KAPLAN UNIVERSITY

HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and

Prevention

Stress Management and

Prevention Program
Resource Guide
1

KAPLAN UNIVERSITY

Stress Management and Prevention

Program Resource Guide

By
Lindsey Culver
Kaplan University
HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention
December 8, 2015

Table of Contents

UNI T

THE

NATURE

OF

STRESS

Information to Remember ..................................................................................................................... 4

Self-Assessment Exercises ..................................................................................................................... 4
Journal Writing......................................................................................................................................4-5
UNI T

THE

PHYSI OLOGY

OF

ST RESS

Information to Remember ..................................................................................................................... 6

Self-Assessment Exercises ..................................................................................................................... 6
Journal Writing......................................................................................................................................6-8
UNI T

PSYCHOLOGY

OF

STRESS

Information to Remember ..................................................................................................................... 9

Self-Assessment Exercises ..................................................................................................................... 9
Journal Writing................................................................................................................................... 9-10
UNI T

PERSONALI TY

TRAI TS

A ND

THE

HUMAN

SPI RITU ALI TY

Information to Remember ................................................................................................................... 11

Self-Assessment Exercises ................................................................................................................... 11
Journal Writing................................................................................................................................. 11-13
UNI T

DEALI NG

WI TH

STRESS:

COPI NG

STRATEGI ES

Information to Remember ................................................................................................................... 14

Journal Writing................................................................................................................................. 14-16
UNI T

RELAXATION

TECHI QU ES

1:

BREATHI NG,

MED I TATI ON,

AND

MENTAL

I MAGERY

Information to Remember ................................................................................................................... 17

Self-Assessment Exercises ................................................................................................................... 17
Journal Writing................................................................................................................................. 17-19
UNI T

NUTRI TI ON

AND

STRESS

Information to Remember ................................................................................................................... 20

Self-Assessment Exercises ................................................................................................................... 20

UNI T

PHYSI CAL

EXERCI SE

AN D

ACTI VI TY

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

Self-Assessment Exercises ................................................................................................................... 21
Journal Writing................................................................................................................................. 21-22
UNI T

APPLYI NG

PREVENTI ON

TO

STRESS:

YOUR

CRI TICAL

P ROFESSI ONAL

I SSUES

FOR

MANAGEMENT

AND

LI FE

Information to Remember ................................................................................................................... 23

ADDI TI ONAL

I NFORMATI ON 2 4

REFERENCES 25

1
Unit

Unit 1: The Nature of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Stress is linked to all major causes of death. The feeling of stress does much
more to a person than just make them feel upset. There are actual physiological effects as well.
(Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: There are different types of stress including eustrss, neustress, and distress.
Eustress is the type of stress perceived as good, neustress is perceived as unimportant and distress
is perceived as negative stress. The duration of stress is also important as acute stress is over
quickly whereas chronic lasts for an extended period of time. Both have different effects on the
body. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Journal writing is actually an effective way of coping with stress. There are
different ways of journaling and some may work better than others depending on the person.
(Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
In this exercise I evaluated the four components of well-being; spiritual, mental, emotional and physical.
I found personally that the emotional component is very important to me and all other components are
effected with this one is not balanced. I also learned that in general, all components of well-being are
interrelated. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:
Situation
Home Roommates and boundaries.
Work Interpersonal relationships.
Health Constant, long term condition.
House Searching for a home to buy.
Relationship - Communication
Friendship Changes in friendships.
School Finding balance with work, school, family.
Animals Health issues.

Start
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9
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3
8
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4

Midway
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6
9
8
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End
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Lack of Exercise Making time.

Family Obligations Finding balance.

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(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010)

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Unit

Unit 2: The Physiology of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: The American lifestyle is that of one very prone to stress. For this reason, many
Americans are facing adrenal fatigue due to being in a constant state of stress. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Multitasking decreases efficiency. Although it seems like multitasking would
increase efficiency by achieving more tasks in a shorter amount of time, it is not true. The more
multitasking we do, the less efficient we are. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Stress suppresses the immune system. There is still research to be done in order
to clearly understand the relationship between stress and disease however we know for sure, there
is a mind-body connection. (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
In this exercise, the importance of studying how our feelings are connected to our physiology was
discussed as well as some of the diseases that can be caused by stress. The diseases investigated were
tension headaches, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD),
and coronary heart disease. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:
How is stress or anxiety about people affecting your life?
Stress and anxiety about people greatly affects me and my life. I love and cherish the
relationships that I have but must always work to find balance for myself. My alone time if very
important in order for me to recuperate.

How is stress or anxiety about work affecting your life?

The interpersonal relationships at work greatly affect my work life when they are strained.
Finding ways to have positive working relationships is imperative. .

How is stress or anxiety about the world affecting your life?

The stress of the world would greatly affect me however I have intentionally stopped watching
the news. I try to make a difference and focus on the things I can change instead of the problems of the
entire world as it absolutely makes me depressed and hopeless. I do however try to stay up to date on
what is happening with the food industry and try to support the proper growing of food and caring for
animals. I do not trust that the food we are provided with is always the best so I try to make conscious
choices about what to support. I also worry about the environment and the future of the earth so I try to
recycle and do my part.

How is stress or anxiety about food and eating habits affecting your life?
As mentioned above I have great concern for how our food is produced and how it affects our
bodies. Recently I changed my diet to cut out sugar and simple carbs. Quitting sugar has proven to be
very challenging. I have not slipped up but I must say that I think about sugar pretty regularly still. Three
weeks in, hopefully that will go away soon!

How is stress or anxiety about sleep and sleeplessness affecting your life?
Feeling stressed greatly affects my ability to sleep and sometimes starts a vicious cycle. Once I
cannot sleep, then I am stressed about it which prevents me even more from sleeping. Cutting out sugar
though, has helped improve my sleeping patterns.

How is stress or anxiety about exercise or lack of physical activity affecting your life?

Exercising greatly helps my stress level. I often though feel like I do not have time for exercise
when I am stressed so it is very important to make time for it.

Overall, positive changes, even when small, will help. I have plans in place to alleviate some of
the stress I have and must just practice patience now. In other areas, I am still formulating a plan and
trying to make it happen. I am hopeful and I personally think that hope is most important as without it,
the change you want will definitely not come.
(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010)

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Unit

Unit 3: Psychology of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Self-Awareness and self-acceptance (self-love) are keys to coping with stress.
We must love ourselves and we must acknowledge what we are doing in order to make a change.
(Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: When dealing with an unpleasant emotion, yelling, crying and other related
activities are not necessarily beneficial. In fact, sometimes doing these activities will make the
negative emotion worse. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Lack of positive communication can create stress. Especially with all of the
technology in our current lives, it is very important to consider how to appropriately
communicate. (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
This assessment described many different ways of dealing with stress. Some of the concepts included
letting go of attachment, conquering fear through behavior modification and improving communication.
The methods for improving communication included healthy boundaries, honoring the touch it once
rule, being courteous, learning to be technology multilingual, and resolving communication problems
when they arise. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:
After practicing the five minutes of breathing, I found a sense of calmness and satisfaction that I
did not feel before. I was working on homework and feeling stressed that I didnt have as much done as
I thought I should have. I was worrying about how much time it would take me to finish and if I would
have time for everything before I had to return to work for the week. I took five minutes and it ended up
being really great. I was distracted many times, most often by noises of cars passing or the sound of bugs

outside. I also noticed that I was cold, I had tightness in my shoulders and I felt sleepy. A few times, I
had to breathe deeply and yawn. Each time, I returned my focus to my breathing and continued. After
this, I had quite some time of feeling very calm and relaxed. It has disappeared now so maybe its time to
try it again!
After the five minute meditation, I tried to focus on the eight attitudes of mindfulness. In this, at
first I felt very contradictory. As I was trying to have a beginners mind as if this were the first time I ever
had that experience, I felt as though maybe I was not following the attitude of nonstriving. So I ended up
focusing on beginners mind, letting it be and nonjudgment. The beginners mind immediately made me
feel excited, happy and energized. The feelings faded a bit the longer the experience went on. From there
I focused on letting it be. I tried to just let the feelings pass as they did instead of trying to make them
stay. Lastly, I focused on nonjudgment when the experience didnt go quite as planned. Instead of going
through the evaluation of which plan was more effective (as I often do), I let it be and refrained from
judgment.
Overall, my brief experiences created a lot of positive emotions. Knowing that continuing to
practice these attitudes and meditation with only help me become more efficient at them, yields to a lot of
hope for a future full of positive emotions. I look forward to practicing them regularly.
(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010)

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4
Unit

Unit 4: Personality Traits and the Human

Spirituality
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Spirituality is important for health. Being positive spiritually helps you be
healthy and being negative spiritually increases the possibility for disease. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: In order to strengthen our human spirituality there are a four processes we must
go through. The processes include centering, grounding, emptying and connecting. (Seaward,
2015).
Key Learning Point: Being assertive can significantly help with stress. There are many different
processes to practice for being assertive. Some of those processes include eye contact, saying no
and not feeling guilty about it, using I statements and peacefully disagreeing. Practicing these
things, as well as the other assertive related behaviors, will help with stress. (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
Having more self worth allows you to deal better with stress as you believe you can deal with anything
that comes your way. Stress can sometimes lead us off the right path by encouraging us to indulge in
things that get us further away from our values. Values are the basis of our beliefs, attitudes and
behaviors. We can change our behavior through the stages of change. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:
FEAR: apprehension, anxiety, distress, edginess, jumpiness, nervousness, panic, tenseness, uneasiness,
worry, fright, feeling overwhelmed.
The words of fear that seem more familiar to me are anxiety, edginess, worry and feeling
overwhelmed. I feel anxiety in my head in the form of a headache. I feel edginess, worry and feeling

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overwhelmed in my neck and shoulders in the form of tight, painful muscles. When reading over these
feelings, the thoughts and images that come to mind are things I need to do.
CONFUSION: bewildered, uncertain, puzzled, mystified, perplexed, chaotic, foggy, or unaware.
The first time I read over these emotions, none of them seemed familiar. As I am reading again,
uncertain and chaotic seem familiar. Both of these emotions seem to come through in my body as lower
back pain. Like my back is trying to hold me up against these emotions. Uncertainty is something that
makes me think of the fear of the unknown.
ANGER: aggravation, agitation, annoyance, destructiveness, disgust, envy, frustration, irritation,
grouchiness, grumpiness, rage.
The emotions of anger that really seem familiar to me are aggravation, agitation, frustration,
irritation, and rage. I feel like all of these emotions are in my head in the form of a headache as well as in
my shoulders in the form of muscle tightness, pain and a burning sensation. Aggravation, agitation, and
irritation all make me think of work and how hard I have tried to improve the job, the environment, the
experience of the employees, the experience for the clients, and to decrease the stress level by increasing
the effectiveness of processes.
SADNESS: alienation, anguish, despair, disappointment, gloom, grief, hopelessness, insecurity, loneliness,
misery, unhappiness, rejection.
The words of sadness that are familiar are disappointment, grief, hopelessness, insecurity, and
unhappiness. I think these emotions also manifest in my body in my shoulders and head in the form of
tension and headaches.
SHAME: guilt, embarrassment, humiliation, invalidation, regret, remorse, mortification.

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Of the shame emotions, the ones that seem most familiar are guilt and regret. I feel both of those
as a knot in my stomach.
LOVE: affection, arousal, attraction, caring, compassion, desire, fondness, infatuation, kindness, liking,
longing, warmth, sympathy, sentimentality.
The emotions of love that seem most familiar are affection, caring, compassion, kindness,
warmth, and sentimentality. I feel all of these as comforting, relaxed, warm sensation in my chest, right
over my heart, lungs and into the front of my neck.
JOY: amusement, bliss, contentment, eagerness, elation, enjoyment, enthusiasm, excitement, exhilaration,
hope, optimism, pleasure, satisfaction.
The emotions of joy that are familiar are amusement, bliss, contentment, excitement, exhilaration,
hope, and optimism. I feel all of these in my chest, throat, and ears with fullness and the feeling of energy.
These emotions bring up thoughts of hiking in the mountains by myself being one with nature.
Overall, this journal has made me realize how some of the negative feelings are plaguing my body.
Thank goodness for the ability to recognize things and change them. This journal also helped me realize
all of the positive emotions are in my body as well, creating a wonderful feeling. Im thankful the journal
exercise including both negative and positive emotions in order to balance the experience.
(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010)

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5
Unit

Unit 5: Dealing with Stress: Coping Strategies

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: We can change our perceptions. Perception is how we interpret stimuli. We can
change our interpretation through a variety of methods such as reappraisal, relabeling, reframing,
and attitude adjustment. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Much like how thinking of a stressful situation causes the stress response in our
body, thinking negative thoughts can suppress our immune system. Being positive will not only
make you feel happier, but your immune system will also be stronger. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Stressful situations are sometimes out of our control. It is sometimes hard to
accept as if we are stressed, we would like to fix it. In these cases, it is important to just accept it
for what it is. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:
In my first attempt at the Mindful Self-Inquiry for Stress and Anxiety Meditation I experienced a
wide variety of things but overall enjoyed this time for myself. Meditation has proven to be very helpful
for me for stress in general especially because I can practice it anywhere and at any time when I am just
meditating by focusing on breathing.
The Mindful Self-Inquiry for Stress and Anxiety Meditation started out with focus on breathing
which always calms me. I found myself being distracted by many things as I started. I absolutely have a
lot on my mind and am feeling very anxious at the moment. During the breath portion my mind
wondered my dogs, paperwork, and many other things. Each time my mind wondered, I gently brought
my mind back to my breathing. The longer I did it, the easier it seemed to let go of the other stressful

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and busy thoughts.

The next part included a body scan. During this section I started by scanning my feet and
moving up my body. As I was scanning my feet I had two very strong itches that almost made me twitch.
Throughout the scan I found that I was holding my body in a very tight position, especially around my
shoulders, neck and face. As I noticed this tightness, I was able to release it as I didnt even know I was
doing it. This definitely helped with relaxing. I then began to get extremely sleepy and cold. I moved my
hands so that I was sitting on them to help with the cold. I had anticipated feeling chilly and had worn a
jacket to keep warm so Im surprised I was that cold. I also was so sleepy that I nodded off through part
of the body scan. I knew I was tired so I was doing the meditation sitting instead of laying down. After
nodding off, my head bobbed and I was awake again. I readjusted my position and brought my attention
back to the meditation.
The next part of the meditation was about noticing what emotions I was feeling and kind of
flowing through them. This part made me think of anxiety and stress. Thinking about where the stress is
coming from I was able to determine the source. This section of the meditation was definitely regarding
many different fears.
The next part of the meditation was bringing my focus back to my breath, and slowly coming
back outside of my head. As I brought my attention back to my breath, I found it much easier to stay
focused on it. I felt calmer and more relaxed even though I still felt very cold. I slowly came back to
reality.
Overall, after the meditation I felt a sense of calm that I didnt have before. I felt as though I had
taken a nap and was very well rested when I awoke. I also felt very enlightened as to why I have been so
stressed. I know there are the typical things to be stressed about but I also knew that I was a bit more

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stressed than just that. Knowing where the stress is coming from is very empowering. Now that I know
what the fears are, I can counter the feelings of fear with feelings of confidence. This meditation was
extremely beneficial and Im very happy I completed it! I can see how this meditation will continue to be
useful in the future.
(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010)

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6
Unit

Unit 6: Relaxation Techniques 1: Breathing,

Meditation, and Mental Imagery
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Diaphragmatic breathing is a great practice for reducing stress. We often end up
just breathing in our chest, so practicing diaphragmatic breathing is important. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Meditation is also an excellent practice for reducing stress. Meditation helps
focus our minds, working towards not multitasking (and causing stress) in our minds. Practicing
meditation is very important to become better at it and train your mind to focus. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Mental imagery can be a very powerful tool in training your mind and body to
work a certain way. There are different forms of mental imagery but one that is commonly used
is imaging you doing something a certain way. For example, pro athletes imagine performing
their sport very well and cancer patients imagine the cancer treatment killing the cancer.
(Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
Diaphragmatic breathing is helpful as it can be used at any time (after practicing) and when doing it, the
body cannot also have the stress response. Diaphragmatic can be achieved by positioning yourself
comfortably, focusing and visualizing. Meditation can have many positive physiological effects. Mental
imagery can be used to imagine the best case scenario, give a break from incoming stimuli and help with
behavior modification. (Seaward, 2015)

Journal Writing:
Mindful of how you interact with yourself?
When I consider how I talk to myself, I can think of many different scenarios that I am too harsh
that I would definitely not speak to anyone else that way. The first example is in the morning. I often

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wake up and when I look in the mirror I think, Sheesh, you look like you were hit by a train! or
something of that nature. In that moment, my mind is in a negative place and it sets the tone for my
morning. This scenario makes my body feel tired and my mind feel unmotivated.
Seeds of suffering?
In reference to the morning situation that I described, if I started by thinking something positive
about myself the rest of my morning and day would have a better chance of being positive. It might
make me feel motivated to get ready for the day and help build confidence. In addition, if I practiced
being forgiving and understanding with myself, Im positive that would help me more regularly be
understanding and forgiving with others.

Day-to-day life feelings of resentment?

Approaching difficult people and uncomfortable situations with an open heart and beginners
mind is something that I think I have to do quite often. At my job, there are often upset people that are
very angry and being the supervisor, they are referred to speak with me. I strongly dislike confrontation
so this is definitely one of the most challenging parts of my job. Over the years however, I have
discovered the best way to deal with all of the angry clients, with compassion. When I approach each
person with an open heart and really try to consider why they are so frustrated, I often end up having a
successful conversation. I also think that I employ my beginners mind when I approach these situations
and view them as individual. Since there are so many angry clients on a regular basis, it is easy for some
to group them altogether and assume they will all be the same. This takes away the ability to be
compassionate for each individual and really deal with the situation.

Reflection on writing?

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Overall, having compassion for others is just as important as having compassion for yourself.
(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010)

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7
Unit

Unit 7: Nutrition and Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Caffeine can make you more stressed. Caffeine can increase the stress
hormones in your body. Caffeine can also make you more susceptible to becoming stressed.
(Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Aerobic exercise is very important in preventing heart disease. Aerobic exercise
includes activities like running, biking or swimming. Aerobic exercise works the cardiovascular
and pulmonary muscles. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: There are four major factors in exercise. These factors are called the FITT
principle. The four factors are frequency, intensity, time and type of exercise. (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
For this exercise, I performed the short version of lying yoga. When I first began I was very stiff and
painful. By the end of the fifteen minutes, I no longer felt stiff and painful and I also felt very relaxed and
calm. Lying yoga definitely proved to be very beneficial. (Seaward, 2015).

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8
Unit

Unit 8: Physical Exercise and Activity

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Certain types of exercise can improve overall mental health. Exercise can serve
as alone time which allows for time to sort out problems. It can also serve as down time for our
minds. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: There are many different types of yoga, including desk yoga. Desk yoga can be
done at work while sitting at your desk. Desk yoga is a great way to incorporate health into work.
(Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Tai Chi is a form of moving meditation that is based around our chi. Tai chi is
another very effective means for relaxation. (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercises:
In this exercise I posted a pitch for a possible wellness program at my organization. I proposed that we
have a wellness program that addresses both the physical and mental parts of stress with specific
programs that relate directly to the stress that the employees of the organization face. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:
OPENNESS:
As I consider the quality of openness, I like the thought of considering this only one piece of the pie and
that there are many others. I believe doing this will allow me to see the positive intentions people have
instead of the negative thoughts I have.
EMPATHY:
Empathy is something that I practice very often. In regards to empathy, when I have allowed my own
emotions to become too strong, that is the time when I am unable to practice empathy with others.

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COMPASSION:
I often can recognize when others are facing a tough situation or are impacted by something and I try to
put them at ease by being compassionate through understanding, patience and kindness.
LOVING-KINDNESS:
I feel loving kindness for everyone. I find it difficult to feel this way only when I am feeling
overwhelmed with my own emotions. The rest of the time this feels like second nature.
SYMPATHETIC JOY:
I absolutely feel sympathetic joy for many others for all of the amazing things they have accomplished.
EQUANIMITY:
Equanimity is something I have been practicing for as long as I can remember. I have always thought
that no matter who the person is (meaning what they do, what they look like, how they smell, etc.) they
deserve to be treated with respect and kindness.
SUMMARY:
Overall, I believe I have been successful in practicing all of the qualities and only find it difficult when I
feel overwhelmed with my own emotions. For this reason, I believe my own emotion recognition and
experience is what is in need of the most support for once my emotions are calm, it feels easy to practice
all of the qualities.
(Stahl & Goldstein, 2010)

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9
Unit

Unit 9: Applying Stress: Critical Issues for

Management and Prevention to your
Professional Life
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Social orchestration is a way to create the path of least resistance in daily life.
By doing this, we can eliminate daily stressors and make life overall less stressful. Even though it
does not eliminate all stress, it still takes away unnecessary stressors. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Social support is very important in health and dealing with stress. There are
different theories as to why social support is beneficial. Overall, we can deal with stress better
and be healthier if we feel supported by others. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Hobbies are a great way to take a mental break from stress. Participating in an
activity that you and enjoy and feel successful at can help set you up to better deal with the
stressor. It is important however, to not use a hobby to avoid dealing with stress. (Seaward,
2015).

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Additional Information
The following Ted Talk video called The happy secret to better work by psychologist, Shawn
Achor, is another great way to learn how the way we feel can affect other aspects of our life including
our work performance. This secondary resource shines a light on the current perspective of
satisfaction and how it is ultimately ineffective. Its also a very entertaining video!
https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work?language=en

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References

Seaward, B. (2015). 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.
TEDxBloomington. (Producer). May 2011. The happy secret to better work. Available at
https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work?language=en.

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