KAPLAN UNIVERSITY

HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in

Management and Prevention

Stress
Management and
Prevention
1

Program Resource
Guide

KA P L A N U N I V E R S I T Y

Stress Management and Prevention

Program Resource Guide

By
James Keaton
Kaplan University
HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention
26 May 2015

Table of Contents
UNIT

THE

NATU RE

OF

STRESS

Information to Remember..........................................................................
Self-Assessment Exercises.........................................................................
Journal Writing...........................................................................................
UNIT

THE

PHYSIO LOGY

OF

STRESS

Information to Remember..........................................................................
Self-Assessment Exercises.........................................................................
Journal Writing...........................................................................................
UNIT

PSYCHOLOGY

OF

STRESS

Information to Remember..........................................................................
Self-Assessment Exercises.........................................................................
Journal Writing...........................................................................................
UNIT

PERSONAL ITY

TRAITS

AND

THE

HUM AN

SPIRITUAL ITY

Information to Remember..........................................................................
Self-Assessment Exercises.........................................................................
Journal Writing...........................................................................................
UNIT

DEAL ING

WITH

STRESS:

COPING

STRATE GIES

Information to Remember..........................................................................
Journal Writing...........................................................................................
UNIT
AND

REL AXATIO N

M ENTAL

TECHI QUES

1 :

BREATHI NG ,

M EDITATI ON,

IM AGE RY

Information to Remember..........................................................................
Self-Assessment Exercises.........................................................................
Journal Writing...........................................................................................
UNIT

NUTRITI ON

AND

STRESS

Information to Remember..........................................................................
Self-Assessment Exercises.........................................................................

UNIT

PHYSIC AL

EXERCISE

AND

ACTIV ITY

Information to Remember..........................................................................
Self-Assessment Exercises.........................................................................
Journal Writing...........................................................................................
UNIT
AND

9 -APPLYING
PREVE NTIO N

STRESS:

CRITICAL

TO

PROF ESSI ONAL

YOUR

ISSUES

F OR

M ANAGEM EN T

L IF E

Information to Remember..........................................................................
ADDITI ONAL

INF ORM ATIO N

REF EREN CES

(This page intentionally left blank)

1
Unit

Unit 1: The Nature of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: In this unit we were introduced to how stress can impact our lives. I learned how to
identify the stressors in my life and how to rate those stressors. In identifying those stressors we
shouldnt be to general, if we are specific then we are able to see at a later date if that stressor got
worse or better. (Stahl, Goldstein, 2015).
Key Learning Point: We were to complete a universal symbol of wholeness, which is also call Mandala.
Mandala translated means circle and in its basic form is a square with four gates with a circle as the
center point. Our mandala consisted of the four components of mental, spiritual, and physical and
emotional wellbeing. As we constructed our Mandala we decided which areas had the most
importance to ourselves. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: On the discussion board we chose between three questions to discuss. One was how
does one stressor affects your community? Begin to understand how a particular stressor can have a
lasting effect on a community, some can tear the community apart because it makes loves ones have
to chose sides against each other. Or it can bring them together for one common cause. (Seaward,
2015).
Self-Assessment Exercise:
The exercise in this unit was to make a list of 10 current stressors in our lives and then we were to rate
them on a scale of 1 through 10, 1 begin not that stressful and 10 being extremely stressful. We were also
asked to return to the exercise at a later day to determine if the stressor is still there or has gotten better.
(Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:

Unit One Journal Writing Assignment

HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

Unit One Journal Writing

Complete the Journal Assignment entitled: How Stressed Are You? Directions are found on
pages 11 and 12 of the Mindfulness workbook. List the situation on the left. Use a rating scale of 1
through 10 for the start, midway, and end. You will use this Journal Assignment as a way of mapping
your stress throughout the course. Keep it handy and refer back to it often.
Situation

Start

Completing my homework for classes at Kaplan University

Driving to and from work in traffic

Just been notified that at work we will be getting a new

supervisor.

Sitting down to pay bills, (have the money, just stress out
seeing and paying them).

Planning meals for the family

Going through the steps of a project and getting to the end

and it still does not work

Have to talk to inspectors at work about some inspections

Help my daughter look at different colleges

Help wife cope with some of the issues that she is having on
her job.

Planning my Mothers 85 birthday party

Midway

End

References

2
Unit

Seaward, B. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being.
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA:
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
.

Unit 2: The Physiology of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: in this unit we learned about physiology of stress, and that there are three systems
that are directly involved and they include the nervous system, the endocrine system and the immune
system. Psychophysiology is something that I have never heard of; it is the bodys physiological
reaction to perceived stressors, what this is saying is that the stress response is a mind-body
phenomenon. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Another key point was that how stress and diseases often go hand in hand. Once we
become so stressed it can wreck havoc on our immune system. It weakens our system allowing
disease and illnesses to take hold. Immunologist Myrin Borysenko suggested that our body release an
abundance of stress hormones and with that release we can get migraines, Peptic ulcers, Irritable
bowel syndrome and many other types of illnesses. (Seaward, 2015).

Key Learning Point: We learned what mindfulness was and how practicing mindfulness can lead toward
healthy changes. Mindfulness is just being aware of what is happening in the here and now, we can
just listen to our breathing, concentrating on the steps you take or just sitting or lying and listening to
your body. Once you have become in tuned to the mindfulness it encourages you let go of those
things that you find stressful, to become aware and listen to your body (Stahl, Goldstein, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
This exercise asked us a couple of questions about how stress or anxiety was affecting our lives, as we
went through the questions we asked to noticed what feelings or sensation were experienced and to write
them down. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:

Unit Two Journal Writing Assignment

James Keaton

Kaplan University
HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

Unit Two Journal Writing Assignment

Complete the Journal Assignment entitled, Explore: How is stress or anxiety affecting your
life? Directions are found on pages 33 through 35 of the Mindfulness workbook. Upon completion of
this Assignment, you will take the first step toward greater well-being and become aware of how
stress is impacting your life. This should be a minimum of two full pages.
How is stress or anxiety about people affecting your life?
My stress or anxiety about people has a small affect on my life. While I tend to worry a lot about my
love ones, always praying that they are safe and worry a lot when they are not around me has caused
me some stressful times. Since I have renewed my faith and attend church on a regular basis, I have
gotten better with the stress and anxiety. People are going to be who they want to be and it would be
senseless for me to stress over what they say or do, even if it is about me. What they say about me is
none of my business.
How is stress or anxiety about work affecting your life?
I have always told myself that I was not going to let my fellow co-workers stress me out. So, I have
learned to deal with them. I try to live by the motto laughter is the best medicine. I try to make my
time at work as enjoyable as I can. I am a free spirit and, fortunately, my job position allows me the
ability to move around and not tied down to a desk. If I have to stay at a desk and was not able to be
outside, I get very depressed and physically sick. The work itself is not hard, but sometimes they
decide to change everything or add something else to the middle of the job plan just as you think that
you are done. Since we have come to expect that so we pretty much just go with the flow, what else
can you do?
How is stress or anxiety about the world affecting your life?

With the turmoil of the world today, it is a very stressful time. With the up rise of the many different
terrorist groups, it makes life very stressful and difficult to enjoy. We used to be able to go through the
airports with no problems, now it can take quite a while just to get through the security checkpoints.
Besides the terrorist, now you have pilots whom instead of just ending their life are willing to take a
plane full of people to their deaths. I, now, have anxieties about flying. Todays world has a lot of
people afraid to enjoy the things that they used to enjoy. I also have a teenager daughter and I do
worry about her a lot when she out with her friends, even though I know she knows right from wrong,
there are those out there who dont care.
How is stress or anxiety about food and eating habits affecting your life?
My eating habits used to have me worrying about what I ate and how I ate, but since I enrolled in
Kaplan University to receive a degree in Health and Wellness, my whole outlook has changed. I was
so worried about my weight. At first, I was very underweight and stressed because I could not gain an
ounce and always stressed out about how I looked. Now that I have gotten older, it was just the
opposite; my weight would go away. Now I, sometimes, stress over what I should be eating. I see that
cupcake or piece of pie and have to continuously tell myself that I do not need it. I do give in to that
desire now. I worry about if I gained any weight and how far back did I just set myself.
How is stress or anxiety about sleep and sleeplessness affecting your life?
At first I used to see just about every hour throughout the night and I would stress out because I knew
that I would have to get up and get ready for work. It always seems like about one hour before I had
to get up, I would fall asleep. This was very stressful because most time it would happen when I had
something important going on the following morning. I guess it was the actual event of the following
morning that had me so worried and it just carried over to my sleep. My sleep has gotten better and I
am getting a more restful night.

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How is stress or anxiety about exercise or lack of physical activity affecting your life?
I do not have any issues with stress or anxieties about exercise or the lack of it. I start each morning at
about 4 am with time on the treadmill, jumping jacks followed by lifting weights. Once I leave the
gym, I feel great and so far, that feeling will last me throughout the day. I also used to go right before
lunch and I also felt great for the rest of the day when I finished. Doing this helps me break up the day
and get me away from the workplace for an hour or so and it does wonders, mind is clear and I am not
stressed.
Summary
After completing this exercise, it has made me sit down and take a look at my life. I am far less
stressed than I used to be. I have come to the realization that some things that I see are beyond my
control so, it is pointless for me to stress over it. With the things that are happening around the world
and even in my own community, there is only so much that I can do. I have renewed my faith and that
has also taught me how to be less stressed.

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3
Unit

References
Seaward, B. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being.
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA:
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Unit 3: Psychology of Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: in reading chapter 6 I discovered that we actually have different styles of anger.
Never really thought about just thought anger was anger. They asked are you the type to hold it in or
the kind of person who just let it explodes. I think that I am kind of in the middle. Some things are
more upsetting then others, so I tend to let the little things fester. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Something that has always plagued me throughout my life is the fear of failure,
which covers some fears that always seems to really stress me, the fear of public speaking. After
reading unit 6 it explained that a lot of this comes from low self-esteem. (Seaward, 2015).

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Key Learning Point: Never would have thought that depression was a by- product of fear and anger. I can
understand how those two emotions can lead to stress but not depression. I ways figured that
depression only happens when you are sad or lonely. (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
Provide a summary of the exercise to include in the resource guide
In this self-assessment we were to answer several questions so that we can
develop self-awareness of stress-prone and stress-resistant personalities and to
identify obstacles or roadblocks in the path to human spiritually. (Seaward, 2015).

Unit Three Journal Writing Assignment

James Keaton

Kaplan University
HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

13

Unit Three Journal Writing Assignment

Complete the Journal Assignment entitled: Five-Minute Mindful Breathing and Bringing the
Eight Attitudes of Mindfulness into Your Life. Directions are found on pages 45 and 46 of the
Mindfulness workbook. Upon completion of this Assignment, you will begin to understand the
importance of making them a part of your daily life. See what changes occur in relationships with
yourself and others around you. This should be a minimum of one full page.
Take some time to write about whatever you came up for you mentally, emotionally, and physically
when doing this practice for the first time.
When doing this exercise for the first time, I found it quite hard to remain focus on the
breathing, but as the cd progressed, I found that I actually could hear my breathing. Some of the
reasons why it was hard focus are that my mind has a tendency to roam and living near an airport did
nothing to help the situation. Once I got the hang of it, I became relaxed and got my mind to stop
wandering and thinking about the days past events. I even felt a sense of release; not thinking about
anything else but just listening to the sound of my breath. I would have to say that I was a little
optimistic about what I was actually going to experience while doing this exercise. For the mental
aspect of it, I was able to focus more on the breathing once my mind settled down. For the emotional
aspect, I felt a sense of relief and that something had been lifted off of me; basically, I just felt good.
Physically, the little after work headache was gone and the days stress was gone, but all the great
feelings did not last long, because with a grandson and a teenager child in the house, I was jerked
back to reality in a matter of seconds
Summary
This is a wonderful way to rid your self of the stresses and problems that you may have faced
throughout the day and I am looking forward to actually completing the whole cd. I think that

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listening to this cd and others like this can help improve your outlook on life and even help you have a
better quality of life. Many people think that meditation is something that weird or those seeking
enlightenment or some type of fulfillment. While this can be true I found it to be a source of release or
relief. I feel that everyone should take time out of his or her day to meditate.

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4
Unit

References
Seaward, B. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being. Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New
Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Unit 4: Personality Traits and the Human

Spirituality
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: What was learned in this unit 7 there are several types of personality traits. After
reading the different types, found that I am somewhere in the middle of a type A and a type D with a
little bit of the hardness personality in there as well. unfortunately for me according to the reading
these two share a common thread and that is stress. i try not to let thing stress me to much, but being
in the middle of personality traits does explain a lot. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Learned how to apply the 6 stages of changes to any problem that I might be going
through. Once you understand how to apply these stages, if should be helpful in overcoming

16

situations in your life. These stages can be seen as helping you find structure in a situation. (Seaward,
2015).
Key Learning Point: Another learning point was the exercise that was to help us identify the emotions we
had in our body. This exercise force me to sit down and take a deep look into myself and forced me to
look at some ways that I would behave when certain emotions would arise. Sometime it would be
good and sometimes the opposite. (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
This self-assessment was design to make us aware of the stress that we typically face everyday and some
of the behaviors that are associated with it, but sometimes are unaware of it until they surface, and
sometimes creating more stress. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:

Unit 4 Journal Writing Assignment

James Keaton

Kaplan University

HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

17

Unit Four Journal Writing Assignment

Complete the Journal Assignment entitled: Explore: Identifying Emotions in the Body.
Directions are found on pages 74 through 77 of the Mindfulness workbook. Upon completion of this
Assignment, practice taking a moment to mindfully tune in to your body and discover any physical
sensations associated with strong emotions. This should be a minimum of three full pages.
FEAR: apprehension, anxiety, distress, edginess, jumpiness, nervousness, panic, tenseness,
uneasiness, worry, fright, feeling overwhelmed.
When I experience the emotions of fear listed above are most obvious. When I must address a
crowd or put on the spot to do something I am not familiar with or not had time to look it over before
speaking about it. When I experience these conditions, I feel them most in my stomach, my heart is
usually racing, breathing become labored and palms are all sweaty and clammy; sometimes, I notices
always that I will be wringing my hands. One other place that I will notice the changes will be in the
head and neck area. I think all these emotions surface because most people do not like to be put on the
spot and are concerned about failing and feeling incompetent.
CONFUSION: bewildered, uncertain, puzzled, mystified, perplexed, chaotic, foggy, or unaware.
These emotions come about when you are thrown into an unfamiliar situation, perhaps dealing
with the unknown or are bombarded with to many things at one time or being overwhelmed. These
emotions can be felt or manifested in the head and sometimes in the stomach as nausea. Have seen
people that are so confused that they actually have a nervous breakdown, they become scared and
overwhelmed, a lot of times they dont realize that if they just step back and regroup or take a second
or third look at the situation most time it will work itself out.
ANGER: aggravation, agitation, annoyance, destructiveness, disgust, envy, frustration, irritation,
grouchiness, grumpiness, rage.

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These emotions are the ones that are bad for you physically and mentally; if you allow these
things to manifest in you body they tend to cause diseases and issues that can cause you illnesses.
When you are angry you feel this all throughout your body. Your jaws will tighten, hands are clenched
into a fist, and you will feel it in your shoulders and develop headaches. Sometimes, it will cause your
muscles it twitches and even blur you vision or train of thought, which can have you thinking or
acting ill-rationally. I think anger is the most dangerous emotion one can have. Just think about how
many situations could have been avoided if someone would have thought the situation through before
they acted upon it?
SADNESS: alienation, anguish, despair, disappointment, gloom, grief, hopelessness, insecurity,
loneliness, misery, unhappiness, rejection.
When you start to feel these emotions, is mostly when you have a tragedy or sometime bad has
happened. As I am looking at these different emotions, I cannot help but notice that a lot of these
emotions can be tied in with others. So, while you are having one emotion, many others will come
into play. When you experience sadness, most time it is felt in to the heart and also can felt or seen in
one eyes. Sadness can also be felt in the heart. We have heard that she or he was so sad that they did
from a broken heart. I have also felt it in the head and neck region; you become so sad that depression
sets in which can cause headaches and stress related tension. Finally, sadness can be felt in the
stomach as a feeling nauseous or wanting to vomit.
SHAME: guilt, embarrassment, humiliation, invalidation, regret, remorse, mortification.
When we encounter shame or any of the many characteristics at are associated with it, a lot of
times this shows up as in feelings in our head, heart and conscious, whether it is spiritually or
physically we feel this emotion because it weighs on our heart. They are exceptionally painful when
the shame is from something that we have done to someone that we love or care dearly for.

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LOVE: affection, arousal, attraction, caring, compassion, desire, fondness, infatuation, kindness,
liking, longing, warmth, sympathy, sentimentality.
Love is a wonderful emotion to have and experience. We all want to be loved and when we
dont, a whole lot of those emotions that we discussed earlier will surface. I feel that love is the
greatest emotion of all. As we see on television or hear just about everyone who is or was accused of a
crime says that, they were not loved as a child, or we are quick to say that, Little Johnny is acting
bad because he is seeking some attention or love. Most of the songs that we hear on the radio are
about love. When we feel love, we see everything in a whole different view, our heart flutters, palms
become sweaty, and we feel warm over. Sometimes our mind spins and we get the butterflies in our
stomach feeling, basically feeling love is a full body experience and if you were to ask someone what
they are feeling while they are in love, their first impression or response would probably be is that it is
an indescribable emotion or feeling. Just as having love is a wonderful experience, loosing love will
have the total opposite affect. Many lives have been destroyed and lost because of this emotion; of all
the emotions love is the simplest and the most complicated at the same time.
JOY: amusement, bliss, contentment, eagerness, elation, enjoyment, enthusiasm, excitement,
exhilaration, hope, optimism, pleasure, satisfaction.
The emotion joy goes hand in hand with love. When we find love, and as long as it makes us
happy, we will have joy and once we lose it, all the joy and happiness we once had is gone. Joy will
be felt in the heart and once again in our stomachs with the butterflies that we feel.
As we go live our daily lives, we go through many different emotions, some are goods and
some can be bad. Our health depends on how well we can control those emotions or how we let them
control us. If we keep those bad emotions bottle or pinned up, we are ultimately cause ourselves undo
stress. To help ourselves through those times when nothing seems to go right or our emotions gets the

20

best of us, maybe we should just relax, step back for a different look or just ask someone for help.
Ultimately this will benefit your and all those around you.

21

References

5
Unit

Seaward, B. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being. Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New
Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Unit 5: Dealing with Stress: Coping Strategies

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Something that I learned in this unit, that I have a hard time at focusing. The more I
tried while listening to the mindfulness exercise I found my mind wandering and after refocusing
several times it became frustrating which added some stress to the situation. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: When I was able to focus for those brief moments my mind would clear and I was at
a relaxed state and found that the sound of the breathing was relaxing. My goal is to keep listening to
the cd and practicing the exercises I can see the benefits I can gain from them. (Stahl, Goldstein,
2015).
Key Learning Point: This was very helpful me, because with all the madness going on and the changes
taking place in my workplace, teaching on how to cope with stress was right on time. Normally I go
to the gym to help alleviate some of the stress but since I prefer to go in the morning before work it
does nothing for the rest of the day. (Seaward, 2015).

22

Journal Writing:

Unit Five Journal Writing Assignment

James Keaton

Kaplan University
HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

23

Unit Five Journal Writing Assignment

Choose from either formal practice: Walking Meditation or Mindful Self-Inquiry for Stress and
Anxiety. Directions are found on either pages 58 through 60 or 119 through 121 of the Mindfulness
workbook. Upon completion of either practice, take a moment to reflect on whatever came up for you
mentally, emotionally, and physically. This should be a minimum of two full pages.
Take some time to write about whatever came up for you mentally, emotionally and physically when
doing this practice for the first time.
As I went through the process of the Mindful Self-Inquiry for Stress and Anxiety on the cd, it
felt it somewhat challenging. I chose to try the exercise while lying down and was concerned that I
might fall asleep while doing it; however, the guy that was narrating kept that from happening.
Throughout the session, it was hard for me to stay focused on the exercise. I felt myself thinking
about things that I had not accomplished yet and this would bring on some stress as well as anxiety.
Occasionally, I would get a moment of relaxation and it would seem that I was focusing, but then it
would be lost from my mind wandering off. With all the upheaval going on at my job now, it seems
like you cannot get away from it. Even with the stress that I am under from work, I did find that when
the exercise was over, I was somewhat relaxed. I do find that, at times, my thoughts seem foggy as
well as unclear, and when these thoughts are hard for me to express, either with oral or written
communications, it brings about some anxiety and stress.
When I was able to focus on the exercise, I wasnt sure if there were any physical experiences,
but there was some on the emotional and mental level. During those few moments of clarity, the
mental aspect was more of a relief or a burden being lifted. I wish that I could have extended those
moments because even though they were short, it was a great moment. For the emotional points of it,
I actually felt somewhat happy, for those brief moments that I was not thinking about the problems

24

and long hours of my workplace. I felt really good and was glad for that time away from the drama.
Sometimes, I wish that they would hire someone to come in and do these same exercises where I
work; I know that the supervisors could benefit a lot from these exercises. I dont know what physical
feelings that I should have felt, but some aches and pains that I have seems to have subsided for those
brief moments.
I have always wanted to try meditation, and with these exercises, I am finally getting to try it. I
have talked to many people who do this on a regular basis and they swear by it. They told me that
once you understand how to block out the noise, and other distractions around you, this can be a very
useful tool to use when you are stressed. I do like to get up early in the morning before the members
of my household wakes up or get to work a few minutes to an hour early to just sit and listen to the
quiet noise. I guess that is considered a form of meditation. I find those few hours or minutes before
the hustle and bustle of the day begin to be quite refreshing. I like to take time spiritually to pray and
relax and reflect.

Summary
Even though this exercise was not as productive as it could have been, I did learn a lot from it.
My daily life is full of stressors and things that cause anxieties. So, learning how to relax through
mediation will be a great way to improve my mental as well as my physical and emotional health.
Most times my stress levels are low due to the fact that my work environment was a good place with
lots of laughter and fun, but since we have new supervision, it has become a dark and gloomy place. I
still find time to tell a few jokes and share a laugh or two, but learning how to give in completely to
meditation is very important now.

25

6
Unit

References
Seaward, B. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being. Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New
Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Unit 6: Relaxation Techniques 1: Breathing,

Meditation, and Mental Imagery
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: I found in our reading on diaphragmatic breathing to be quite helpful. To find out the
way we breathe now is a learned condition was interesting. Since reading about it I now consciously
try to force myself to breathe in that way. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: What I have learned in this unit that I think will affect me the most is the meditation
part. I know at this point I do have some issues with focusing but over time I know that I can

26

overcome these hang-ups, I feel that only good can come from this. Situations in my personal and
was well as my professional life will only get better. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Practicing mental imagery is sometime that I have done before, but had forgotten
about it. While overseas when I was in the military, this was constantly blasted across the television
screen, to walk away from a stressful situation and find a quiet place and practice mental imagery for
about10 minutes and then return back to the situation. But only do this if it was safe to do so!
(Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
Provide a summary of the exercise to include in the resource guide
For this self-assessment exercise we were to choose from three questions and write about it. They were
about why diaphragmatic breathing considered an effective relaxation method; list three steps that are
important to engage in this technique. What effects does meditation have on the mind and body? And
finally we were to list three ways that imagery and visualization can be a useful relaxation tool. (Seaward,
2015).

Journal Writing:

Unit Six Journal Writing Assignment

James Keaton

Kaplan University
HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

27

Unit Six Journal Writing Assignment

Complete the Journal Assignment entitled: Explore: Is Your Body-Mind Happy? Directions are
found on pages 151 through 153 of the Mindfulness workbook. Upon completion of this
Assignment, practice identifying unkind messages you send to yourself and turn it around with
positive affirmations. This should be a minimum of two full pages.

Mindful of how you interact with yourself?

We interact with ourselves harder than what most people would. We have heard of the saying,
we are our own worse critic. I find this to be very true, because when we make mistakes or forget
to do something that was important to us or perhaps to others, we end up beating ourselves up. When
we tell ourselves how worthless, or useless we are sometimes if we tell ourselves enough times we
start to believe that it is actually true. I dont think the average, or normal, person would ever talk that
way about another person. So why do we do it to ourselves? I think we do it to ourselves because
subconsciously we probably feel that this is what everyone else around us is saying secretly. We often
call ourselves names, or ask ourselves, How could you be so stupid? or nice going genius. Most
times if we just step back and take a look at the situation, it wasnt as bad as we first thought it was. If
we were not so hard on our self, just think what we could accomplish. People tend to work better, or
feel better about themselves, if there was positive reinforcement in their lives. I think my body and
mind could be happier than it is now. Right now with the problems in my work place, my schoolwork
is suffering. So, when a deadline has come and I am not ready, I am very hard on myself, because I
did not meet the goals that were set and ultimately if affects my finally grade. I try to tell myself that
it will be okay, but once I begin to think about it, the self abuse begin.
Seeds of suffering?

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We sow those seeds of suffering on ourselves. If we are ever rejected, or not made to feel as
part of a group, we sulk into pity or shame. We suffer because we felt that we are not good enough for
that person or group of people. We also add to that suffering, as we tend to relive the situation over
and over again in our minds. Sometimes we relish, or highlight, our suffering so maybe someone
would notice and take pity on us, or give us the attention that we so desperately seeking.
Subconsciously, we tend to send ourselves unkind messages; we are not pleased by our appearances
or personalities, or we just wish we were someone else. We dont really care what that persons life
could actually be like; we just dont want to be ourselves. As I said before, we often beat ourselves up
because we feel that we dont measure up to someone else expectations.
Day-to-day life feelings of resentment?
We often suffer from resentment from others when they receive special treatment or get something
that you felt that you should have received. My resentment would be toward my 2nd line supervisor.
Im not quite sure how you would handle someone who thinks they are the best supervisor around, but
in all actuality they dont have a clue. The resentment comes when you know that he got that position
because it was not what he knew, but whom he knew. We try to see what positive aspects that he
brings to the workplace, but its going on three years and we are still waiting. Also the resentment lies
in that we see many others who are well qualified for that position but were overlooked because of his
connections. According to our reading, we must find some positive qualities; however, there is none. I
feel the reasons for this is that he lacks the people and communication skills that are needed when you
are in that position and he is also closed minded and unwilling to listen to anyone elses ideas. He has
actually said, That this is a dictatorship and its his way or the highway. He later denied it, and with
that statement, he lost his credibility with everyone. I feel the reason for these behaviors are due to his
insecurities and lack of knowledge of the project that we are working on.

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Reflection on writing?
Is your body-mind happy? I feel on the average most of us are body-mind happy. We feel that
we do have some self-worth. I feel that it is normal to check ourselves every now and than. By
doing this we keep ourselves grounded and humble. We want feel that we are always better than the
next person; we understand that we are human and is bound to make mistakes. On the other hand, it is
very unhealthy for us to constantly put ourselves down or to feel that we have no meaning or purpose
in life. It is okay to occasionally to tell yourself how good you are, or that you did a great on that
presentation or simply, you are someone and you do matter.

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7
Uniti

References
Seaward, B. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being. Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New
Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Unit 7: Nutrition and Stress

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: This unit taught me the different components fitness, and explained the importance
each one of them. When you workout you can not just concentrate on one particular area, in order to
get the best workout you will need cover all six components (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: The FITT concept was another important lesson in this unit. When I go to the gym I
was not thinking about how many minutes I was spending on one session, it was I needed to get this

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done before it is time for me to hit the showers and get to work. Now I arrive a little earlier to allow
myself plenty of time. (Seaward, 2015).

8
Unit

Key Learning Point: Learned about the domino effect with nutrition and stress. As we walk along
stressed, our bodies are being robbed of nutrients. Made you to understand that when we neglect
stress and eat poorly that one condition will create worse conditions and by the last domino to fall we
have greatly compromised our health. (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercise:
Provide a summary of the exercise to include in the resource guide
In this self-assessment were to practice the sitting meditation, is meditation was
to teach you once again on how to focus on the body and mind, to understand the
feelings that you are experiencing and to relax to relieve any stress. if you didnt
want to try the sitting meditation there was the Mindful Lying Yoga which
taught some of the basic yoga positions. (Seaward, 2015).

Unit 8: Physical Exercise and Activity

Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: I dont know if this is a learning point or not, never really considered physical
exercise as stress, but as I got to thinking about it yes it is stress. You push your body to its limits and
you are constantly stretching those muscles, when someone is stressed their nerves are stretched so I
can see the similarities. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: One learning point was the exercise from our workbook. After going through the six
characteristics, it forced me to take a look at myself and realize how I treat people, some good and
some bad. This exercise made me understand that ultimately everyone wants to feel needed and
loved. (Seaward, 2015).

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Key Learning Point: This key learning point should be information that you learned that was of particular
importance to you, your life, and your current or future profession. Must have 2 to 3 sentences per
key learning point with a reference cited properly (Seaward, 2015).

Self-Assessment Exercises:
Provide a summary of the exercise to include in the resource guide
The exercise in this unit was design so that we would have partners to run ideas by to help with designing
a health and wellness proposal to possibility submit to a company to start a health and wellness program
for their employees. (Seaward, 2015).

Journal Writing:

Unit Eight Journal Writing Assignment

James Keaton

Kaplan University
HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

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Unit Eight Journal Writing Assignment

Complete the Journal Assignment entitled: Explore: Creating Connection. Directions are found on
pages 161 through 163 of the Mindfulness workbook. Upon completion of this Assignment, practice
developing these qualities in building stronger and healthier relationships.
This should be a minimum of one full page.
OPENNESS:
This will give anyone the ability to really see that person. Most often we tend to perjury someone
from things that we may have heard about him or her which may or may not be true. By allowing the
openness, we can give them the benefit of the doubt and get rid of any preconceived notions that we
might have against them. I think a lot of us live by that old saying first impression is a lasting
impression, but sometimes we meet people on some of their worse days, and thats not who they
really are. So openness would allow you to see and who that person really is. Once you have that
openness with that person, you are then able to decide if you want to form a relationship with that
person.
EMPATHY:
Can you put yourself in their shoes? comes to mind when I think of empathy. If I can identify with
you and your feelings or situation, then I can understand why you feel or do something a certain way,
but to truly connect with some one, you will have to be true to yourself and acknowledge your
feelings.
COMPASSION:
Once you have empathy, then you can have compassion for that individual. You feel for their pain and
suffering. In todays world, we are lacking compassion, and if we lack compassion, how can we truly
understand or feel someone else pain?

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LOVING-KINDNESS:
When you genuinely wish someone well, and it is heartfelt, is loving-kindness. We have always
wished people good luck or wished them well. For those we dont know, how true are we committed
to that statement? When it is someone we know, it comes from the heart and it makes us happy or feel
good to see that person or persons doing well.
SYMPATHETIC JOY:
I think loving-kindness and sympathetic joy goes hand in hand. When I wish someone good luck, and
they do succeed, it does my heart good. Especially if the person had a hard time achieving that
milestone in their life. If they struggled, or had any adversity, it will make it that much more sweeter
for them and myself.
EQUANIMITY:
You gain a better understanding of all things in life are somehow connected. Once you realized that
everyone just wants and needs the basic things that makes us human, such as kindness and love, we
then can understand that all human beings deserves to be treated with consideration. If everyone used
all the qualities of interpersonal mindfulness everyday, could you imagine what type of world we
would live in?
Summary
How can we practice these qualities? We start by first loving and understanding ourselves.
Once we have figured that out, it will be much easier to bring all these qualities together. I consider
myself to have all of the above qualities, and actually our workbook: A Mindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction Workbook has opened my eyes to a lot of things that I might not have ever been introduce

35

to had it not been for this class. I think that this handbook should be used in a lot of workplaces and it
would get rid of a lot of workplace violence.

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References

9
Unit

Seaward, B. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being. Burlington,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New
Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Unit 9: Applying Stress: Critical Issues for

Management and Prevention to your
Professional Life
Information to Remember:
Key Learning Point: Never considered forgiveness as a stress reliever. Once I started to consider the
possibilities it made sense. You are so made at someone and you dont realize how tight your jaws
are, maybe youre so mad your forehead is all crinkled, knuckles start to lose circulation. Once you
forgive it seems like a weight have been lifted and you feel so much better. (Seaward, 2015).
Key Learning Point: Had never heard of mindfulness before this course, but now I dont know if I can do
without it. When I am at the gym now while on the treadmill or bike just by concentrating and
listening to my breathing, before I know it my time is just about up on the equipment. I know that I a

37

not completely zoned out but it helps to keep me from think about how time I have left. (Seaward,
2015).
Key Learning Point: I feel that I have greatly benefited from this course as a whole, I have always been
intrigued with meditation but thought that it wasnt that cool so never really tried it. now I am glad
that I was forced to try it. I also try to apply a lot of the techniques that I have learned into my
everyday life. (Seaward, 2015).

Additional Information
Place additional information here important to your resource manual. This can come from the
Discussion Boards, Internet or the current curriculum. List at least one book, article, two websites,
video, PowerPoint Seminar presentation, Reading, or other material you want to include in your
resource guide. Identify your sources as primary or secondary sources.
The book that I found to be the most interesting book that we had throughout this course
was our workbook A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook. Being in the military for 20
years, I have come across many situations that were very stressful, having a class with this
workbook could have done a lot for the people in that situation. They do have a health and
wellness office on most if not all military installations and stress reduction is talked about a lot,
but I feel a workbook of that caliber can do a lot. This workbook is a primary source.

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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.

39