Annalysha Macdonald 1

Semester Stress Project

I had a pretty high stress life from 1995 until 2012, I experienced
several things that people regard as some of the most stressful things
a person can go through. Because of this I have had to learn ways to
manage my stress. I am better at it sometimes over others. After my
divorce in 2012, my life got much easier and less stressful. This
summer though has been incredibly stressful. I work full time, I am
taking 4 classes, my oldest daughter is getting married in a month and
she just found out she is pregnant so we moved up the wedding from
October to August. I have really enjoyed this assignment because it
gave me the opportunity to look at new ways to relieve stress. I had
stopped doing some of my stress relievers that I should be doing. The
first method that I decided to try was to keep a gratitude journal. I
committed to write 5 things that I am grateful for every night. At first it
was hard to remember and to want to do it. I was often too tired to
want to write in a journal about what was good about my day. I found
myself going from early in the morning until late at night to try and
accomplish everything I needed to and I just wanted to go to sleep.
After about a week of writing what I was gateful for every day, I have
come to love it! I look forward to it and it gives me a new perspective
on my day. I find myself being more positive and seeing the positive in
every day. I will continue to do this, I started out committing to write 5
things every day and now it has turned into some days I will write 15
things and some days I only do the 5 but most days it is more than 5.

The second method I decided to try is exercise for 3o minutes a day. I

have always been a person that works out or exercises every day. BUT
I decided that I would make sure that at least 30 minutes of this would
be spent focusing on finding peace and not about trying to look better
or doing the exercise because I have to. I am a runner who runs for
several reasons, I run because I can and there are a lot of people that
cant. I am grateful that I can run. I also run to escape and find my
peace and work through things in my life. It is my peace and my time. I
used to run with headphones but for this assignment I decided I
wouldnt run with headphones or music at all. I wanted to try and focus
on myself and using this time to release my stress. I love to run in the
mountains, I feel such a peace there. It is my happy place and grounds
me. The first couple of times I ran without music, I struggled because I
had relied on the music to keep me running and give me a push. Now I
dont know that I will ever run with music again. I love getting lost in
my thoughts and feelings. I feel such a peace now after I go for a long
run, I work through my feelings and stress. I took away stress for me, I
felt like I was able to move forward with renewed energy.
The third method I chose is to do something nice for someone else. I
chose this because I thought it would really be a hard one to do. When
you are stressed and you feel like you dont have time to accomplish
everything you need to do, the last thing you want to do is something
for someone else. I chose this but then didnt really do it until the last 2

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Semester Stress Project
weeks. The first time I went to help someone when I really didnt have
the time or the desire was my brother and sister in law were getting
carpet in their basement but it needed to be painted. Well the night
before the carpet was coming, I knew they were not going to be able to
get it painted and even though I had a million things to do I got my
husband, our painting things and we spent 7 hours painting. It was so
much work and we were up way too late but I really did make me feel
good to see how grateful they were and that they were able to get the
carpet put in the next day. I dont know that it helped with my stress
but it made me feel good about myself.
I will continue to use all three of these stratigies in my life. The
gratitude journal and the exercise in the manner that I did it for this
assignment will be used daily to help with my stress. I dont think I will
use the helping others as a way to deal with my stress but I will use it
as a way to improve my life. I think it would be hard to say which
strategy I liked best or was the most helpful. I think the gratitude
journal and the exercise without music were life changing. This was a
very helpful assignment that I enjoyed very much! I stated above all
the ways that it helped to reduce my stress but I think ultimately it
came down to that I focused on all of the things that I am grateful for
and the good things in my life. This seemed to make the stress go
away and I was able to put things into perspective. I would be out
running on a trail and the stress of a wedding and a baby for my

daughter or taking 4 classes while I work full time would overwhelm

me and then I would think, I get to be out running in these beautiful
mountains. I have strong legs and eyes that can see. I have strong
lungs and I am blessed. It made everything else seem not so
important.
The strategy that I liked the least was the helping others but only
because I didnt feel like this took away stress. I felt like it added
stress. I feel like it made me feel more grateful for things though.

http://www.today.com/health/be-thankful-science-says-gratitude-goodyour-health-t58256
This study used clinical studies to see how gratitude can impact your
stress level. Their clinical trials indicate that the practice of gratitude
can have dramatic and lasting effects in a persons life. According to
Robert A. Emmons, professor of psychology at US Davis. He continues
to say that it can lower blood pressure, improve immune function and
facilitate more efficient sleep.
Professor Emmons also says that people who keep a gratitude journal
have a reduced dietary fat intake as much as 35 percent lower. Stress
hormones like cortisol are 23% lower in grateful people.
A study from the University of California San Diegos School of
Medicine found that people who were more grateful actually had better

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Semester Stress Project
heart health, specifically less inflammation and healthier heart
rhythms. The studys author, Paul J Mills says They showed a better
well-being, a less depressed mood, less fatigue and they slept better.
He also says, When he is more grateful, he feels more connected with
himself and his environment. The opposite of what stress does.
Researcers at the University of Utah and Kentucky observed that
stressed-out law students who characterized themselves as optimistic
actually had more disease-fighting cells in their bodies.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude
I really enjoyed reading this article by Harvard Health, they talk about
the study I referenced above and about a study done ny Dr. Martin E.P.
Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania where he
tested 411 people, each comparedwith a control assignment of writing
about early memories. When their weeks assignment was to write and
personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been
properly thanked for his or her kindness, participants immediately
exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores. This impact was greater
than that from any other intervention, with benefits lasting for a
month. I tried this after reading about this and it really has made me
feel so much better and more positive. I loved the feelings I got as I
wrote these letters and watched the reaction when I delivered them.
Not only that, it made me feel calm and happy to think about what this

person had done for me and to be grateful for how they impacted my
life.
On Page 409, Chapter 11 in our textbook the second paragraph talks
about Optimism and Health. It talks about how our basic outlook can
influence our ability to cope with stress. It says, People who agree
with statements such as, in uncertain times, I usually expect the
best- perceive more control, cope better with stressful events, and
enjoy better health. The reason I think this ties into being grateful is
that when we are grateful we are more optimistic. I think we are able
to see the positive around us which lowers stress and helps us to cope.
They also talk about a study that was done on 180 Catholic nuns who
had written autobiographies at age 22. Despite living thereafter with
similar life-styles and status, those who had expressed happiness, love
and other positive feelings lived an average of 7 years longer than
their more dour counterparts.
I loved reading about these different studies and feeling the impact
that it has had on my life that last month or so as I have done this. I
think I have always been a very positive person and have never really
one to get very stressed, even in situations where I probably should. I
think these coincide and because I am positive and grateful, I dont get
as stressed.

Annalysha Macdonald 7
Semester Stress Project