the government. It lacks organization and rules/regulations, but it has taught me
how to problem solve within the workplace. I have brought work stress home about any missed emails or
about a project that may have been due.
How is stress or anxiety about the world affecting your life?
The world does not stress me out. I stay informed on current issues and know that the world will
always have issue. I try to keep myself and my family safe.
How is stress or anxiety about food and eating habits affecting your life?
My weakness is food and I stress eat. This then leads to me stressing about weight gain. I have worked
very hard to lose 50lbs over the past 2 years that I worry about gaining that weight back and being fat again. I
try to choose heathy options and enjoy healthy cooking. Cooking actually helps me relax from a stressful
situation and allows me to be creative.
How is stress or anxiety about sleep and sleeplessness affecting your life?
Stress has affected my sleeping habits in the past. It would be tough to sleep because I would be thinking of
ways to solve an issue. I have learned to do some deep breathing and use valerian root to help with stress
and anxiety.
How is stress or anxiety about exercise or lack of physical activity affecting your life?
Physical activity is a great activity to relieve stress. I like to exercise when I am stressed and always feel better
after. I clear my head and my endorphins give me that boost to accomplish anything. I zone out on the
elliptical or taking my dog on a long walk by the water. I actually find myself sluggish and not focused when I
miss my workouts. I usually go before I start my day and feel more productive at work and with school after
a good workout (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).
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Unit 3: Psychology of Stress
Expression of Anger: Recommended ways of resolving conflicts of anger are: the expression of
anger must be cast in the direction of the provocation, must restore self-control, must change the
behavior of the provoker or provide insight to create personal resolution, must be expressed in an
understandable language, and must not provoke retaliation (Seaward, 2015, p. 126).
Anger Mismanagement styles: Somatizers: do not express their feeling but hold them in for fear of
rejection. Self-punishers: channel anger into guilt. Exploders: uncontrollable aggression and very
hostile. Under handers: inflicts mild abuse towards those in close proximity. (Seaward, 2015).
Anger Strategies: Know your anger style, learn to monitor your anger, learn to deescalate the anger,
learn to out think your anger, be comfortable with all your feelings and express them appropriately,
plan ahead, have a support system, have realistic expectations from yourself and others, use problem
solving techniques, stay in shape, turn complaints into request, and learn to forgive (Seaward, 2015).
The Tibetan Lamas have studied and taught about the causes and solutions to stress. They believe and teach
that stress is the consequences of our desires. Dali Lama said “I think there are two kinds of desire. Certain
desires are positive, a desire for happiness. It’s absolutely right. The desire for peace. The desire for a more
harmonious world, a friendlier world. But at some point, desires can become unreasonable.” Desires are
defined by the Buddhist as conditions and expectations associated with goals. We have expectations and
concepts of what may be best for us, our family, or others, but trying to achieve these expectations can lead
to stress. We can be overcome by fear and condition ourselves to have this anxiety that we must achieve
these desires. To heal from stress, the theory need to calm your mind, detach yourself from the desires and
reestablish connection with your higher self.
Each psychologist’s theory has a main goal to relieve the stress and anxiety in our lives, and to use necessary
tools to live a more relaxing lifestyle. Freud’s theory is that anxiety awakens within us by being aroused by
outside threats and internal impulses. Using defense mechanisms such as denial, repression, projection,
rationalization, displacement, and humor are our ways of deflecting anxiety instead of tackling the exact issue
that is making us stressed. Carl Jung talks about personal self-awareness and understanding our personal
Unit
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unconscious and collective unconscious. Carl Jung explains individuation which is what we should achieve,
the self -realization which is a process leading us to wholeness. During times of anxiety and stress we should
reach for psychic equilibrium to interpret our stress and figure out the root cause. Carl Jung term of the
Physic Equilibrium describes the balance of thought (and subsequent health-wholeness) between the
conscious and unconscious minds, by having the conscious mind become multilingual to the many languages
of the unconscious mind, such as dream interpretation.
One person can have many fears, such as fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of
death, fear of isolation, and fear of the loss of self-dominance. Joseph Wolpe came up with some strategies
to handle and possibly overcome fear. Behavioral therapy uses coping and relaxation strategies to work on
desensitizing yourself to the stress and/or fear affecting your life. Another strategy is systematic
desensitization which uses coping skills in small manageable stages, such as facing stressors in small
interactions then progresses to the next stage until the fear is manageable or disappears. Exposure
desensitization is a way of learning to cope with a stressor by small and brief physical encounters. These
strategies can be used to cope with feelings of fear when a person is ready to face the fear. Anger can be
caused by fear, anxiety can be caused by fear, and even depression can be caused by fear. When we are faced
with these thoughts and emotions, we need to embrace them and conquer them to live an ultimate whole life
(Seaward, 2015).
Journal Writing:
During each breathe I began to focus on just that. Slowly breathing in, feeling the air enter through my nose
and go down my chest and into my belly. I then exhaled slowly out through my mouth feeling as if the
negative energy is slowly being released out and leaving my body at a sense of calm. During each breath, I
began to think about all the stresses currently in my daily life, and when I exhaled I felt as if I was releasing
the tension and problem out. I began to think in my mind that everything will be ok. I stayed in tune with
what I am grateful for on a daily basis. I sometimes worry and feel anxious about my life’s path. I often
stress out about my age and what I have not yet accomplished. I feel as if there is a clock ticking away rapidly
and I can’t catch up. I never imagined myself here, without a husband and family and starting a totally new
career path from the bottom. During the deep breathing exercises, I have released that worry and become
grateful for the family support I have in my life, the great friends and what I have been able to do in the
career world. I am grateful for the opportunity to go back to school and learn about what I love. My body
feels as if the weight has been lifted off and I am light as a feather. This class, Stress Management HW 410,
could not have come at a better time in my life. I can embrace the psychology part of stress and how to
manage it (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).
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Unit 4: Personality Traits and the Human
Spirituality
Stress Proned Personality Types: Type A personality: associated with time urgency and un resolved
anger issues. Characteristics are; being impatient, multitasking, ultra-competitiveness, rapid speech,
manipulative control, hyperagrresiveness. Type D personality: associated with depression and stress.
Codependency: stressful personality that relies on other’s dependence on them for validation. Traits
for this personality are; perfectionists, super overachiever’s, devoted loyalist, and approval seekers.
Helpless-Hopeless Personality: gives up on life and all it’s aspects due to repeated failure. Traits are
poor self-motivation, cognitive distortion, and emotional dysfunction (Seaward, 2015, p. 156).
Resilient Personality: Hardy Personality buffer against stress by using control, commitment and
challenge. This personality recognizes signs of body signals of stress, uses reconstruction to resolve
the stress, and compensation of talents used for resolution (Seaward, 2015, p.158).
Survivor Personality Type: This personality type becomes the victor and not the victim. They use
both the right side and left side of the brain for problem solving and cognitive traits for survival
(Seaward, 2015, p.158).
Self-esteem is defined by Seaward as “the sense of underpinning self-values, self-acceptance, and self-love;
thought to be a powerful buffer against perceived threats.” Your level of self-esteem will determine how you
respond to stress in your life. Our self-esteem is created and fed by memories, feelings, actions, and thoughts
and shapes our identity. May it be negative or positive; it designs how we feel about ourselves. In the book
“Six Pillars of Self-Esteem” by Nathaniel Branden, he describes the practices of self-esteem. Pillar one is
Focus on Action, free will that we can use to meet our highest potential. Pillar two is The Practice of Living
Consciously, living in the moment and not stressing about your past or future. Pillar three is The Practice of
Self-Acceptance, accepting who you are and being happy with that. Pillar four is The Practice of Self-
Responsibility, taking charge of you and acknowledging you are in charge of your feelings. Pillar five is The
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Practice of Self-Assertiveness, honoring your wants, needs, values, and achieving them. Pillar 6 is The
Practice of Self-Integrity, making the balance between your values and actions.
“Values are abstract constructs we adopt early in life by emulating figures of authority, including our parents,
grandparents, and older brothers and sisters, as well as schoolteachers and other influential people from
whom we seek love and acceptance. They are intangible concepts such as love, honesty, freedom, joy, wealth,
pleasure, education, privacy, and creativity, to name a few. They are often made tangible through objects that
symbolize their value” (Seaward, 2015).
Journal Writing:
FEAR: apprehension, anxiety, distress, edginess, jumpiness, nervousness, panic, tenseness, uneasiness, worry,
fright, feeling overwhelmed.
When I fear something I feel the above emotions and my body reacts to them. My apprehension has me
walking slowly and on tippy toes when I am fearful of an object, such as a snake. My heart races and I feel
nauseous and my stomach feels like it is doing flips.
When I am fearful of an event, I get anxiety. My chest feels tight, my shoulders feel like there is a weight on
them, my heart beats quickly, and I sweat, and get dry mouth. My hands will shake and my brain goes into a
fog. I won’t be able to sleep well and through a night, I may have nightmares of the situation and wake up in
a panic. Days or weeks prior to fearful event I will walk around on edge, feeling stressed, and overwhelmed.
I may snap at people or even just stay to myself. Feeling fearful and overwhelmed drains your spirit and
energy. I will withdraw from things such as the gym or seeing my friends, because I am almost to the point
of exhaustion. My body will hurt and be very tired all the time.
CONFUSION: bewildered, uncertain, puzzled, mystified, perplexed, chaotic, foggy, or unaware.
When I experience confusion, I will go over the scenario in my head a thousand times. I usually blame
myself in some way, and question myself why did I not pick up on that? My mind feels foggy and unaware of
what just happened. My heart beats stronger and more rapidly because I think “why can’t I get it? or am I
being naïve? When I am confused, it can feel chaotic and disorganized and I will rerun the scenario in my
brain a thousand times to see what I missed. I do this a lot with relationships. It will bother me and exhaust
me trying to understand what went wrong and how I missed it.
ANGER: aggravation, agitation, annoyance, destructiveness, disgust, envy, frustration, irritation, grouchiness,
grumpiness, rage.
Anger can certainly make me grouchy and I won’t even notice it but my family will. I don’t usually expose
this to strangers or coworkers but will when I am home. When I am super angry, I try to go for a walk or to
the gym to unleash the frustration and rage out. I use to be destructive when I was younger and break things
such as my cell phone or throw a plate. Never at anyone but just throw it. I learned that this and unleashing
the wrath from my mouth with nasty words did not accomplish anything but have me apologizing more to
people. I like to also write down why I am so angry and what I would like to see happen to resolve it.
SADNESS: alienation, anguish, despair, disappointment, gloom, grief, hopelessness, insecurity, loneliness,
misery, unhappiness, rejection.
When I am sad, I definitely alienate people and stay in my comfy bed. I will cry at the feeling of being
rejected or insecure in a situation. I don’t like to bug my friends about why I am sad because sometimes to
me it sounds childish. My mom is usually the person I turn too and she also motivates me to get up and get
moving. Sometimes she has a solution and sometimes she will just be sympathetic to the situation. When I
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am sad, I will feel a weight on my chest and sometimes wake up in a panic attack. These little panic attacks
cause my heart to race and my stomach feels like it’s in knots. I feel like I can’t move and sometimes crying
releasing the stress tightening feeling my body feels.
SHAME: guilt, embarrassment, humiliation, invalidation, regret, remorse, mortification.
When I am embarrassed or humiliated in a situation, I tense up, my body gets hot and my face will turn
bright red. I sometimes will giggle at the situation but my face cannot hide when I am embarrassed. I will
sometimes play it off like I didn’t know or I meant to do something. When I am feeling shame about
something I did to hurt someone’s feelings I will feel remorse and go out of my way to apologize. I get
nervous usually and will ramble on and on about how guilty I feel and apologize sincerely from the bottom of
my heart.
LOVE: affection, arousal, attraction, caring, compassion, desire, fondness, infatuation, kindness, liking,
longing, warmth, sympathy, sentimentality.
I am a true Gemini; I love hard and can fight hard. I am very affectionate, caring and sentimental. I am the
true definition of a hopeless romantic. I will go out of my way to be caring and kind, taking care of the other
person. I feel that love is best expressed by your actions. My body feels light at times, I smile constantly, and
people have told me you can see the love and joy in my eyes.
JOY: amusement, bliss, contentment, eagerness, elation, enjoyment, enthusiasm, excitement, exhilaration,
hope, optimism, pleasure, satisfaction.
When I am joyful, I feel enthusiastic and exited. I have energy and feel like I can conquer anything. I want to
share it with the people around me and do that by acts of kindness. There is a glow that exuberates off me
and I stand up straight. I feel optimistic in the present and future and eager to take the next step of whatever
task comes my way (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).
Unit 5: Dealing with Stress: Coping Strategies
Cognitive Distortion: A distorted perception that is magnified of it’s seriousness, thus making
molehills into mountains. Cognitive restructuring is a coping technique used to turn negative self-
defeating thoughts into positive ones that are non-threatening (Seaward, 2015, p.218).
Unit
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Humor Therapy: Changes the mood to feeling good and less stressed. It focus’s on a theory of
relief/release. “Freud asserted that the act of laughter is a physical release or expression of sexual and
hostile impulses suppressed by the conscious mind” (Seaward, 2015).
Time Management: Is a coping skill to help minimize stressors without avoiding them. It is a
process where you manipulate factors and not people to take advantage of a path with least resistance
to achieve the ultimate goal (Seaward, 2015).
Journal Writing:
Unit 6: Relaxation Techniques 1: Breathing,
Meditation, and Mental Imagery
Diaphragmatic Breathing: A technique used for relaxation and is also termed “Pranayama” in yoga.
It is breathing from your lower abdomen rather than breathing from our thoriac area laying down in
an quiet place where you can concentrate (Seaward, 2015, p.368).
Energy Breathing: Is used to vitalize your body. You breathe in through your nose using your whole
body to take that breathe, then exhale through your mouth allowing the energy to leave throught the
top of your head.(Seaward, 2015).
Meditation: “The premise of meditation has also been adapted to a concept called alpha thinking,
named for the state of mind physiologically represented by alpha waves, in which specific meditation
concepts are integrated with other relaxation techniques, including breathing, biofeedback, and
mental imagery, to promote deep relaxation and improved memory.
The medical profession has now adopted meditation as its own behavior-modification technique to
combat rising morbidity and mortality from stress-related heart disease” (Seaward, 2015, p.377).
Unit
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Diaphragmatic breathing is controlled deep breathing from the abdomen or is called belly breathing. Issac
Bentov explains diaphragmatic breathing as vibrations from the heart. During this type of breathing, it is
focused on taking the breath deep from the diaphragm, which then creates long pauses, decreasing this
resonance, and exenterates a calming effect in the body.
Meditation has a wave of influences with our moods, sleep, physical health, mood states, mental and
emotional state. The physiological changes that occur during daily meditation are decreased oxygen
consumption, decrease blood lactate levels, increased skin resistance, decreased heart rate, decreased blood
pressure, decreased muscle tension, and increased alpha waves.
Mental imagery uses our imagination to observe our images that we create by the unconscious mind. There
are three categories for mental imagery, which are images that replicate peaceful scenes to promote relaxation,
images that substitute a less desirable behavior with a healthier one, and images that help to heal our damaged
body tissue (Seaward, 2015).
Journal Writing:
I have always been the positive person and constantly going with the flow in life. Just like all people, I can
stumble and get down about choices I have made. I can sometimes start a spiral of feeling down about my
choices and current situation. Insulting your own self won’t get you anywhere, you need to think positive and
do positive. I wake up and give my thanks to God in the morning, I am happy to be home right now and
help my family out and believe it was meant to be because they need me. Going back to school and getting
my Bachelor’s degree is the first step in a new change. Being grateful for my health and supportive family is
important to keep reminding myself. I may have had some setbacks but at least I have avoided divorce,
financial problems, and being a single mom. I remind myself of these because I beat myself up that I have
not gotten married or had kids, but keep running into friends who are going through nasty divorces. I use the
gym or SUP boarding to clear the anxiety and stress, and refocus on the positive. I use a mantra of “this is
the path I have chosen from my decisions and God is there to safely guide me”.
I have had time where I water the seeds of my own suffering and end up depressed and stuck in bed.
Not accomplishing what your thoughts of a perfect life and reminding yourself with negative words will only
have you accept it. This negativity sticks to you and you start to believe that’s it. You can only make that
change and using words of affirmation is the key to a positive change. Believing in your heart that it will get
better begins the process on the path to success. Reminding yourself that you are smart, strong, and stand tall,
clears your mind of negative thoughts and creates that sense of a positive feeling about oneself.
When dealing with negative or difficult people on a daily basis, it is best to hear what they have to say and bite
your tongue of any nasty words that may come out. I try to understand why they feel that way, maybe it’s a
personal thing, or they are frustrated. I try not to take it personal, but if I do I will say ok and walk away. I
like to think about the scenario and calm down then return back to the conversation with an intelligent
solution. Strangers or clients with attitude problems, I kill them with kindness. I just stay super sweet, help
them with their situation and most times they chill out and talk intelligently. All of us can beat ourselves up
over what some people say but only you know the true you and need to love that you.
My reflection on my writing allows me to fully understand what I am thinking. I sometimes just write and
write and it flows out of me, but until I read it I understand what is going on. I know right now I hit a bump
in the road and honestly it has happened before and I have made it through. I know I a m a good person,
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smart, and loving. I feel that right now, I am still finding my nitch in life and along this road I am able to help
my family. It has been a wonderful experience being able to go back to school to obtain my BS in my 30’s
and starts on a new career path and healthy lifestyle (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).
Unit 7: Nutrition and Stress
Physiological Effects of Exercise: Decreased resting heart rate, resting blood pressure, muscle
tension, and bone mineralization. Better sleep, better resistance to coldness and illness, increased
heart efficiency. (Seaward, 2015).
Physiological Effects of Physical Exercise: Improved self-esteem, mental alertness, perception,
information processing, and self-reliance. Decreased feelings of depression, anxiety, tension and
stress. (Seaward, 2015).
How to Accomplish Exercise: Use F.I.T.T system. Frequency is how many times a week. Intensity,
is the physiological stress placed onto that exercise. Time is how long you do the exercise. Type is
the type of activity, such as jogging, walking or weight lifting. (Seaward, 2015).
Mindful lying yoga will bring attention to your emotions, thoughts, feelings, and how your body is feeling.
When conducting each pose, you will need to wear lose fitting clothing that you can move freely in. Use a
yoga mat or practice poses on a carpeted area so not to fall or slide. While doing each pose, you should be
mindful to how your body is responding and use deep breathing. Start off slow and don’t push yourself if it
hurts. Your body over time will adjust and become more flexible. Focusing and being in tuned with each
breath and each movement allows you to stay in tuned with where you carry your stress. Each pose slowly
releases the stress, pulls at each tight strand of fiber in our body and opens your mind to become clearer.
With each breath exhaled, tension is released in the body and in thought; negativity is let out from within.
Making mindful lying yoga a daily practice will benefit your flexibility, stress reduction, and clarity (Seaward,
2015).
Unit
7
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Unit 8: Physical Exercise and Activity
Yogic Asanas and Five Yogic Paths: Asanas were used to cleanse the body, unlock energy paths, and
raise the level of consciousness. The five yoga paths are; Karma yoga-the path of action, Bhakti
yoga-the path of devotion, Jnana yoga- the path of knowledge, and Kundalini Yoga-the path to
spiritual awakening (Seaward, 2015, p.402).
Hatha Yoga: Yoga that focuses on the physical postures and pranayama (breathing control). Hatha
means, Ha-sun and Tha-Moon and is life’s balance. Hatha yoga increases muscular strength,
endurance, flexibility, and muscle relaxation. It helps center and calm the mind and body (Seaward,
2015).
Chinese Medicine: Poor health is viewed and caused by blocked energy or Chi. Pathogens linked to
disease and illness are constantly in our bodies but our low resistance and vulnerability of them is due
to blocked Chi (Seaward, 2015).
Self-Assessment Exercises:
A worksite wellness program is beneficial not only to the health of the employees but also to the employer.
The program will minimize health cost, days missed at work, and improve the health of the employee and
their families. This improvement will boost morale within the company and production from each employee.
Applying total health and wellness to our lives keeps us calm, healthy, and productive.
About fifty percent of the cost of our health care is due to the inflammation of our lifestyle behaviors such as
smoking, poor nutrition/diet, and lack of exercise. Family healthcare premiums have increased 49% since
2000 due to the increase in obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other ailments. We are a generation that is
constantly on the go with work, school and family. Most families are two income earner families that have to
work due to our economic hard times. Our healthcare, nutrition, and exercise are often put on the back
burner and neglect of our health becomes a long term problem. Obesity is the main cause of the rapid
increase of type 2 diabetes in our nation. Since 1987, type 2 diabetes has increased 65%. In the United States
$1 of every $5 spent on healthcare is for a person’s diabetes care (WELCOA, 2015).
A worksite wellness program would be a great asset to any company for reduction of healthcare cost,
reduction of time taken off by the employee, and for morale. On average a non-exercising employee claimed
at least $100 more a year in healthcare cost than an employee who exercised. When a sedentary employee
Unit
8
15

began exercising at least twice per week, their healthcare cost lowered about $500 a year (Dallas Fort Worth
Business Group on Health, 2014).
Journal Writing:
OPENNESS: The biggest thing to listening is actually listening and not preparing what you’re going to say
next. Keep your mind and heart open when listening and discussing problems.
EMPATHY: Being empathetic to someone involves being open to what they are saying. Emotionally
understanding and putting yourself in their shoes and not being closed off. Feeling their happiness, sadness,
or concern and being compassionate to their feelings.
COMPASSION: By combining empathy with compassion it helps to understand how the other person is
feeling. Everyone has been in a place where their heart has been broken and to be able to have someone to
turn to for love and compassion helps you mend the pieces.
LOVING-KINDNESS: Truly feeling compassion and love towards someone can be earned or natural.
Speaking with loving-kindness and giving well wishes towards their ventures and life is truly special. While
speaking with someone, whether difficult or not, truly wishing them well with your heart will impact their life
and yours.
SYMPATHETIC JOY: Extended your delight and well wishes toward a person and not showing envy.
Reaching in your heart and expressing true happiness and love shows true joy. When someone has an
accomplishment or new addition to the family showing joy and wishing them best wishes
EQUANIMITY: When I use equanimity at work, I keep any gossip or drama out of my thought process and
discussion with a person. Keeping it business and discussing the important facts instead of drawing
judgement and holding a relationship and conversation with the person is equanimity (Stahl & Goldstein,
2010).
16

Unit 9: Applying Stress: Critical Issues for
Management and Prevention to your
Professional Life
Social Orchestration: Is a coping technique used during stress by either changing stress-producing
factors in the environment or changing the entire stress-producing environment by using the path of
least resistance (Seaward, 2015, p.351).
Social Orchestration Process: Define what the stressor is, identify your initial response, create
alternatives, choose your best alternative, and evaluate the outcome of the choice made. Having
many options helps lessen the stressful situation (Seaward, 2015, p.351).
Buffer Theory: This theory uses people invited to a support group to act as a buffer to the participants
from stress to lessen the impact. Using a social group helps aid with the conflict and stress. Social
groups can be found in your church or community. A supportive-expressive group was used for
breast cancer patients to help with grief and healing (Seaward, 2015, p.352).
Unit
9
17

Additional Information
Primary Source:
National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health, retrieved from https://nccih.nih.gov/
Anxiety and Depression Association of America, retrieved from http://www.adaa.org/finding-
help/treatment/complementary-alternative-treatment
Secondary Source:
Book: THE BIBLE
18

References
Seaward, B. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (8th ed.).
Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Stahl, B. & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New
Harbinger Publications, Inc.
19

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