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Stress
Management and
Prevention
1
Program Resource
Guide
2
Stress Management and Prevention
Program Resource Guide
By
Shirrell Cummings
10 March 2020
Table of Contents
UNIT 1 THE NATU RE OF STRESS
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Journal........................................................................................................
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IM AGERY
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Assignment.................................................................................................
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UNIT 8 PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND ACTIVITY
Information to Remember..........................................................................
Assignment.................................................................................................
Journal........................................................................................................
Information to Remember..........................................................................
Assignment:
The wellness paradigm also known as a mandala is made up of four different areas.
The mandala reflects all components that are present within the human organism.
The four areas that are represented within the circle are physical, emotional,
mental, and spiritual well-being. Every component is different and “holds specific
dominance at different phases of an individual’s growth cycle (Seward, 2017).”
Journal:
Unit One Journal Writing
3
clear awareness on each aspect and each moment of the experience. You can
practice by listening to Mindfully Eating a Raisin (directions found under
course resources) or by reading the following text, taking some time with each
instruction. This should be a minimum of two full pages.
Place a few raisins in your hand. If you don’t have raisins, any food will do.
Imagine that you have just come to Earth from a distant planet without such
food. Now, with this food in hand, you can begin to explore it with all of your
senses. Focus on one of the objects as if you’ve never seen anything like it
before. Focus on seeing this object. Scan it, exploring every part of it, as if
you’ve never seen such a thing before. Turn it around with your fingers and
notice what color it is. Notice the folds and where the surface reflects light or
becomes darker. Next, explore the texture, feeling any softness, hardness,
coarseness, or smoothness. While you’re doing this, if thoughts arise such as
“Why am I doing this weird exercise?” “How will this ever help me?” or “I hate
these objects,” then just see if you can acknowledge these thoughts, let them
be, and then bring your awareness back to the object. Take the object beneath
your nose and carefully notice the smell of it. Bring the object to one ear,
squeeze it, roll it around, and hear if there is any sound coming from it. Begin
to slowly take the object to your mouth, noticing how the arm knows exactly
where to go and perhaps becoming aware of your mouth watering. Gently place
the object in your mouth, on your tongue, without biting it. Simply explore the
sensations of this object in your mouth. When you’re ready, intentionally bite
down on the object, maybe noticing how it automatically goes to one side of the
mouth versus the other. Also notice the tastes it releases. Slowly chew this
object. Be aware of the saliva in your mouth and how the object changes in
consistency as you chew. When you feel ready to swallow, consciously notice
the intention to swallow, then see if you can notice the sensations of swallowing
the raisin, sensing it moving down to your throat and into your esophagus on its
way to your stomach. Take a moment to congratulate yourself for taking this
time to experience mindful eating.
Mindful Eating Journal: What did you notice with the raisin (or whatever food)
in terms of sight, touch, sound, smell, and taste? Was anything surprising? Did
any thoughts or memories pop up while doing this practice? Take a few
moments to write down your reflections.
I didn’t have any raisins, so I decided to go with almonds. I notice that the
solid but displayed a bumpy texture which was rough. I didn’t notice a smell,
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but I could hear the grittiness of it and the crackling of the skin which stayed
intact. During this time of inspection, my mouth started to water, and I started
to get hungry. My brain told me to eat it and while it didn’t have much of a
flavor, it did feel gritty. Between chewing it and my saliva moving it around, I
had to wash it down with water. During this time, I was thinking how it was
made, why made it so expensive, and if chewing it up made almond milk. The
memories that popped up was how much I enjoy eating food and was happy
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and
5
2
Unit
Assignment:
The study of the nervous system in relation to its functions, development and structures, is known as
neuroscience. It mostly involves the study of the brain as well as the effects it has on behavior and
cognitive functions. In most cases, the main focus not only relies on the normal functions of the nervous
system but also on the entire major disorders that take place in the nervous system (Georgetown
University Medical Center, 2019).
6
Journal
Unit Two Journal Writing Assignment
anxiety affecting your life? Directions are found in Chapter Two of the
Mindfulness workbook. Upon completion of this Assignment, you will take the
first step toward greater well-being and become aware of how stress is
Just trying to make people happy or being able to please people is stressful to
I just changed career fields in the Air Force, and I am still waiting for a slot so I
can go to school for it. As of right now, I take my work home so that I can learn
it on my own time as well. I am overwhelmed and feel like everyone has a high
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How is stress or anxiety about the world affecting your life?
I am not that stressed out about what is going on in the world, but I am always
watch the news as much as I should, but I do keep up with the breaking news.
How is stress or anxiety about food and eating habits affecting your life?
When I stress out, I tend to eat junk food which causes me to breakout. Then I
stress about breaking out and still eat bad. Some days, I eat junk food in bed
How is stress or anxiety about sleep and sleeplessness affecting your life?
I typically get 4-6 hours of sleep but with everything going on right now, my
thoughts keep me up and I still have to wake up early for the gym. For example,
I am thinking about sleep as I type up this paper. Stressing over the lack of
sleep is not a common thing for me but I know I don’t perform well if I am
exhausted.
How is stress or anxiety about exercise or lack of physical activity affecting your
life?
upset. I stress over that and then I gain weight which can cause me to be sad
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3
Unit
for a period of time. I have to keep up with being physically fit because of my
References
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and
9
Assignment:
From Tibetan culture, the cause of stress is the tension that exists between people's mind and the ego. The
source of this tension could be the demands that come with the expectations that people have in life
(Sharapan, 2016). As people strive to achieve results, the stress level increases, and this has a massive
impact on the state of mind. Furthermore, we learn from the Tibetan culture that people need to have
mindful awareness to bring the brain into its most plastic, growth-oriented state and support the
development of a more significant state of consciousness (Nair & Pandit, 2017). It is one of the best
approaches to help in dealing with stress.
Journal:
Unit Three Journal Writing Assignment
and Bringing the Eight Attitudes of Mindfulness into Your Life. Directions are
Assignment, you will begin to understand the importance of making them a part
of your daily life. See what changes occur in relationships with yourself and
Take some time to write about whatever you came up for you mentally,
emotionally, and physically when doing this practice for the first time.
seconds for me to focus on what I was doing. I felt like my mind was thinking
about a million things at once and it was hard for me to focus. The first time I
did this, I had to restart and try again because I could not focus on the objective
at hand. Once I was able to focus on my breathing and clear my thoughts, I felt
relaxed. Mentally it was a challenge for me since I randomly think about things
when it is awfully quiet. I was sitting on the floor with my legs crossed, palms
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rested on my knees facing upwards. I felt comfortable in this position and calm
Emotionally, I felt like I was calming my body down and my thoughts started to
slowly drift away. I honestly been feeling overwhelmed lately with moving to a
different state, learning a new job, and juggling three classes this term. During
this meditation, I did not think about anything that was going on around me.
Physically, I was focused on my breathing and feeling the rise and deflation of
my chest. After this meditation session, I told myself that I needed to practice
meditation more and actually put the effort and time into it. Practicing this a
few times throughout the week made my mood change, and I felt more focused.
I was able to prioritize my tasks and work on one thing at a time instead of
trying to tackle multiple issues at once. Now I tell people who are stressed out
References
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and
11
4
Unit
Assignment:
It makes one of the many different opinions people have on self-esteem, which is
known to play a significant role in stress promotion and resolution. Mruk defines
self-esteem based on two psychological processes; evaluation and affect (Mruk,
2013). The evaluation has an emphasis on the role of cognition on self-esteem,
while affecting focuses on the role of feelings. Self-esteem involves the attitude
that one holds towards a given object. Psychologically, it means the feeling-based
responses a person holds towards themselves, which can either be acceptance
versus rejection (Mruk, 2013).
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Journal:
Unit Four Journal Writing Assignment
in the Body. Directions are found in Chapter five of the Mindfulness workbook.
tune in to your body and discover any physical sensations associated with
worry, and feeling overwhelmed. When I think about these words, my heart
starts beating faster than normal. My hands start to get clammy and I feel the
blood draining from my face making it pale. All these words represent different
scenarios for me. When I think about apprehension, the fear being stagnant at
work comes to mind. For anxiety and nervousness, the fear of having to teach
others about a job that I am learning myself comes to mind. The fear of being a
want to do. I constantly feel worried and overwhelmed due to the fact that I put
so much on myself and being the oldest child in my family puts a lot of pressure
on me. My mom isn’t the best role model for me and my siblings, so it is
important that I set the standard. As I type this, I realize I am highlighting what
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CONFUSION: bewildered, uncertain, puzzled, mystified, perplexed, chaotic,
foggy, or unaware.
Uncertain, chaotic, and foggy are the words that I am familiar with.
Uncertain because I think about the next day and if I will be able to wake up
from my sleep. Chaotic because I have so much that I have to do within a day
that I don’t give enough attention to my social life. I do remind myself that I
need to take it day by day and that my friends will understand that my career
and school takes precedence over them for now. The little free time that I do
have, I make plans with them. Foggy because every day is a routine for me, and
I can barely keep up with dates and days. If I don’t have my meetings written
down or reminders, I will forget what needs to be done or who I need to have
meetings with. The emotion that I feel with these words in mind is antsy. I am
not for sure why I feel this way, but I want to say it is because I feel like I am
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Aggravation, agitation, envy, frustration, irritation, and grouchiness are
some words that I can relate to. Plenty of thoughts came to mind when I was
typing those words. Aggravation, agitation, and irritation are grouped together
for me. I feel that way when I have to deal with certain people, if something
doesn’t go as planned, and if I don’t have time to do the things I love to do, like
go to the gym. I deleted my social media due to the fact that I was envying other
people’s lives. I get frustrated sometimes but I easily just remind myself that I
can’t stress out on things that I can’t control. I get grouchy when I don’t make it
to the gym, or I don’t get enough sleep. I am averaging about four to five hours
of sleep on the weekdays which is good for now but there are days where I have
to talk myself into having a good day. I can feel myself getting mad just thinking
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Sadness! This word brings back memories that hurts my heart.
rejection. I have been let down by people who were close to me, so
disappointment isn’t new to me. Grief and hopelessness bring back the time
that I lost my son shortly after birth. That was traumatic for me and I lost
myself to the point where I didn’t want to do anything but lay in bed. I can feel a
wave of sadness come over me when I think about that time in my life, I am
actually tearing up right now. I have some insecurities that I need to overcome
and adds to me being unhappy with myself. In this world, being a relationship
and finding someone to love is super glorified. So, I think that plays into me not
wanting to die alone and rejection from someone is care for can cause me to be
upset.
mortification.
truth and integrity first, so I always admit to something being my fault if I have
done something wrong. I cannot live with a guilty conscious, it will eat me alive.
I have anxiety when it comes to guilt. When I think about embarrassment and
in front of my entire English class during the first day of my freshman year.
out.
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LOVE: affection, arousal, attraction, caring, compassion, desire, fondness,
All of these words I can relate to. When I read all of those words, I felt my
heart ache in a good way. I thought of a person who could make me feel that
way and it made me smile. The image that comes to mind is an old couple living
happily together experiencing the ups and downs of a marriage but not giving
up on each other.
satisfaction. I find amusement through little things that I see throughout the
day. For example, seeing other people smile, laugh, or just being happy brings
potential and my future. I think about the people in my life and how grateful I
References
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and
17
Use the APA
Format and
Style Guide
found in doc
sharing for pr
5
Unit
Journal:
Unit Five Journal Writing Assignment
Take some time to write about whatever came up for you mentally, emotionally
and physically when doing this practice for the first time.
18
For this journal writing assignment, I decided to practice STOP while I
was at work. I deal with a lot of people who want things done right away and
they do not realize how long it takes to accomplish a task or how there are
priorities before them. So, I tend to say things out of frustration towards my
computer and then take a deep breath. This week, I switched out the mumbling
with STOP.
I shut my office door so that I would not be interrupted during this time. I
sat down and closed my eyes, kept my feet flat on the floor and focused on my
breathing. My body was tensed, and I realized that I have not used the restroom
since I had been at work. I can feel like the weight of my daily tasks, the
demanding people, and life stressors were rolling off my back like melted
butter. I just felt at peace during that moment and forgot that I was at work for
a few seconds.
sisters up from practice after work and instead of telling me that they were
going to stay for an extra hour, I waited in the parking lot for 20 minutes. I had
a strict schedule that I was trying to stick to, and they were aware of that.
While I was in the parking lot, I turned off my music and put down my phone. I
took a deep breath multiple times because I was pretty livid. At this time, my
body was telling me that I was hungry, thirsty, and tired. Instead of wasting my
time waiting for my sisters, I decided to run errands. Although, I was not happy
about all the driving I did, I was able to take care of some errands that I wanted
19
6
Unit
the week
References
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and
20
Assignment:
Diaphragmatic breathing has been around for decades. “Diaphragmatic
breathing is as old as the ancient exercises of yoga and T’ai chi ch’uan, and it is
a fundamental component of these practice (Seward, 2017).” There are three
different steps to practicing this technique. The three steps are to assume a
comfortable position, concentrate, and visualize. This technique helps engage
the mind and the body. Diaphragmatic breathing can be practiced anywhere
and is commonly known as the most accessible technique to help relax.
Journal:
Unit Six Journal Writing Assignment
I tend to find myself talking out loud. When I mess up, I call myself an
idiot or if I know the answer to something but forget, I’ll call myself slow. When
they have seen me in person. Sometimes I give myself praise for doing
something good, or when I have an amazing workout. Other than that, I do not
Seeds of suffering?
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I am horrible at giving myself compliments. So, to turn that around, I’ve
myself that I need to stop being my worst critic and that I am way beyond
The person that was in my position before me, did not take care of his
in a position that had horrible rapport with other units. I could not understand if
it was because this person was lazy or if he didn’t have the proper training. I
was able to have a discussion with him to see why things were not getting
was lazy and that he did not care much for his job, I found out that he did not
get the proper training for that position. He was barely doing the minimum just
to get by and did not have time to get things in order before my arrival.
Reflection on writing?
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Message to myself: Please understand that you are beautiful inside and
out, you are one of a kind and capable of conquering any goal you put your
mind to. Do not surround yourself with the lies of social media because people
only portray the good times and not the bad. You are your only competition, and
nobody can compare to you. Not that many people can say they have traveled to
multiple countries, accomplished two degrees, and started a career. You are
always actively pursuing to become a better person and to be a great role model
for your sisters so start thinking positively about yourself because you are an
amazing woman.
References
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and
23
7
Unit
Journal:
Unit Seven Journal Writing Assignment
Choose from either formal practice: Sitting Meditation or Mindful Lying Yoga.
completion of either practice, describe your formal practice and take a moment
For this practice, I went with the Lying Yoga. I put my yoga mat down,
turned off the lights so that my Himalayan salt light will illuminate the room. I
also have my aromatherapy going on which has a few drops of eucalyptus in it. I
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didn’t go through and do all of the postures but instead opted of the corpse
pose.
thinking about how long of a day I had. I typically start my day at 4AM by
getting ready for the gym. I have to be at work by 730AM and I get off at
430PM, eat dinner and take a shower by 730PM, and then spend 3 to 4 hours on
was mentally and physically tired by the time I started this meditation around
8PM.
This time, it wasn’t hard for me to shut off my thoughts. I just focused on
my breathing and had a vision of this beach in Thailand. Every time I took a
breath, it resembled a wave gently touching the sand. It never fails, that my
body feels like it is releasing energy through my palms. I get a weird tingly
toes tend to twitch a little and I feel like dead weight. When I come out of
meditating, my body feels at ease and I use to get tired, but I feel like I am more
aware of my senses. I also realized, I have stress, but I am not stressed out and
that I have a lot on my plate, but I am not overwhelmed. In the beginning of this
class, I use to tell people that I am stressed out and overwhelmed with
everything that is going on in my life but at this moment, I feel calm and
content.
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8
Unit
References
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and
26
Assignment:
Proposal for Health and Wellness Management. The purpose of this program is
to enhance the health and wellness within the Force Support Squadron. This
program would help reduce the stress within the work center and help boost
the morale. Overall providing a healthy environment for their employees.
Journal:
Unit Eight Journal Writing Assignment
OPENNESS:
We do not have a very close relationship, but I care about here tremendously. I
am open to see how she comes up with certain decisions and what her
reasoning was behind the decisions she made. I often question what she does
and how she operates. It has been difficult to accept her how she is because I
EMPATHY:
It is not hard for me to show empathy towards my mother. Anything she feels, I
feel. I try to relate to her on an emotional level and see where she comes from.
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When she feels a certain way, I try to justify why she feels that way. When she
cries, I cry. I actually cry watching shows because I can relate to certain
COMPASSION:
I can relate to any situation and feel compassion for someone. I try to cheer
people up when I can or see what I can do to help their situation. My mom was
born and raised in Laos and she often speaks about her life there. I try to
imagine what my life would be like if she stayed in Laos and never came to
America.
LOVING-KINDNESS:
I always tell my mom to spread happiness and joy. I pray for people who need
prayers and I pray for people who are succeeding as well. We both believe in
SYMPATHETIC JOY:
I can remember the time when my mom was super sick and in the hospital the
week before Christmas. She was upset that she would have to spend Christmas
in the hospital. Well, she was able to get out on Christmas Eve and she was
super happy. In that moment, she forgot that she had all these health conditions
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EQUANIMITY:
I teach everyone equally until they give me a reason not to. I do get irritated
ask myself questions that can calm me down or I will vent to someone. My mom
would vent to me if something made her mad or upset. When I do get mad at my
mom, it doesn’t last long, and I always apologize. I also will tell her if she was
SUMMARY:
This task was difficult for me to accomplish because I didn’t really understand
what needed to be done. I am not for sure if I did this correctly, but it was hard
for me to associate these words with the relationship bond I have with my
mother or with anyone I care about. Overall, those words did bring back certain
References
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and
29
9
Unit
30
Additional Information
A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).
Chapter 7: Meditation for Anxiety, Depression, and Insomnia
31
References
American Psychological Association. (2017). Stress effects on the body. Retrieved February 3, 2020,
from https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-body
Georgetown University Medical Center. (2019). What is Neuroscience. Retrieved February 3, 2020,
from https://neuro.georgetown.edu/about-neuroscience/
Mental Health Foundation. (n.d.). How to overcome fear and anxiety. Retrieved from
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/overcome-fear-anxiety
Morey, J. N., Boggero, I. A. & Segerstrom, C. S. (2015). Current Directions in Stress and Human
Immune Function. Current Directions in Stress and Human Immune Function, 5, 13-17.
Mruk, C. J. (2013). Self-esteem and positive psychology: Research, theory, and practice. Springer
Publishing Company.
Nair, P., & Pandit, M. (2017). Depression among Children of Tibetans in Exile: A Socio-Cultural
Seaward, B. (2017). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (8th ed.).
Stahl, B. & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New
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