Psychology 12: Unit 4 - Chapter 15

Stress Diary Project

Stress and Coping Diary

Miyuki Yamaguchi Espada

Date & Description of Event Stress Reaction Analysis Coping Method

Time What was happening, or what Describe what you were doing, thinking, and feeling Identify the specific method(s) you
was the situation? emotionally and physically used and describe them
June 2, I calculated my potential end Behavioural Frantic clumsy movements, slight shaking Method:
2020 of year grade for Biology 12 (these are typical stress reactions I have)
(best case scenario, but it is - Did not force myself to eat
Around completely unrealistic since - Took a moment and took a step
10:45pm it involves getting 100% on back
all my assignments and - Made a plan that was attainable and
quizzes) and fell into an brought fulfillment
almost hysterical panic. - Took breaks (dinner, shower, etc.)
in between working
- Evaluated my state and adjusted
based on that
- Took it slow and eased into work
- Watched videos
- Listened to music (big part of most
of my coping mechanisms)
- Somewhat decent sleep

Adapted from Aldcroft

 Cognitive Not being able to focus on one single thing
(mind jumping from one topic to the next),
constant stress
Emotional Panic, feeling of no control (anxiety), dread,
fear, disappointment, carelessness, just a
flipping of emotions from one of the
spectrum to the other, flustered
Physiological Nausea, slight headache, adrenaline rush, no
appetite, fidgety (leg bouncing, kept moving
fingers, etc.)
Adapted from Aldcroft
Description:
After realizing food was not an
option, I skipped dinner and instead
finished a poster for Biology and
made a plan for the rest of the night
that was attainable, but checked off as
many things off my list as possible.
Upon finishing my poster, I felt
steady and had dinner by myself in a
quiet dimly lit dining room. This
helped prevent over stimulating my
already delicate state, and calmed me
down greatly.
I then printed out my next worksheets
and took a shower. I got out feeling
refreshed and finished two cut-and-
paste worksheets while watching
Youtube videos (a heartwarming
compilation of older videos from
Youtubers I’ve enjoyed for around 9
years) and listened to some music I
love.
At the end I went to bed at around
2am (which is pretty early for me)
feeling quite accomplished, less
stressed and generally better than
before. I played some games on my
phone before falling asleep.
June 3, I was trying to study for Behavioural Fast heart palpitations, slight shaking Method:
2020 multiple Biology quizzes,
and became stressed to the Took a short break.
Around point of being unproductive.
9:30pm - Listened to music
- Played a video game for a few
minutes
- Rebuilt my quiz taking plan so that
it was more doable
Cognitive Mind was empty, spacing out, no focus Description:

By taking a break I was able to

Emotional Random waves of panic, blank state of mind,
remove myself from the stressful
distress
situation to give myself some time to
relax.
Physiological The brink of a panic attack
Listening to music and playing a
video game further aided this by
helping my loosen up and breathe.

After I was more stable, I was able to

go back to my desk and make a new
game plan, one that wasn’t impossible
and one with smaller goals so that the
chances of me panicking decrease.

June 9, Was hit with the stress of Behavioural Frantic clumsy movements, faster more Method:
2020 having too much school work “cluttered” speech
to finish in too little time if I - Time alone
Around wanted to get the best grades - Played a new instrument/sang
4:30pm possible. - Walked through my plan to remind
myself what was required each day

Adapted from Aldcroft


June 15, Realizing that this was the
2020 last week to finish my three
biology quizzes that are left,
Around my remaining psychology
9:30am projects, my MAP/Capstone
as well as study for an exam
on Friday.
I was quite distraught
because I had worked hard
for the past month to catch
Adapted from Aldcroft
Cognitive Mind was racing, jumping from one thought Description:
to another, no focus, attention span was non-
existent By spending time completely alone at
home (which is quite rare nowadays
seeing as we’re all stuck at home
Emotional Panic, confusion, stress, overwhelmed,
together (family)) and was very
anxious, defeated
therapeutic.
Physiological Music is a passion and something that
takes my mind off of stressful events
so by focusing my energy on
something I loved and got joy out of I
was able to calm down.
Once calmed, I went back to my desk
and reminded myself of the attainable
goals I had set for myself for each
day, so that I knew what was
happening, and that it would work.
Behavioural Fatigue, drowsiness, hints of nausea Method:
- Ease myself out of bed
- Get dressed
- Eat breakfast
- Go to school
Cognitive Mind was panicking but silent, so full yet so Description:
empty at the same time, extreme distress
Rather than forcing myself to wake
up (which never goes well and
 because I had worked hard
for the past month to catch
up but to no avail.
up (which never goes well and
Emotional Stressed, pessimistic, an “I give up” attitude,
sometimes backfires) I gave myself
anxious, a bit of an emotional low
time to leave my bed and was very
careful.
Physiological
Afterwards I got dressed, an action
that subconsciously told myself to
prepare for the day and so I packed
my backpack and planned to head to
school.

I went downstairs and ate a small

breakfast which helped me feel more
awake and content.

I got to school before noon and

worked alongside my close friend,
which relaxed me and put me in an

As an avid over thinker, and anxiety magnet, I experience much stress in my life even in situations where normally there wouldn’t be any
stress. Luckily, overtime I was able to begin to see some patterns in what caused this, and have a long list of stressors that I know for sure will
bring me great distress.

One of my main stressors, as seen in the charts above, is school work. Academics have always been an extremely important part of my life,
despite not being great at them, and this constant want to strive for nothing short of perfect in my standards has always brought me stress,
especially during time crunches. What’s worse though this time around, is that we are currently in the middle of a pandemic that has taken life
as we know it and turned it on its head and set it on fire. This leads me to another one of my greatest stressors, uncertainty and loss of
structure, both of which have been nothing but constantly painful inflamed sores since COVID-19 started. Other than COVID-19, things such
as leaving high school, growing up, buying things off the Internet, etc. bring me great stress because the outcome is unknown.

My pattern in stressors is anything that brings, or can bring, uncertainty, loss of structure, or failure.

Adapted from Aldcroft

 My coping patterns for how I deal with stress has gotten better throughout the years as I picked up new coping strategies, accepted that I was
in denial of my stressors and learned how to take a step back. Recently, a secondary appraisal I use is taking breaks when I am too
overwhelmed. I realized that by continuing to force myself to stay in that unproductive overstressed state would not get me anywhere, and
that taking a moment to refresh and reevaluate is far more productive in the long run. During these short breaks, I do activities that take my
mind of the stressor such as anything music related, gaming, talking with friends or grabbing a warm drink to relax with. I have also tried
meditation and progressive relaxation, but both do not quite work for me. Instead (although it’s a little strange), I often just lie down flat on
my floor and listen to music quietly, which is a little bit of both coping strategies.

After monitoring my stress for four days, I have not learned anything new, but rather see how prevalent my stress reactions are, despite having
believed I had gotten better at managing stress. Through this chart, I hope to keep reminding myself of the importance of pacing and taking
breaks in-between work loads.

Adapted from Aldcroft