HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and

Prevention

Stress Management and

Prevention Program
Resource Guide

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Stress Management and Prevention
Program Resource Guide

By

Nathalia Fiorete

HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

11 February, 2020
 Table of Contents
UNIT 1 THE NATU RE OF STRESS

Information to Remember.......................................................................................................4
Assignment.............................................................................................................................4
Journal.....................................................................................................................................4

UNIT 2 THE PHYSI OL O GY OF STRESS

Information to Remember.......................................................................................................6
Assignment.............................................................................................................................6
Journal.....................................................................................................................................6

UNIT 3 PSYCHOL OGY OF STRESS

Information to Remember.......................................................................................................8
Assignment.............................................................................................................................8
Journal.....................................................................................................................................8

UNIT 4 PERSONAL I TY TRAITS AND THE HUM AN SPIRIT UAL IT Y

Information to Remember.....................................................................................................10
Assignment...........................................................................................................................10
Journal...................................................................................................................................10

UNIT 5 DEAL ING WITH STRESS: COPING STRATEGIE S

Information to Remember.....................................................................................................13
Journal...................................................................................................................................13

UNIT 6 REL AXATIO N TECHI QUE S 1 : BREATH IN G, M EDITATIO N, AND MENTAL

IM AGERY

Information to Remember.....................................................................................................15
Assignment...........................................................................................................................15
Journal...................................................................................................................................15

UNIT 7 NUTRITI ON AND STRESS

Information to Remember.....................................................................................................17
Journal...................................................................................................................................17
UNIT 8 PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND ACTIVITY

Information to Remember.....................................................................................................19
Assignment...........................................................................................................................19
Journal...................................................................................................................................19

UNIT 9 APPL YING STRESS: CRITICAL ISSUES F OR M ANAGEM EN T AND

PREVEN TIO N TO YOUR PROF ESSIO NAL L IF E

Information to Remember.....................................................................................................21

ADDITI ON AL INF ORM AT IO N 22

REF EREN CES 23

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Unit

Unit 1: The Nature of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Stress can be broken down into physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Even if
one component is mainly affected, the others will be impacted as well. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Acute stress is stress that is intense in nature but short in duration. (Seaward, 2015)
At the moment you may feel like your world is being turned upside down, your stomach aches, your
hands might shake, but it all goes away. I feel acute stress for every single test, no matter how hard I
try to relax, test anxiety kicks in.
Key Learning Point: General Adaptation syndrome is what the body experiences due to chronic stress;
alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. GAS reminds me of the ground attack I experienced, the entire
hospital was extremely exhausted afterwards due to the long period of stress we all experienced.
(Seaward, 2015).

Assignment:
During this assignment I created a mandala to demonstrate the components of physical, mental, emotional
and spiritual wellbeing. In my personal opinion physical wellbeing is the most important part because if
you are healthy and active physically, then your self-esteem increases which benefits your mental and
emotional wellbeing. Mental and emotional wellbeing come next as they are equal in importance in my
opinion, if you aren’t controlling your stressors on either one then you can become very depressed and
affects your entire immune system. Spiritual is always a hard one to define as most people think of it as a
religion or a higher power. It is very important but it can have its stressors and you can still be able to live
a healthy life balancing yourself on the other three pillars. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal:
I decided to do this exercise with skittles simply because I do not like raisins and do not have
any. The first sense I will describe is sight. I have 4 skittles. They are all different colors surprisingly.
Red, green, purple, and yellow. They all have a white S on it, but it is fading. You can barely see the S
on the yellow, unless you look very closely. The purple one is missing some of the color so it is
having white specks all over it.
They are all very round, but they do have a few dents. All are very smooth and do not feel

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bumpy at all. They are all hard, if I would have never known or had skittles before I would think they
are hard candy based on the outside shell.
After smelling each different color, none of them really have a smell. I would say the Red one
I could, maybe just a little. It just smells sweet but no unique or major smell.
The skittles are rolling around in my hand and they make a very subtle and quiet clink every
time one touches another. They are kind of hard to squeeze. It takes a little effort, but it sounds like
little crackling. The outer shell cracking maybe? Once it is squeezed it feels so much softer. It is
harder to roll it now that it is rough and cracked and much flatter than before.
After squeezing it, it has lines running through it. The center is where they all start and they go
out towards the outside. You can see the inside of the candy now. The inside looks white with a small
tint of the outside of the candy. It might just be my eyes playing tricks on me. They smell a lot
sweeter now, all colors. The yellow one smells like lemons. The rest of the colors do not smell
distinctly like their flavor.
After picking the skittle up and placing it in my mouth I realize my arm already knows where
to go. I placed the red one in my mouth. It is sweet. It feels rough on my tongue now that it is
squished. Without thinking about it I want to attach it to the rough of my mouth since it is flat. I can
hear it making noise as it hits my front teeth when I turn it with my tongue. As it sits in my mouth
longer it is no longer rough, but a little grainy. The cracks are no longer there, it is much smoother
than before. It is soft now and much flatter. Seems a lot smaller than when I first put it in my mouth.
As I begin to chew, I realize it automatically goes to the right side of the mouth. That makes
sense as I am right sided dominant. The candy gets stuck in my teeth a little as it is very soft and small
now since I had it in my mouth for a while. I chew on the right back side of my mouth. My mouth is
salivating as I chew on this candy.
As I swallow the candy, I realize my tongue pushing the candy to the back of my mouth. I can
feel the muscle push the candy down my esophagus. I cannot really feel the candy go down my throat
as I feel it is so small.
Nothing was too surprising. It was interesting paying attention to what my tongue and mouth
does as there is something in my mind. Simple things that is just involuntary motion and I do not pay
attention to. Maybe a little weird that the yellow skittle was the only one I really felt had a smell to.
As I was eating a few thoughts entered my mind. I kept trying to find different ways to
analyze the candy and maybe find something that I never really noticed on it before. As I was
swallowing, I thought about how some of my patients get barium swallows done and they track the
barium going down their esophagus and how some patients will have hiatal hernias, which makes it
get stuck in their esophageal junction. Overall it was an interesting and very calm realization exercise.
(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).

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Unit

Unit 2: The Physiology of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Prolonged stress can have physiological effected on memory. When overwhelmed
with stress for a long time it can be difficult to remember details of something as our stress takes over
our perception of an event. People remember something one way when its reality that wasn’t the
case, but your stress controlled your demeanor. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Mindfulness can benefit many aspects of one’s life. It helps allow you to handle the
situation instead of letting the stress build up internally. It also benefits the human body as reducing
chances of getting chronic illnesses, improves sleep, better moods. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Elevate the stress will elevate the headaches and migraine. The Borysenko model
which is part of the stress and disease model explains that there is a physiological response for your
nervous system to realize stress hormones. (Seaward, 2015).

Assignment:
Stress can have a major impact on the body and can affect the nervous system. Neuroscience is the study of
the nervous system and have a deepened understanding of the brains psychological and chemistry
balance. In the event of perceived stress, organs that are innervated by neural tissue or acted upon by the
excessive secretion of stress hormones increase their metabolic rates. (Seaward, 2018) If you do not find
a way to cope with the stress than the illnesses begin to appear. Some examples of diseases are Irritable
bowel syndrome (IBS), tension headaches, tempomandibular joint dysfunction, and coronary heart
disease are just a few. It is very important to find ways to cope with your stress before it gets to this
extreme. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal
How is stress or anxiety about people affecting your life?
I am blessed to be able to have great friends and family supporting me all the time. The time
that stress or anxiety about people affect my life is when I think too much about what others think of
me. It affects my day to day interactions as I always try to say the right thing to new people. I care
about others feelings and emotions. I try to always please everyone and try to always feel and make
myself look put together. I stress about my close friends and family not being happy. It affects my day
to day life at times because I don’t want to take a huge leap forward and fail.

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How is stress or anxiety about work affecting your life?
I have learned a lot about work stress over the past year. I was the type that didn’t think the
department could operate properly if I wasn’t there. That something was going to fall apart and I had
to be there to pick it back up before I get blamed. I learned over the past few months that the job will
go on with or without me. Work no longer stresses me out unless my computed tomography scanner
goes down. I work at a trauma hospital; without this machine the hospital cannot run efficiently. I
bring that stress home sometimes because it is always on my mind when it is broken. It affects my
sleep schedule and sometimes my appetite.
How is stress or anxiety about the world affecting your life?
I do not have much stress or anxiety about the world. I do not watch the news very often and I
believe everyone is entitled to their own opinions so I do not argue about politics. Luckily, my
husband and I have mutual agreements on the big opiniated topics like religion, abortion laws,
politics, etc. So, I do not get involved or bothered by things happening around the world.
How is stress or anxiety about food and eating habits affecting your life?
Majority of people struggle with eating habits and food as they feel they need to lose weight. I
am always the opposite; I struggle gaining weight. I get called so skinny, skin and bones all too often.
I stress about gaining weight. About trying to eat enough to gain weight and weigh more. I have
anxiety about being too skinny or too fat. This affects my life by eating poorly at times and claiming
I’m trying to gain weight as the excuse.
How is stress or anxiety about sleep and sleeplessness affecting your life?
I always try to get sufficient amount of sleep. Being deployed and working at a trauma
hospital means every time a trauma comes in; I have to go into work. I might have left at midnight
and be back by 2 am. When I do not get enough sleep, I become very stressed out. It affects my every
move. I am easily annoyed and tempered. I do not feel nor look good. I cannot always concentrate
very well.
How is stress or anxiety about exercise or lack of physical activity affecting your life?
I am quite active as I work out at least 4 times a week with the goal of 5 times. I become
stressed when I feel like I do not have time for exercise, especially when I feel like I have so many
things to do in a day. I feel like I am sometimes stressed out about exercise when I do not see results
right away. It affects my self-esteem as I always look in the mirror or weigh myself in hopes that I
gained a few pounds.
Summary
I have really worked on managing my stress and anxiety over the years. There are so many
reasons to be stressed out as something doesn’t go as planned or trying to follow societies definition
of successful or beautiful. I have learned that if it is out of my control there is no real reason to stress,
because there is simply nothing you can do, but be patient. It is still a work in progress, but there is no
reason to lose sleep, self-confidence, or lose yourself over stress. It is unhealthy and can make you
sick in many different ways. (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).

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Unit

Unit 3: Psychology of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Abraham Maslow is a great theorist who studied motivating people starting the
theory of motivation. Consisting of 6 levels to try and reach self-actualization, in which you are
completely aware of your purpose in life and in love with yourself and the life around you in which
you just want to give back (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: There are many different ways to cope with anger, but most importantly you have to
find what works for you as it is not healthy to hold anger inside for a long period of time. The ways
that work for me are discussing why I am anger with the person who provoked it, allowing myself to
feel angry but not letting it stay for too long, and being open to the other person and trying to
understand. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Technology is the number one way to compromise good communication skills in
both personal and professional settings. Try to be very clear and grammar error free when writing
emails and text messages as it can easily be interpreted differently then what you intended. If able to
try to speak face to face or at leave over the phone. (Seaward, 2015).

Assignment:
The Tibetan culture believed Tibetan medicine is an ancient and detailed system that aims to unite the mind,
body, and inner spirit of an ill person and restore a dynamic balance. It works to create patterns of health
by helping people change their mental and behavioral attitudes, even if the problem is a physical injury
such as a broken leg. (Hansard, 2002) It is always about accepting yourself and cleaning your mind. Our
attitude and perspectives have a great impact on how you may feel or respond to a situation. They
believed in being positive and how that decreases stress levels. When you come across a situation that
frightens your or upsets you, it’s important to find a way to cope with that fear and then handle the
situation in a positive manner. When handling fear or emotions, you cannot let that get in your way but
instead use proper communication skills so it can be clear to others as well. (Seaward, 2015).

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Unit

Journal:
Mentally during this exercise, I felt at peace. I enjoyed the quiet and aloneness I felt. I am in a
deployed location that just recently got attacked. Everyone has been on their toes and being in a quiet
alone space felt scary at first. But this felt different. Focusing on my breathing alone and not getting
distracted by the hallway noise. I felt grateful for being alive and safe. For being able to be doing this
great mission with people that I truly enjoy being around. This exercise brought my mind back to
reality and not the future. Not trying to be 2 steps ahead and simply focus on what is going on right
now.
I always have a hard time knowing the difference between emotional feelings and mental
feelings. A few emotional thoughts crossed my mind. Like how often I been laughing and feeling
generally happy. I have been pushing myself and not letting myself get complacent. Been striving to
stay positive and enjoy my time even though I am away from friends and family during the holiday.
Physically during this 5-minute mindful breathing I could feel my heart pumping. I felt
relaxed and pain free. Usually during meditation my body likes to focus on a painful back or sore legs
but I did this sitting up straight which was comfortable. Sitting up straight defiantly gave me that
sense of wakefulness and made it easier to breath. I kept my hands on my lap and I had a hard time
not playing with my fingers or my ring. I made sure to stop and focus back on my breathing.
People think that there isn’t enough time for mediation. That there are too many other things
to do. I can see myself taking 5 minutes and doing this again especially first thing in the morning and
right before bed. Decompressing how my day is or how I in vision my day to go. Thinking positively
while relaxing my body and focusing on my breathing. I truly enjoyed this exercise. (Stahl &
Goldstein, 2010).

Unit 4: Personality Traits and the Human

Spirituality
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Type A personality is a stress resistant personality who multitasks, is time
consciousness, works a lot, and can be hostile. The military breeds these personality as we are always
trying to do more with less. I can relate to all the characteristics except for hostile. (Seaward, 2015).

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 Key Learning Point: Self-esteem greatly effects how you may react during stressful situations. If you feel
strong and competent then you will handle the situation better. Raising your self-esteem so you foster
self-efficacy will help reduce some of the stress that you put on yourself. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: The three steps of mindfulness to relieve pain are investigate the pain and tension in
your body, work with emotions in physical pain, and dealing with the chronic pain by living in the
present. Mindfulness is a great way to help alleviate the physical pain you are creating on yourself
due to stress or anxiety. (Seaward, 2015).

Assignment:
The stages of Prochaska’s change model can be used during any life changes a person may experience. It can
be used for excise, smoking, reading more, school, or job hunting. The first phase consists of
precontemplation, this is when someone doesn’t realize they need to make a change or want to make a
change. Contemplation comes next, this is when someone starts thinking about making a change, they
may start thinking about exercising but they have no set goal or date in mind. The third step is preparation
or determination, which involves them actually getting a date in mind or going and getting the
membership or workout clothes but still have not started. Action is when they actually start making the
change, they start working out and making that change. If it continues for 6 months or more, they are now
in the maintenance stage. Lastly, termination is when it is no longer a change but a lifestyle, they don’t
have to work for it anymore it is part of their routine. A person can relapse at any given time but if they
can skip a few stages and go straight to action. (Seaward, 2015).

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Journal:
FEAR: apprehension, anxiety, distress, edginess, jumpiness, nervousness, panic, tenseness,
uneasiness, worry, fright, feeling overwhelmed.
The first thing that came to my mind when I read the word FEAR was last week when my
base got attacked by the Taliban and there was a ground attack. I felt anxious in my chest, I became
hot all over and began hyperventilating while I pictured the war going on and the causalities. I feel
edginess and tense in my mind as I over think about it occurring again. My body jumps at little things
and I constantly pay attention to my surrounding and picture the nearest shelters to run to if anything
occurs. It all starts in my mind as I overthink the smallest things and it travels to my chest at times as I
become to feel anxious and worry.
CONFUSION: bewildered, uncertain, puzzled, mystified, perplexed, chaotic, foggy, or unaware.
When I feel uncertain, I feel it mentally. I become unsure of what to do or how to feel. I start
to become anxious at times and if it gets bad it can upset my stomach or feel like I have weight on my
chest. No major images or thoughts come to my mind except for my planner. I am such a huge
planner that I hate to be uncertain of anything. When I feel chaotic is usually affect my entire body. I
picture a messy room or area. I picture people everywhere not knowing what their role is and what
they are supposed to be doing. Just a huge mess! It affects my mind and everything. I tend to try and
pick up all the pieces and they all manifest due to me being a planner and a neat freak!
ANGER: aggravation, agitation, annoyance, destructiveness, disgust, envy, frustration, irritation,
grouchiness, grumpiness, rage.
I get aggravated and annoyed very easily when I cannot get something done correctly. My
hands become less steady and my heart races more. I become a lot clumsier when I am annoyed. I feel
annoyed and aggravated throughout my whole body starting at my hands and it works into my chest
and my head. When I am mad, I usually end up getting a headache. Images do not really come to
mind, the thoughts that come to mind is be less angry. It usually is not worth it. When it comes to
grumpiness it is usually because I did not get enough sleep or I am hungry. I usually feel really fatigue
in my body sort of like I’m dehydrated. They usually start as soon as I wake up and have a very poor
attitude about how the day is going to go. The thoughts that come to my mind is that I use to have a
lot of grumpy days but have lowered those numbers a lot within the past year.
SADNESS: alienation, anguish, despair, disappointment, gloom, grief, hopelessness, insecurity,
loneliness, misery, unhappiness, rejection.
When I hear the work disappointment the first thought that comes to my mind is disappointing
others. I usually feel it in my heart as it feels heavy if I feel I might have disappointed my parents or
husband. It manifests from me feeling I could have done better. A specific image that comes to me is
seeing both my parents just upset. Loneliness is a feeling I hate to have. It affects my mind and my
entire body as I usually lose appetite if I feel lonely. A specific image or thought that comes to mind
is being so far away from my husband and going through a rough day and not having him to be able
to come home to. I feel lonely and just picture being with him again soon.
SHAME: guilt, embarrassment, humiliation, invalidation, regret, remorse, mortification.
Shame is not an emotion I believe I experience often. I sometimes experience embarrassment
as a may say the wrong thing or am embarrassed of my mistake especially with English being my
second language, I mispronounce words often. I often feel it in my gut. I become flush in the face and
I sometimes feel my stomach up in my chest. My hands may become sweaty. I specific picture I can
see after hearing the word embarrassment is when I have to do public speaking and I always try to not
include big vocabulary words so that I do not mis pronounce it.

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Unit

LOVE: affection, arousal, attraction, caring, compassion, desire, fondness, infatuation, kindness,
liking, longing, warmth, sympathy, sentimentality.
Caring, compassion and sentimentality all bring me about the same feelings. It all has to start
with my heart and sometimes I get the butterflies all over depending on the situation. When I am
caring or feel compassionate, I feel all warm inside when making someone else happy. It manifests
with truly caring for someone and wanting to help them in any way possible, romantically or friendly.
What I picture is the way my team here during this deployment are towards each other. We are all so
compassionate and caring for each other’s feelings and it makes me want to help them since they are
so willing to help others. It truly rubs off on you.
JOY: amusement, bliss, contentment, eagerness, elation, enjoyment, enthusiasm, excitement,
exhilaration, hope, optimism, pleasure, satisfaction.
Optimism means something more to me than it might have last year since I have been truly
trying so hard for the past year to be more optimistic and have a better attitude towards things. It takes
a lot to feel optimistic sometimes but it slowly comes naturally and starts with my mind and attitude.
My body feels better and more energized since I have been more optimistic. The picture that comes to
mine is a sun flower or the color yellow. Not too sure why, but it helps express positivity in my
opinion. Enjoyment and excitement make my heart beat faster and makes my face glow as I am
happy. The thought that comes to mind is recently the way I felt when I received my orders to be
reunited with my husband again. I was glowing and could not stop smiling from the enjoyment of
everything working out.
Overall majority of these emotions for me start in my mind and have some type of effect on
my body. Sometimes good affects as I may feel more energized or healthy and others, I may feel more
anxious and have negative reactions from it. In my personal opinion an emotion always starts with
your attitude and mentality towards the situation. (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).

Unit 5: Dealing with Stress: Coping Strategies

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: The RAIN concept consists of recognizing what is happening, allow life to be just as
it is, investigate inner experience, and non-identification. (Obrien, 2018) It can be incorporated for
many different reasons during meditation and yoga for example.
Key Learning Point: Different attitudes affect psychology differently. It is very common that someone
else’s attitude can rub off on you. Someone who is always negative at work and can never be happy
unfortunately rubs off on other coworkers. (Seaward, 2015).

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 Key Learning Point: Prochaska’s model of change includes precontemplation, contemplation,
determination, action and relapse. This model of change can include dieting, smoking, exercising,
and any other life change that someone may experience. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal:
I believe physically is the easiest thing to write about as I walk for about 10 minutes down the
hall. I feel the cold floor on my feet as I walk with socks on. My heel touches then my toes until the
opposite foot touches the cold floor. I feel the very hard floor touch my feet with every step wish I put
on some sandals before beginning the exercise. As I turn around my feet pivot making a very smooth
turn since my socks are kind of slippery on the hard floor. I take my focus off my steps for a split
second to notice my back and shoulders are kind of sore. Sore from wearing a vest and helmet all day.
I notice my knee bend and have muscle memory as it knows exactly what to do and how much it
needs to lift and bend with every step. My legs know what to do without me having to physically try.
My legs are sore and as I try and focus on my steps and contracting every move and really focusing
on how my body reacts to each step, I notice my hamstrings are sore as well. I try and ignore it and
focus on my feet which do not hurt at all.
I was not trying to focus on anything other than my steps mentally. I realized how my body
just knows what to do and wonder at what age did I truly just gain the muscle memory for me to be
able to not have to think about it when I walk. That it is such a blessing that I can do this without
having to strain a muscle or break a sweat. I started to think about where I am. How I am in a war
zone and I see patients daily that come in and are paralyzed and do not have this ability anymore.
With a blink of an eye the blessing of being able to walk down the hallway can come to an end. I did
not let that stay on my mind for long before I focused on my walking again. I had to tell myself a few
times to slow down because I am always walking so fast. I do that for two different reasons. The first
reason is, I am short. I always have to walk faster because if I am walking next to someone 1 of their
steps sometimes are 2 of mind. Many people tell me I always walk with such a sense of urgency. The
second reason is the military. I have to always be doing something and getting something done within
the short amount of time they gave me to accomplish the task. I began to think about times that I was
told I walk too fast and need to slow down. Especially with my family, my parents always tell me I
am walking too fast and they can never keep up with me anymore. Those were all the things that came
up in my mind as I was walking down the hallway.
After walking for 10 minutes and focusing on my every movement emotionally it took a little
while to feel something. I had many different thoughts come to my mind but nothing that hit me
emotionally. Until probably 5 minutes of me walking I started to connect with my emotions more and
just feel so blessed and grateful to be where I am today. Be able to walk and be able to have the time
to do this. I started to remember where I was and I started to feel a little sad. I felt home sick having
still 3 more months to be away from family especially since I am a newlywed. I am ready to start the
next chapter in my life and be with my husband and continue to explore the world while learning and
growing together. I tried to get those emotions out of my head as I do not like to feel sad or upset out
here. So, I started to feel thankful for the group of friends I have out here. My coworkers who are so
friendly and who everyone gets along with so well. It makes you really value everything around you.
It was just small and random things that enter your mind and you feel emotionally when you have free
time to think and just walk. I think emotionally was what I struggled with the most as I really try to
avoid emotions but during this exercise the best emotion, I felt was grateful and blessed.

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Unit

This exercise was very interesting as I never really focus on how I walk. It is funny just how
many thoughts come through your mind when you are just wandering and trying to focus on just the
few motions it takes to take a step. Physically I most thought and felt the cold floor and really focused
on the movement of my body as I took a step. Mentally, I thought about a lot of different things but
mostly how crazy your body just knows how to do these motions without having to work and how
quickly that can be taken away from you. It can be taken away due to an accident, injury, and even
medical reasons. Emotionally, I struggled a little but I just felt so blessed to be where I am and to have
that free time to just relax and focus. I enjoyed the activity. (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).

Unit 6: Relaxation Techniques 1: Breathing,

Meditation, and Mental Imagery
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Visualization and imagery is an excellent way to reduce stress. The beach is a
relaxing and calming place to imagine while listening to the sound of waves crashing. Bringing you
to a state of relaxation and reducing your stress levels. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Learn to treat yourself the way you would treat your friends. We are our toughest
judge as we always seem to see the flaws in ourselves instead of the beauty. Learn to practice self-
love. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Meditation works magic on both the mind and body. When stressed out the body
creates lots of toxins and chemicals that can cause sleep deprovision and inflammations in joints from
the tension. Meditation has been proven to help the body release some of those issues caused by
stress. Simply taking a few minutes to let your mind relax and breath. (Seaward, 2015).

Assignment:
Meditation is a great tool to help relax the body and mind while it reduces stress levels. Diaphragmatic
breathing focuses on controlled deep breaths. Breathing from the stomach instead of the chest area is it is
proven to help reduce heart rates and put the body in a relaxed phase. When practicing diaphragmatic
breathing it is important to be in a comfortable position, concentrate, and visualize. You can picture the
air you are breathing enter and leave your body, or a vacation in which you are just relaxing. Maybe even
listening to calming music or sounds. (Seaward, 2015).

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Journal:
Mindful of how you interact with yourself?
I would like to believe that I do not talk negatively about myself as I would never do that to
others. It is sad that it is so common to be harsher on yourself then you would ever even think to say
to someone else or maybe even out loud. I often times say I am dumb and so and so is smarter. I feel
like my English is very poor as I do not have a big vocabulary and do not know a lot of words that are
sometimes said to describe something. English is not my first language so that plays a part in why my
vocabulary is not wide but it is also because I never put that much effort into widening it. My parents
also do not speak English so some words that people would learn from their parents, I did not.
Thinking like that about myself even though my English is very clear and some may not even know it
is my second language takes a toll on me sometimes. I become shy and do not want to talk as freely
until I get to know someone because I am afraid of saying a word wrong or not understanding what
someone is saying. I want to be outgoing but I let my thoughts and fear get in the way. In reality I
shouldn’t be ashamed. I know two languages and not many people can say that. I am cultured and I
should be proud of that. Small mistakes of my English or asking for clarification on certain words is
nothing to be ashamed about.
Seeds of suffering?

If I stopped watering the seed of my own suffering only positive things would come out of it.
No longer stressed or worried about what others think. Truly be happy in my own skin and be proud
of the person I am. With everything my parents and I did to get me to where I am today, I would think
is a huge accomplishment. I wouldn’t be as tired or shy at times due to my own thoughts consuming
my brain. I would be more outgoing and not saying I do not have friends but I could maybe have even
more. I would be a lot more personable and confrontable around everyone vs waiting weeks or
months to break out of my shell and connect with people.
Day-to-day life feelings of resentment?
I like to do this a lot! I am constantly trying to find out they why behind things instead of
putting blame on the person right away for their behavior. For example, at work there is a traumazar.
He is in charge of all trauma patients that we see, he is who calls out the orders, monitors surgeries,
etc. There are many other doctors that take care of the patient but he is the one that truly calls the
shots. Very stressful I would think. Well during traumas or mascals he can sometimes be hard to talk
to or handle because he is very quick to react and almost be little you. Which I do not think is anyway
to react or talk to anyone regardless whether he is talking to another doctor or another tech, we are all
human. But before people start complaining about him and his actions, I always point out his situation
and what he must be going through. He is the one who has to respond if a patient ends up passing, if I
was him, I would probably be quick to react and shot out for things too. He is smart and very
knowledgeable in his job and willing to teach others if questions are asked. I do not think he means
any harm in his actions and it is just something he is still working through and people around him
during these situations need to be patient with. We all have our flaws but there is usually a reason
behind certain behaviors in which I believe is reasonable.
Reflection on writing?

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 7
Unit

It is hard to put on paper the negative thoughts that sometimes run through you mind. You
become ashamed of even looking at yourself like that or thinking about yourself like that. I would like
to believe that I am not that harsh to myself. That I do love who I am and the person that I am
becoming. Everyone has something that they wish they can change about themselves whether it is
physical or mental. Luckily, we have the opportunity to fix our negative mental thoughts about our
self and some physical aspects of ourselves as well. My English is not horrible in matter of fact it is
pretty good for someone whose first language wasn’t English. I need to leave that stupid thought that
people are going to think I’m dumb or look at me funny if I say something wrong. It is all in my head
and people honestly… do not even care. Only me! (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010).

Unit 7: Nutrition and Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Stress can affect the ability to digest, absorb, metabolize, and eliminate nutrients.
Due to stress the body stops absorbing proper nutrients which effects the way the body metabolizes
food. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: There are many different types of food that trigger stress. Caffeine is a great
example as it elevates our levels of cortisol in the body, causing similar reaction to that of a stressful
experience. (Scott, 2020).
Key Learning Point: Focus on ensuring you do activities that bring your mindfulness daily. Make time
for those things as anything that helps reduce your stress level will help strengthen your immune
system and overall well-being. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal:
I truly enjoy doing these mediation exercises. It forces me to take some time out of my day to
really relax and focus on all the thoughts that come to my mind when I am just sitting there breathing.
I decided to do the sitting mediation journal as I just recently worked out and am complete sore as
well as my room floor is extremely cold. My room was the only place I can get some quiet since my
roommates are at work currently.
After taking some time to do this exercise and focusing just on my breathing I felt so relaxed. I
believe I was focusing too much on my breathing as I started to over think it. Started to think if I am

16
breathing to fast or if I am not inhaling for long enough. I quickly let those thoughts fade away and
just breathed naturally.
As part of the exercise we first focus on our breathing. Focusing on the nose as the air comes
and goes with every breath. The air touches the nose as you inhale and exhale. I then started focusing
on the physical aspects of my body. I noticed that my back was tense. I tried to relax it but I always
have tight back muscles from a lack of stretching after each lifting session. I tried to focus on other
aspects of my body. I realized my tongue was at the roof of my mouth and that I was kind of
clenching my jaw. I tend to do that a lot for some reason. I made sure I relaxed and unclenched my
jaw. Everything else in my body was kind of relaxed. My legs were crossed as that was the position, I
found most comfortable since I had my shoes off and was sitting on my bed.
When focusing on the sounds I heard, it was very quiet. I could hear the fan going. I am next
to a window so I always here this very faint noise, it is almost like an airplane is taking off. I am close
to the flight line but I do not think it is an airplane. It isn’t loud enough, and it is ALWAYS there. I do
hear a few planes and helicopters take off every now and again, and I only heard one during this
exercise.
I start to think about how I am almost done with this deployment and I wonder what the
sounds I will hear at my real home with me. Maybe my dog with her nails on the hard wood floor. Or
maybe my bed as it squeaks a little every now and again. I become happy and excited. I start having
positive thoughts of being back in America. I picture going on a cruise soon with my husband and
how it will be my first cruise. Being able to see clear skies again as it is always so smokey out here. I
love the sunrise and sunsets and I will be up early to see each one as it comes up and stay up to see
each sunset as well. I randomly start to think about all of what I still have to do for work as the
deadline is coming up in a few weeks. I think about my book and how I am excited to read some
chapters before bed tonight. Multiple different emotions and thoughts comes to my mind. Some that
last a few minutes and some that quickly passes as it reminds me of something else.
I bring myself back to the present. Emotionally I am still happy as I love my coworkers but I
am a little sad as I miss my family. But I am here. I still have a few more months and I will try to
enjoy every day of it as I try and focus on the present. I have changed so much the last few months
both physically and mentally. I am stronger and I want to continue to grow.
I realized that I do sometimes feel anxiety, stress, or sadness. I am in a location that over
works me and puts me away from family and friends with people I have never met before for an entire
6 or more months. I now call these strangers my best friends, my deployment family. We all went
through all these struggles and bombings together, all serving with people who we never saw before.
It is amazing how a human being can adapt so easily, maybe with a few bumps along the road.
This exercise helped me. Physically I feel more relaxed, a little less tense as I continue to
breathe deeply and allow my body to oxygenate and not be tense. Mentally I feel strong as I realize
everything I am surpassing and how much I have grown from just all the thoughts that come to my
mind. Emotionally I am a little sad still for being away but honestly, I feel happy. I love the people I
have surrounded myself with and I am just growing in every way being here. (Stahl & Goldstein,
2010).

17
 8
Unit

Unit 8: Physical Exercise and Activity

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Yoga is a great way to exercise your mind and body. It improves respiration, energy
and vitality while also helping increase flexibility which help prevent injury. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: A physical exercise program created for work is a great way to help employees out
as well as the corporation. Ensuring the employees stay active and healthy especially in todays
society where a lot of jobs are sedentary. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: The average American logs about 5000 steps a day when 10,000 steps are the
recommended amount to help prevent chronic illnesses. Physical activity helps prevent diseases like
type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. (Seaward, 2015).

Assignment:
An exercise program incorporated into a work center is a great way to keep the employees happy and the
cooperation healthy. Lack of exercise and overwhelming stress can cause defensiveness, lack of
motivation, difficulty concentrating, accidents, reduced productivity, and interpersonal conflict.
(Heathfield, 2019) Exercise and mediation are great ways to reduce those stress levels in a working
environment. Not only is yoga an excellent way to bring mindfulness to the body in movement, it’s also a
rejuvenating practice that offers many health benefits, such as keeping aging bones, joints, muscles,
nerves, and organs healthy, supple, and flexible. (Stahl & Goldstein, 2010)

Journal:
OPENNESS: When we wrote our vows, we promised to always keep each other’s perspective in
mind. To take them into consideration when doing anything. To forgive and learn as we continue to
move on. I can imagine him stating what he feels and me feeling differently but coming together and
looking at the bigger picture.
EMPATHY: I always like to ask the question, what are you thinking about or how does that make you
feel. So, I can truly understand how others feel and I am not just assuming. Being away from home
for so long now I simply miss everyone especially my family! I feel that they also feel the same way,
we are all ready for me to be home.
COMPASSION: I would comfort them by saying that I am here for them when they want to talk and
are ready to talk. Hug them or give them space depending on who it is. If I am still talking to my

18
 9
Unit

husband, I would do both. Hug him and hold him but I also know he likes to handle things alone
sometimes to clear his mind. Simply do whatever I need to make them feel better.
LOVING-KINDNESS: I would only pray for blessings and encourage. I wish nothing but the best for
my husband and to show him that I would encourage him to continue to succeed and improve.
Motivate him as I am right there to help if he ever needs a hand to keep pushing. I like to stay healthy
by exercising, eating healthy, and taking vitamins and I would see the same for my husband.
SYMPATHETIC JOY: Friendly competition is always good to help motivate one another. Regardless
who gets to the finish line first, it’s important that we both finish and encourage each other to finish. I
love to see my husband succeed wither it’s a personal goal or professional goal. I am always cheering
him on and taking him out to celebrate the victory.
EQUANIMITY: Regardless of who the person is everyone deserves respect and compassion. We
have gate guards who sit out in the cold to guard the gate or housekeepers who clean up after our
mess. These people are usually foreigners and not American military. My deployment team made sure
during the holidays when we received all these extra care packages that we would never be able to eat
or enjoy all of it. We handed them out to both the house keepers and gate guards thanking them for
everything they do for us, that it doesn’t go unnoticed.
It’s important to connect to others. To sometimes think in their perspective and try to
understand where they are coming from. Or simply, try and give everyone respect and compassion
regardless of how you are feeling, that person probably didn’t do anything but help you. There is
never a need to be disrespectful to someone who is just doing their job or doing what they are told. I
enjoyed this exercise and am happy to say that I do try to inhibit all these qualities daily. (Stahl &
Goldstein, 2010).

Unit 9: Applying Stress: Critical Issues for

Management and Prevention to your
Professional Life
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Taking your mind off a problem, or removing an issue from conscious attention for
a designated period of time, and diverting attention to an unrelated subject focuses the mind and
enables it to deal better with these issues upon return. If you don’t already have a hobby, find one, so
you can help keep your stress levels reduced. (Seaward, 2015).

19
 Key Learning Point: Forgiving is a great coping skill. Being upset or mad at someone is not benefiting
anyone and instead hurting you the most. Keeping your stress levels high for a long period of time
causes a toll on your body. Forgiving allows you to move on and stress free. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Working out is what I consider my hobby. It is a positive diversion as it helps me
feel in control again, while allowing myself to take my mind off the stressor for a while. It helps me
be able to challenge the stressor with a clearer and more relaxed mindset instead of being anger,
worked up, or conversational. (Seaward, 2015).

Additional Information
Website: Beating Stress through nutrition

Collingwood, J. (2018, October 8). Beating Stress Through Nutrition. Retrieved from

https://psychcentral.com/lib/beating-stress-through-nutrition/

Website: The American Institute of Stress

AIS. (n.d.). What is Stress? Retrieved from https://www.stress.org/

Article: A ‘Stages of Change’ Approach to Helping Patients Change Behavior

Zimmerman, G. L., Olsen, C. G., & Bosworth, M. F. (2000, March 1). A ‘Stages of Change’

Approach to Helping Patients Change Behavior. Retrieved from

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0301/p1409.html

20
 Article: Alcohol and stress in the Military

Schumm, J. A., & Chard, K. M. (2012). Alcohol and Stress in the Military. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3860389/

Book: The stress solution: The 4 Steps to Reset your body mind, relationship purpose

Chatterjee, R. (2018). The Stress Solution: The 4 Steps to Reset Your Body, Mind, Relationships &

Purpose. London: Penguin Life.

References

Chatterjee, R. (2018). The Stress Solution: The 4 Steps to Reset Your Body, Mind, Relationships &

Purpose. London: Penguin Life.

Collingwood, J. (2018, October 8). Beating Stress Through Nutrition. Retrieved from

https://psychcentral.com/lib/beating-stress-through-nutrition/

Heathfield, S. M. (2019, May 3). Understanding stress and how it affects the workplace. Retrieved

from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/understanding-stress-and-how-it-affects-the-

workplace-1919200

Hansard, C. (2002). The Tibetan Art of Living. Retrieved from

https://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/servlet/DCARead?

standardNo=0743451465&standardNoType=1&excerpt=true..

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Obrien, M. (2018). R.A.I.N: A Four-Step Process for Using Mindfulness in Difficult Times. Retrieved

from https://mrsmindfulness.com/r-n-four-step-process-using-mindfulness-difficult-times/.

Schumm, J. A., & Chard, K. M. (2012). Alcohol and Stress in the Military. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3860389/

Scott, E. (2020, January 17). How Does Caffeine Affect Your Stress Levels? Retrieved

from https://www.verywellmind.com/caffeine-stress-and-your-health-3145078

Seaward, B. (2017). 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.

Zimmerman, G. L., Olsen, C. G., & Bosworth, M. F. (2000, March 1). A ‘Stages of Change’

Approach to Helping Patients Change Behavior. Retrieved from

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0301/p1409.html

22