HW 410 University of Idaho Self Care Stress & Sleep Management Program RATIONALE It is important that we maintain our own health and well-being in order f

HW 410 University of Idaho Self Care Stress & Sleep Management Program RATIONALE

It is important that we maintain our own health and well-being in order for us to most effectively help others maintain theirs. It is also important for us to have experienced many (if not all) of the strategies that we recommend to others that can improve stress and sleep management. This assignment will help to achieve both of these important aspects of being a health and wellness coach.

FORMAT

This course has offered a great deal of information about managing stress, sleep and fatigue that can be used as a health and wellness coach. This information can (and should) also be applied within our own lives for our own health and well-being and so that we are best able to help others. Your assignment is to design a stress and sleep management program for yourself. The Epilogue of Seawards book will help you with the stress management portion of this assignment. In addition to completing the four steps in the Epilogue, design a sleep management program for yourself as well. Please use the rubric as a guide for the components that should be included within your program.

Read pages 543-546 in the Seaward textbook. Seaward lays out a 4 step process that can be used to create your own stress management program. Using these 4 steps, complete a paper that you can be use personally to explain and manage your own stress and sleep. Steps 1, 2, and 3 allow you to brainstorm, reflect and analyze strategies for completing step 4. Step 4 allows you to create your personal stress-management strategy. This is more in the format of a personal plan that you can refer to often. You have the freedom to write, map it, or add embellishments to this plan to make it as personal to your situation as possible. Epilogue: Creating Your Own
Stress-Management Program
Human beings are like tea bags. You don’t know your strength until you’re
put in hot water
range of functions. Exposure to an array of coping strategies and re-
laxation techniques allows you to pick and choose those that are most
appropriate and will ensure the greatest returns. The initial purpose
of this book was to do just that: to provide as great an exposure as pos-
sible. Now, knowledge can certainly be gained by reading a book such
as this; and our educational system is based on this premise. But it has
been demonstrated time and time again that people are less likely to
forget something when they have experienced it for themselves. Thus,
putting the concepts in this book into practice is where the real learning
will take place. The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, which can be
found online, is perhaps the best template to build your foundation of a
personal stress management program.
—Bruce LaingenFormer Charge D’affaires, American Embassy in Iran
The following are my best suggestions for constructing the best per-
sonal stress-management program:
Creating a stress-management program is a very individual under-
taking. There is no set formula or series of dogmatic guidelines, only
suggestions. If there is a secret to successful stress management, it is
to cultivate and utilize your inner resources. Just like Dorothy, who all
along had the ability to leave Oz and return home, you have the power
of your inner resources. Inner resources are those abstract qualities
and characteristics that become a tangible bridge over the chasm of
chaos. These include, among others, intuition, creativity, willpower,
faith, humor, love, courage, self-reliance, and optimism.
After these are nurtured, how does one access inner resources? The
answer begins with awareness and the desire to grow. From this desire
comes a greater consciousness of yourself and the events and circum-
stances in your environment. Ultimately, these circumstances con-
tribute to your growth and maturation. Awareness and desire serve as
catalysts for positive change.
1. Make a habit of spending some quality time each day to get
to know yourself. Take perhaps half an hour every day for
self-exploration, whether in the form of journal writing,
art therapy, music therapy, exercise, or something else. Be
selfish. Believe that you deserve this time, and you will find
it takes priority in your life. Time management is one of the
major cornerstones of a successful stress-management pro-
gram; allocate time for this self-development. Keep in mind
that there is a fixed amount of time in a day and that when a
new activity is planned, an old one must be edited out of the
daily agenda. Survey your daily routine to note where you
can squeeze in a block of time for this purpose. If half an hour
seems too long, start with five minutes and build from there.
And remember that the occasion when you feel you do not
No one relaxation technique works for everyone. Nor is one coping
strategy applicable in every stressful situation. Both focus on a wide
have time for self-exploration is when you need it most.
2. Make a habit of reading your emotional barometer. Recognize
the times when you feel angry, frustrated, anxious, and
guilty. When you catch yourself feeling a certain emotion,
ask yourself, What triggered this response? Why did this
emotion surface? What is the most appropriate action or
behavior to resolve the feeling? Emotional well-being is the
ability to feel and express the full range of emotions, but it
also means being able to control these emotions. On average,
people laugh 15 times a day. Make sure you fill this quota.
3. Practice the art of unconditional love. Self-esteem is so critical
to effective stress management that it should be given top
priority in the design of your stress-management program.
Focus on your positive attributes, not what you perceive to
be your negative ones, and work to enhance these. Don’t just
think of yourself as a physical entity; appreciate your intellec-
tual, emotional, and spiritual aspects, as well. Self-esteem is
the seed of unconditional love. To say hello, to smile, to share
a song, to give positive feedback—these are all expressions of
love. And when these behaviors are practiced, they seem to
double our own sense of self-esteem and self-love.
4. Nurture your creativity skills. Creativity is second in impor-
tance only to self-esteem as a means to manage stress. Cre-
ativity plays a direct role in problem solving and an indirect
role in distracting attention from stressful episodes during
moments of “play.” Don’t let childhood memories suffocate
your creative abilities.
5. Balance all components of your well-being and take time to
nurture them. Stress is often expressed in terms of things
being out of balance. In physiological terms, this is called lack
of homeostasis. But our mental, emotional, and spiritual
components can also lack homeostasis. Search out and prac-
tice ways to help you achieve mental homeostasis by learning
how to either stimulate or desensitize your intellect, de-
pending on its current state. Be attentive to your emotional
component, as well, by being aware of emotional states as
they arise. Learn to express, not suppress, your emotions,
but do it in a way that is both therapeutic and diplomatic.
Take good care of your body. Exercise it regularly. Feed it good
nutrients, and get adequate amounts of sleep. Finally, give
attention to your spirit by taking steps to enhance the mat-
uration of your higher consciousness. Practice centering,
emptying, grounding, and connecting on a regular basis.
Search for and fulfill your purpose in life.
6. Be like a child. Children, like adults, experience acute stress,
but they have not yet learned to be self-conscious about gig-
gling or to suppress their tears. Before children are taught
to conform to adult expectations, they are rich in curiosity,
imagination, and creativity. These and other characteristics
of young children can be relearned if we take the time to do
so.
Designing and implementing a stress-management program of your
own may not seem easy at first, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. It
just takes a little desire, some discipline, and the realization that you
are worth the effort. Most important, you don’t have to be hit with an
avalanche of stressors to begin the process of creating a sense of calm in
your life. You can begin right now, gradually, one step at a time.
The following strategic plan takes into account insights and wisdom
from the previous chapters in the book. As you take yourself through
the progression of steps, feel free to embellish this plan to make it as
personal for your situation as possible.
Step 1. Identify Your Stressors. List your top five stressors
(from most stressful to least stressful) and explain each with a
sentence. The purpose of this exercise is to identify the problem,
which is the first step in resolving it.
there is too much on your plate; some things need to be
edited out or eliminated. If you feel bored, your thresh-
old of stimulation probably is not being reached, and you
might want to consider changing or adding something
to achieve this balance. Mental well-being also involves
attitudes and perceptions.
Describe one thing you can do to find mental balance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Emotions: The spectrum of stress-based emotions is
rather wide, yet each emotion can be traced to some
element of fear or anger. In the course of your day, ask
yourself how you feel (not think, but feel). If you find
that stress emotions occupy more than 50 percent of
your time on a regular basis, this indicates an emotional
imbalance.
5.
Describe one thing you can do to find mental balance.
Step 2. Interventions. Now, look at your list of stressors. Ask
yourself which problems trigger a sense of fear and mark these
with an F. Next, ask yourself which of these issues promote feel-
ings of anger (and remember—anger can surface in a great many
ways, from impatience to rage and hostility). Place an A next to
all of these. It’s okay if you mark one or more items on your list
with both an A and an F. Remember, after you have identified the
underlying emotion associated with the problem, it becomes eas-
ier to address and resolve it.
Body: As you have learned throughout this book, stress
can and will affect physical well-being. Do you have any
health problems that you can associate with stress?
Describe one thing you can do to establish mental bal-
ance.
Step 3. Integration. Stress affects all aspects of our being: mind,
emotions, body, and spirit.
Mind: Do you feel overwhelmed or bored with your
problems? If you feel overwhelmed, this is a sign that
Spirit: Take a look at your current list of stressors. How
3.
4.
many of your stressors involve relationships, values
(or value conflicts), and a meaningful purpose in life?
Spiritual balance can be attained in a great many ways,
from time spent alone in meditation to support groups
or prayer.
5.
6.
Describe one thing you can do to find mental balance.
Skills that you would like to incorporate:
1.
2.
Self-esteem is a part of spiritual well-being. Low self-
esteem sets the stage for problems ranging from a bad
hair day to the day from hell.
Describe one thing you can do to find mental balance.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Step 4. Your Personal stress-Management strategy. Coping skills
are mental and emotional skills that help you change a threaten-
ing perception to anonthreatening perception. Humor, refram-
ing, time management, creativity, prayer, and social orchestration
are just a few examples of coping skills.
Relaxation skills include any and all activities that return you to a
sense of calm and tranquillity.
Skills that you are now using:
Take a look at the list of stressors that you completed in step
1. Try to match at least three effective coping skills with each
stressor.
1.
2.
Skills that you are now using:
3.
1.
4.
2.
5.
.
6.
Skills that you would like to incorporate:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Time management plays a huge role in putting stress-management
strategies to work, especially relaxation techniques. Here is an impor-
tant question to ask yourself. Where can I find a block of time (15 to 30
minutes) to sit or lie down comfortably and relax?
REFERENCES
Carlson, R. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Hyperion Books, New York,
1998.
Kirsta, A. The Book of Stress Survival: How to Relax and Live Posi-
tively. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1987.
Seaward, B. L. The Art of Calm: Relaxation through the Five Senses.
Health Communications, Deerfield Beach, FL, 1999.
Wheeler, C. M. 10 Simple Solutions to Stress. New Harbinger Publi-
cations, Oakland, CA, 2007.

Purchase answer to see full
attachment