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Unit 9 Assignment: Final Project

Sarah M. Taylor

Purdue University Global

HW410 Models of Health & Wellness

Beth Hart

August 10th, 2021

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Unit 9 Assignment: Final Project

Many people can be helped by a stress management and prevention program. These

programs are defined as programs “intended to help people deal more effectively with stress in

their lives by analyzing the specific stressors and taking positive actions to minimize their

effects,” (Brown, 2021). There are those that feel constantly stressed all the time yet do not have

an idea of what really causes the problems or how to change it up. In the following sections

stressors will be defined, explained why they are important, three stress management techniques

and benefits, how the program will be implemented, obstacles that might need to be overcome,

health professionals that can help, and how the program success will be measured. The defined

population for this stress management and prevention program is going to be women. The reason

they were choose is it is the group that connections the most and may not be understood just how

and why they are so stressed.

Explained Stressors

There are many stressors that affect women on average. For this stress management

program ten will be discussed. The first one: Income- though they say men and women make the

same amount of money, but it is still not equal in many jobs. This can cause lots of stress having

to work even harder to make the same amount of money. The second one: Job opportunities.

Women are found in many different jobs now but not all jobs give the women the same

opportunities in those fields making this very stressful for those women that need to be main

provider or are career driven individuals. The third one: Parenting. This causes stress because

kids completely depend on parents, and parents hope they are doing it right. The fourth one:

keeping the house clean. This causes stress especially if the woman does not live alone. Every

time they pick up something they turn around and it is dirty again. The fifth one: Juggling a
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work/home balance. Bring on the stress with this one as women are expected to work like they

have no families and keep house and family like they do not have jobs. The sixth one: Having

well behaved kids outside the home. Whenever the kids go out if they do not behave it is some

how all the mom’s fault. The seventh one: no time for self. The jobs of work, household, and

family take up all the hours in the day. The eighth one: The title of mom takes over the woman’s

whole life, they are no longer who they were before. The nineth one: keeping in touch with

others. When women are so busy doing all these jobs there is little time to keep up with friends

and family. The tenth and final one: keeping up the personal mental health. This is important as

the women lead hectic lives and sometimes do not get the chance to check in with themselves

until it is too late and then they are stressed out.

Stressor Importance

All these stressors are important because they are the daily problems a woman can face.

Not getting the same job or equal pay and benefits could mean that women are out working two

or three jobs to try and make ends meet or are unable to make ends me. This can lead to

wondering where they can live, eat, or provide for their family when they are the sole provider.

When there are multiple roles that women must play: provider, parent, household manager they

can get over worked. This can lead to exhaustion, depression, or anger issues. Depression alone

can cause issues with “hopelessness, frustration, loss of interest in hobbies, lack of energy/tired,

issues with eating and weight, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness/self-blame, trouble

remembering, or thoughts of suicide/death,” (Mayo Clinic, 2021). Serious exhaustion can even

lead a person to the emergency room. When this happens, it can take a while for the person to get

back on their feet. For someone that fills so many rolls daily this could be a serious problem,

maybe even the loss of a job.

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Program Descriptions

Effective stress management includes the following: “Sound knowledge of the body’s

reaction to perceived stress, sound knowledge of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual

factors associated with stress, utilization of several effective coping techniques to work toward a

resolution of the causes of stress, regular practice of relaxation techniques to maintain

homeostatic balance of the body, periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of coping skills and

relaxation techniques,” (Seaward, 2017). With this in mind four stress management/mindfulness

techniques and their benefits are meditation, Tai Chi, nutrition, and daily journal. Journaling “is

said to promote emotional catharsis when thoughts, perceptions, attitudes, values, beliefs, and the

tensions these create are allowed to work themselves out on paper,” (Seaward, 2017). Benefits

include releasing pent-up feelings, seeing perceptions and behaviors you do not normally see

through the writing. “Meditation is focused concentration and increased awareness of one’s

being. When the mind has been emptied of conscious thought, unconscious thoughts can enter

the conscious realm to bring enlightenment to our lives,” (Seaward, 2017). Some benefits are

decreased blood pressure and new grow/rewiring of the brain when done regularly. Tai Chi

“considered by many to be the softest of the martial arts, is called moving meditation, or a series

of movements that act to help unify the life force energy with that of the person,” (Seaward,

2017). There are many benefits to doing Tai Chi some major ones include: “Decreased stress,

anxiety, and depression, improved mood, improved aerobic capacity, increased energy and

stamina, enhance quality of sleep, enhance the immune system, and help lower blood pressure,”

(Mayo Clinic Staff, 2021). Lastly, nutrition and what you eat affecting how you live. “Excess

amounts of sugar, caffeine, salt, and foods poor in vitamins and minerals weaken the body’s

resistance to the stress response and may ultimately make a person more vulnerable to disease
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and illness,” (Seaward, 2017). Knowing what and how to eat better will set the body up for

success.

Program Implementation

The program mission: Get health, Stay healthy, Love living life! The facilities that could

be used would be a gym, a rec center, if the home had enough room even there could be utilized.

At a gym or rec center getting into tai chi classes and meditation could not only help the

body/mind but the presence there means a break from everything else going on. Nutrition classes

could be found at these facilities, but women could also talk to their doctors if they feel

comfortable or even their local health department might have nutritional information. For

journaling women can pick up journals at a retail store or order them online. They could be lined

or blank for drawing or writing. It will take time for the body to show changes that are noticeable

or longer lasting. Choose classes with this in mind along with giving eating differently a chance

of longer than a few days. If doing these activities at home works best find a quiet space with

enough room for movement. There are either DVDs or many options on YouTube for classes on

meditation and tai chi. YouTube even has a lot of cooking/recipe videos to find nutritious food to

eat. The new age of streaming services can be surprisingly helpful to also keep moving and be

healthy one just must know where to look.

Program Obstacles

There will always be obstacles if they are looked for. Some obstacles to this could be

physical disabilities. Not everyone can get around well or even has the limbs or equipment to get

around for all these activities. A special instructor may need to be found for the tai chi but if the

person was willing to try, they should. Meditation deals more with the mind and finding peace so

a physical disability should not keep that from happening. Having the funding to take these
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classes or eat “right” can be hard to come by. If this is a problem taking the, do it at home

approach can be very helpful. Using the streaming services available on most electronic devices

now will help save money. Also looking for healthy foods in season, on sale, and at more

discount like stores will help. Another obstacle to struggle through would be the time to do this

program. If the woman has a crazy work schedule or works and has responsibilities at home, then

there might not seem like enough hours in the day. This is where starting with small journal

inserts or short meditations (informal ones work great for a busy life) would work out best. There

are even free apps that have meditations, so no one needs to feel guilty for signing up for classes

and not making it to them.

Health Professionals

There are many people that can help during this program. On one side there is the doctor,

therapist, and nutritionist while on the other side there is tai chi instructors, coaches at the gyms,

meditation instructors, even Health Department professionals to name a few. No matter which

side of medicine the women choose they will get helped and be able to move forward living a

healthier life.

Program Measurements

How well the program works could be measured in many ways. Some examples are full

journals, gym memberships and classes, YouTube history filled with tai chi and meditation

videos, recipes and meals saved on Pinterest, less sadness, anger, feeling overwhelmed. Then

there are meetings with doctors, therapists, and nutritionists each of them could give updates

through observations or tests. Last how does the woman feel? Are they still off balance or not

connected to who they are? Or are they slowly finding a balance with life and able to fit in their

health both physically and mentally?

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Summary

There are many struggles out there for different people. The previous sections walked

through the stressors, challenges, techniques, and benefits, how the program can be used, along

with professionals that can help achieve these goals for the population group women. Each

option and decision will be a different outcome for everyone, so they need to understand that it is

an individual path and to enjoy personal victories. But always remember the program mission:

Get health, Stay healthy, Love living life!

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References

Brown, A. BSc. (2021). Stress & Burnout Prevention. 62 Stress Management Techniques,

Strategies & Activities. https://positivepsychology.com/stress-management-techniques-

tips-burn-out/

Mayo Clinic. (2021). Depression (major depressive disorder).

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/symptoms-causes/syc-

20356007

Mayo Clinic Staff, (2021). Stress Management. Tai chi. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-

lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/tai-chi/art-20045184

Seaward, B. (2018). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (9th

ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2019). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook (2nd ed.). New

Harbinger Publications.

Last Name, F. M. (Year). Article Title. Journal Title, Pages From - To.

Last Name, F. M. (Year). Book Title. City Name: Publisher Name.