stress management plan

Stress Management Plan 1

Stress Management Plan

December 1, 2013


I. INTRODUCTION

Stress management has always been one of my major concerns since as a person with

type-A personality, I usually overwork myself and aim to achieve goals which leave me

physically and mentally exhausted. Despite my coping well with the stress associated with these

activities, I would like to gain more applicable knowledge for my field of working – healthcare.

KINES 082 class taught by Dr. Allen Urich has offered my valuable insights into the nature of

stress and effective methods to manage my stress effectively.

My definition of stress is anything in my life of which the occurrence is not in my routine

or of which the intensity is not habitual to me, and thus leading my uncomfortable physical

reactions or mental state of tension. Lazarus and Folkman define stressors as “the demands that

we perceive as harmful or threatening.” (as cited in Romas, J & Sharma, M, 2010). Below are

several of my stressors which are currently impacting my life:

- Life event stressors: the passing away of my grandmother and immigrating to the US.

- Chronic stressors: getting straight As for eight classes I am taking this fall semester;

achieving my hours goals for volunteering; being able to have time for other non-school-

related activities; being able to handle my new job at Hershey Medical Center well;

preparing myself for MCAT; finishing my application for medical school.

II. EMPLOYING HEALTH BELIEF MODEL TO EVALUATE

THE STRESSORS

As I have learned in this course, my perception and attitude toward understanding and

dealing with the stressors are essential to my adapting of behaviors to prevent future stressful

situations. By using the Health Belief Model (Romas, J & Sharma, M, 27-29), I had an

opportunity to scrutinize one of my stressors to identify the reason why a situation is stressful


and gain valuable insights into what I will do to alleviate the stress level caused by it. The model

itself has proven to be effective for me to explore and predict my long- and short-term stress

behaviors (Health Belief Model, n.d.). Below is the presentation of the components of my health

belief model along with the discussion about what I need to be aware of:

My stressor: Managing time effectively to maintain my GPA this semester with 20+ credits

- Impact health belief model: It helps me organize different aspects of my stressor into

specific categories so that I can manage stress better.

- Perceived susceptibility: tardiness, not finishing tasks on time, procrastination, spending

more time on what should take less, no time for other activities besides studying, inadequate

sleep, etc

- Perceived severity: impact on GPA which has been well maintained for 2 years, failing to

absorb materials in class, failing to reach long-term goals set for different activities, getting

burned out and making everything worse

- Perceived benefits: learning what is needed for future career, getting into schools I aim at,

being well-rounded, having social life, enough sleep, and feeling relaxed.

- Perceived barriers: Proclivity to procrastinate, unexpected events, tasks taking more time

than expected, getting tempted to do more enjoyable activities (movies, games, etc...)

- Cue to action: understanding of this stressor and benefits of reducing/avoiding it

encourages me to manage the stress better

- Self-efficacy: doing my best to stick with my small plans for each day in order to attain

long-run goals

* New insights I gain from using this model: Writing down the barriers which may hinder the

stress management seems helpful although I already have the same list in my head all the time.


So does listing the benefits of managing my stressor since I have a change define my goals more

clearly.

III. PRACTICING RELAXATION TECHNIQUES

Similarly, I used the same model to evaluate my other stressors, and then applied four

different relaxation techniques I learned in this class, besides my own ways of coping with stress,

to achieve relaxation, namely (1) yogic breathing, (2) progressive muscle relaxation, (3)

autogenic training, and (4) visual imagery. Below are summaries of my overall experience with

each technique followed by my current plan of employing these to relieve my stress.

Yogic breathing

To be candid, at my first several tries, I felt a bit uncomfortable holding my breath for a

specific duration during the "pause" stage. However, after two days, I got used to it, and the

overall result was great. I felt more refreshed after the breathing session, which may be attributed

to more oxygen uptake thanks to longer inhalation. I was more aware of my surroundings

through my senses, and the random thoughts on my mind got pushed away because I was

focused on counting the seconds for each stage in my head at the beginning.

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)

Overall, the technique helped me relax and be more aware of my body. I could feel my

muscle relaxed but I was not sure if the results were due to my lying down in bed as usual or to

the technique itself. Compared to yogic breathing, PMR seems to be more effective for me since

I have tight/tense muscles because of long time working. Yogic breathing does not seem to do

much for my muscles. However, one drawback of this technique is that it is so time-consuming,

especially when I have low level of stress and do not need a whole half an hour to relax. In that


case, I’d prefer to use some self-massaging combined with the yogic breathing technique, which

I believe to be more physically effective for me than the PMR.

Autogenic training

This technique helps me clear my mind and feel comfortable by the warm and heavy feelings; it

also gives me an opportunity for introspecting during the session. However, it's a bit time-

consuming, but I can avoid this issue by practicing the technique before I go to sleep.

This technique together with yogic breathing was a good combination for me.

Visual imagery

This technique reminisces of/relives my past moments, and thus elicits a strong emotional

response. I realize that when I delve into my imagination, I act as if I were in the scene, such as

smiling or nodding my head. I can feel the happiness and warmth from those moments came

back to me altogether, making me feel like I'm one of the luckiest people for such an event to

happen to me. Most of the time, I feel relaxed and happy at the end of each session. I feel I

achieve more energy to do my work despite my previous tiredness. I felt more inspired,

encouraged, and confident of myself and my capability, knowing that I'm very much loved by a

lot of people. To my amazement, I've used this technique for a long time without knowing that it

is categorized as a stress-relieving technique. I use it to plan out my personal goals, bring about

the emotional encouragement and/or incentives from the imaginative scenarios, and give myself

inspiration to pursue what I want. In sum, this technique seems to provide the most positive,

encouraging, and emotionally driving effects on me. One reason for this technique to become

quite popular and effective is that there is a subconscious connection between our emotions,

language and behaviors. In her talk at TEDxUpperEastSide, Stefane Cohen poetically talks about

the inability of people to accurately put into words the feelings they have, and suggests that


coming with words that help us better express ourselves and articulate precisely our feelings will

fuel our thinking and action (Cohen, 2013). Emotional drives provide us the general incentives

(for example, to get happier), and words helps us identify what we want to achieve, which all

together are translated into specific actions and behaviors. By understanding this, we can take the

best advantage of the emotions elicited by the visual imagery technique and come up with our

own goals and objectives, not only to reduce stress but also to better our lives.

My future plan of employing these techniques:

Assessing general stress level: Low in most circumstances despite the hindrance and complication

Objectives:

- I will use the visual imagery whenever I feel depressed.

- I will use “power posing” (Cuddy, 2012) before facing a tough situation.

- I will use yogic breathing and autogenic training when I want to relieve physical and/or

mental tensions.

IV. MY PLAN TO ENHANCE MY COMMUNICATION STYLE

Behavior style goal: Assertive communication

General objectives:

Myself

- I will have my thoughts organized before I speak.

- I will be decisive about picking options and not ambivalent to follow it

Group work and professional life:

- I will be candid to point out why some suggestions are not suitable for a group discussion

- I will have others express their opinions and listen to those actively.

- I will not pressure others to accept my ideas as the best, even if they are.


- I will promote others' better ideas.

- I will be honest when evaluating others’ ideas; I will say what I believe despite being

euphemistic.

- I will articulate my emotions and feelings with precise words so that others know what to

expect of me.

How to record the progress: I will keep a small notebook to record the improvement of my

communication. Each time I believe I am assertive in communicating with others or myself, I

will put a checkmark. The numbers of checkmarks will be checked weekly.

V. MY PLAN TO RESOLVE ANGER AND CONFLICT IN MY LIFE

Assessing my ability to control my anger: 8

(1-10, with 10 be the most effective management)

- I will think before I speak.

- I will practice controlling my anger by following procedures described in the book

- I will use the Time-Out Procedure so that I can find time to reflect and introspect.

- I would peruse the Upset Philosophy to assess my situation.

- I will be respectful when conversing with others.

- I will hold a belief that anything can be resolved as long as I stay calm.

VI. MY PLAN TO ENHANCE MY EATING BEHAVIORS

Description of my current eating behavior:

- I occasionally skip breakfasts to get to class on time or to have to finish other tasks

- I sometimes skip lunch and wait till dinner to eat

- Sometimes, I feel as if I don't eat sufficiently during the day because the food in the

cafeteria is terrible, and there's no good place around my campus to eat.


- I sometimes do not allocate enough time for a comfortable meal.

- I eat a lot of candy when I want to have something to chew while studying.

Balancing five food groups: When I eat at home, I try my best to have all five food groups in my

meals. At school, due to expensive prices of food/drink items, I do not have many choices, and I

am not aware much of whether I have all food items in my meal. I do not take in a lot of

caffeinated products during the day, and I consume enough fruit and vegetables in everyday

meal.

General objectives:

- I will take more time to sit down and eat my meals for 20 minutes, and reduce eating on

the go.

- I will have fruits and vegetable every day

- I will try to follow my meal schedule and not to skip any meal.

- I will try to limit the amount of candy I eat.

VII. MY FITT PLAN FOR CARDIOVASCULAR , FLEXIBILITY, AND

STRENGTH CONDITIONING

Physical Activity Rating: not adequate, not habitual

Exercise level: not intense enough, not has an adequate amount of time

How much to improve: a lot. I need a physical activity plan for a week.

General plan:

After this semester, I will reduce workload in my schedule to set aside good amount of time

for physical activities. Currently, I can allocate only a small portion of my time for it because of

other obligated activities.

Simple plan for my current schedule:


- Running on treadmill 4 times a week, 30 min per session.

- Biking about 2 times a week, 30 min per session

- Incorporating 3 parts of warm-up, conditioning, and cool-down in each exercise session

Target goal: to improve cardiovascular performance and flexibility, not strength conditioning (schedule does not allow)

Method to sustain the regularity of physical exercise:

- I put notes on my board (on which I work on every day) to remind me of my exercise plan.

- I set up alarm on my tablet to remind me.

VIII. IDENTIFICATION OF METHODS FOR EFFICIENT TIME MANAGEMENT

- I will create daily schedule of activities with established priority as instructed in the

textbook. I will take some time to sit down before going to sleep and plan my next day

(Newport, 2007).

- I will keep my activity planner with me all the time

- I will make the most out of the time I spend working and make the most efficient.

- I will take good night sleeps.

- I will be assertive and effective in communication, and know when to say no to others.

IX. CONCLUSION

This stress management class has helped me to learn a lot about myself, raise my

awareness of how my body reacts to different stressful situations, and redirect the energy from

the physiological response into actions that alleviate the distress. Equipped with the knowledge

and techniques learned in this class, I will try my best to employ them not only in my personal

life but also in my healthcare career in the future. I may face a plethora of challenges when

implementing my stress management plan and sustaining it, but with the ultimate goal of a

relaxing and successful life, I will assuredly overcome them.


References

Anger management: 10 tips to tame your temper. (2011, June 25). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/anger-management/MH00102

Cohen, S. (2013, August 30). Language of feelings: Stefane Cohen at TEDxUpperEastSide

[Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkOcsUUt1eU

Cuddy, A. (2012, October 1). Your body language shapes who you are [Video file]. Retrieved

from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc

Health Belief Model. (n.d.). Theories Cluster. Retrieved from

http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/theory%20clusters/health

%20communication/health_belief_model/

Newport, C. (2007). How to become a straight-A student: the unconventional strategies real

college students use to score high while studying less. New York: Broadway Books.

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