CLC - Final Capstone Reflection Journal Entry

January 18th, 2023

Jordana Waugh

The Capstone is a unique and demanding challenge. In completing it, what did you learn about your
subject? Your skill set? Yourself?

Through implementing and testing each approach, I was able to further develop my sense of
self by recognizing what strategies were effective in improving my mood. Exercises such as
journaling and meditation allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of myself and establish
activities that I was doing that were triggering and those that made me happier. Each tool was
different and required me to think of my emotions in a different mindset. For example, cognitive
restructuring reframes your thoughts, while cognitive defusion requires you to sit with them and
acknowledge how they make you feel. I found cognitive restructuring and mindfulness to be the most
effective in challenging and overcoming my intrusive thoughts. Along with growing my
self-awareness, my Capstone Project pushed me to be more intentional and diligent with self-care,
which is something that I often neglect. Furthermore, testing different approaches opened me up to
many different ways mental health can be treated. This is reassuring because traditional ways such as
therapy and medication, though they are extremely helpful and essential to some, are not as effective
for others. There are many other alternatives that can be tried to improve an individuals mental health
and can be tried in combination with therapy and medication. Finally, my Capstone made me more
motivated to improve my mental health, as I have been struggling for years, and I took the initiative to
go back to therapy to seek some more guidance.

How is your project relevant to you, the school or the community-at-large?

Mental health has been a focus for me for multiple years, due to my own struggles with
anxiety and depression. In my Capstone, I wanted to explore different approaches to improve my
mental health and also deepen my understanding of mental health as a whole. Also, I have a desire to
help others that may be struggling; learning about new strategies allows me to share different tools to
others that will hopefully have a positive impact on their well-being.

How did you demonstrate the six Core Competencies throughout this project?

I demonstrated personal awareness and responsibility by creating a stronger connection

between my emotions, mind, and body, which allows me to overcome symptoms of anxiety and
depression. I did this mainly through journaling and being extremely self-aware of each negative and
intrusive thought I was having throughout the day and before sleeping. In doing this, I improved my
well-being and developed a variety of strategies to persevere and manage my mental health. These
strategies include, cognitive restructuring, cognitive defusion, behavioural activation, and
mindfulness.

While I learned new approaches to improve my own mental health, these tools are evidence-
based and having this knowledge allows me to demonstrate social responsibility because I can share
these tools with friends and community members who may be struggling. Furthermore, I have
experienced the challenges that come with receiving mental health support. There are many barriers in
place before one can access therapy: socioeconomic status, stigma, family dynamics and beliefs. And
when one has accessed this service, one then meets another set of barriers: the costs, long waitlists,
and subpar professional care. In post-secondary school, I would like to further explore the nature of
human behaviour and emotions and learn to transform mental well-being through accessible support
and contribute to a system that is equal to all communities.

Personal & Cultural Identity was demonstrated in my Capstone in many ways.

Experiencing challenges with my mental health and at times even being hospitalised due to it has
allowed me to recognize and value my health and time. Working on strategies to improve my
on-going battle is extremely important and valuable to me. Each approach gave me an opportunity to
reflect on what was the most effective tool for me and apply it to when I was struggling with a
situation. For example, when I got a mark I wasn’t satisfied with in biology, I used cognitive
restructuring to transform my thought from “I’m stupid and worthless” to a more reasonable and
positive thought such as, “It is okay to make mistakes and it is best to learn from them instead of
beating myself up”.

I demonstrated critical thinking through, creating and developing a strong capstone inquiry
question. Also, after each week I reflected and analysed each approach and their impact. I also
research information on each approach to narrow down the tools I wanted to try and the evidence
behind them.

Through developing and refining my inquiry question I demonstrated creative thinking. I am

aware that there are many capstone projects surrounding mental health, but I think I created a question
that is unique and has different layers to explore.

Interactions with my mentor demonstrate communication. I listened and was receptive to

advice and knowledge that was being passed on. Also, I communicated my emotions through
journaling and tracking my thoughts. This pushed me to be vulnerable and honest with myself. At the
end of each week I reflected on my experience using the tool and how I was able to implement it into
my everyday life.

What impact, if any, did your Capstone project have?

Though my overall scores on the RCADS youth report did not change, I do feel as though I
have a better support system in place to help me overcome daily challenges. I now have access to a
robust set of skills to help me improve my mental health in a variety of ways. At the beginning of the
semester I was often so anxious to come to school that I would be throwing up each morning, due to
the overwhelming feeling of social anxiety. Now, I rarely become that anxious before school and I feel
more secure in social settings and if I feel myself getting overstimulated, I have tools such as
mindfulness to help me re-centre myself. As mental health is an ongoing challenge for me, I will
continue to utilise the skills I’ve learned in my Capstone as I take on new challenges in the near
future, such as university and possibly moving provinces. I feel reassured in my knowledge and I am
more confident in the control I have over my well-being. My Capstone is a solid introduction into
learning more about human behaviour, emotions, and well-being and I plan to study it further in
post-secondary to gain the knowledge to have an even greater impact on our mental health care
system and the youth within it.

Thinking about the whole process and your finished product, what are you most proud of?
 I am most proud of feeling my confidence improve, which has helped to lessen some anxiety
symptoms. Also, tracking my thoughts and journaling some of my days has allowed me to be more
grateful for the opportunities I have and often take for granted. It has been impactful to see and reflect
on how my life has transformed throughout the semester. Early on in the year, I had an extremely
difficult time at the Grad cruise, as I let my social anxiety take over, but now, at our past grad event in
December I was able to attend the event without having a panic attack and even enjoy a part of it. I am
happy that I focused my project on myself to make more time in the day for self-care and also feel the
impact of less intense thoughts and emotions on a day to day basis, which has impacted my sleep,
relationships, mood, and motivation.

What was a difficulty you encountered and how did you solve the problem?

My biggest challenge was consistency. I found it hard to balance the progress of my Capstone
with my existing course load, work, university applications, scholarships, etc. In the end, I had to be
extremely diligent with scheduling my time and holding myself accountable with the work I had to
complete for the week. Also, there were times where I was having a really challenging week mentally
and instead of working to improve it, I have a habit of shutting down and conserving my energy for
essential tasks such as homework, studying, work, and taking care of myself on a basic level. My
Capstone was an opportunity to change that habit and be more proactive in improving my well-being
when I am struggling the most.

What is one thing about your finished project you wish you could change? Why?

As one of the tools, I think it would’ve been interesting to do a survey to fellow students
asking what some of their coping mechanisms are and then implementing one of the most common
ones. Also, it could've been interesting to possibly start an instagram to share some of the tools I was
testing out and resources to benefit the community more.

What advice would you give a student who will be completing their Capstone Project next year?

I would suggest doing something they are extremely passionate about because it will give
them more motivation to spend time on it outside of the timetable and also further their knowledge on
something they are already passionate about. Additionally, it is necessary to schedule their time
according to the needs of their capstone and hold themselves accountable for their progress
throughout the semester.

What source from your research helped you the most?

My mentor, Dr. Carla Oberth, provided me with all the worksheets and resources to complete
each approach and was able to perform my assessment at the beginning and end of my Capstone. She
was extremely helpful and supportive and gave me essential guidance towards approaches I should
try.

What is one thing about your approach to your project that you wish you could have changed? Why?

I wish that I was more diligent in my planning early on so I could’ve allotted more time for
each approach to possibly see more of an impact. Though my scores on the RCAD report didn’t
change, the questions go beyond everyday feeling and are on a larger scale, I did notice a change in
my daily emotions feeling lighter and more manageable as I implemented each tool. However, I only
tested each approach for a week and I would’ve liked to do three weeks with each method.