Personal Stress Management Assessment

Personal Stress Management Assessment

Summary of my Self-Assessment

Stress is a condition that arises when the demands of an individual are higher than the supply. In general, resources are not enough to meet the requirements of a person in life, which makes stress a common thing for human beings (Olpin, & Hesson, 2014). The pressure to meet the demands leads to building up of thoughts of how to survive in life, which further leads to stress. Personally, I assess whether I am stressed by evaluating my anxiety levels, heartbeat rates, and breathing patterns. Whenever I feel anxious about something, I know that I am stressed. Difficulty in breathing and an increase in the heartbeat rates also sends me a signal that all is not well. Additionally, I use a stress-o-Meter to compare my previous experiences with the current ones. This gives me a clear picture of whether I am stressed or not. In the stress-o-Meter rating, I have been getting a score of ten, which indicates that my anxiety levels are high. It feels like my life is blowing up, and the stress levels are piling up each day.

The high scores in the stress-o-Meter ratings and breathing difficulties have emanated from the high expectations from my parents. The pressure of performing well in class and having dreams of making it in life has been stressful. My mind responds actively to stressful situations by creating anxiety and tension in the muscles. Moreover, stress creates a hyperarousal state of the brain, where it remains active, which even makes it hard to sleep (Staner, 2010). I have been experiencing feelings of being tired and exhausted whenever I want to engage in physical activity. Fatigue and feeling pain in the muscles has been affecting me whenever I want to work out.

Nevertheless, I have learned that stress can overburden a person. It takes courage and commitment to overcome it. Besides, I have realized that setting personal time to reflect on my life can help in lowering the stress levels. I have accepted the fact that my parents are justified to expect a lot from me. It is upon me to work on myself and know how I can meet their expectations without living a stressful life. Secondly, I have developed a positive attitude towards life without any negativity. The attitude that one adopts determines how fast the stressful moments are solved. Acceptance also clears the mind and helps one to have clarity in life on what he wants and desires to achieve.

Stress Log

In my stress patterns, I have noted that stress sets in mostly in the evening after classes. During the morning, the mind is clear, and the body is fresh to kick start the day. However, the day’s activities are stressful, which leads to piling up of stress in the evening. I mostly feel like the head is blowing up due to the difficult concepts taught in class. Lack of sleep also sets in due to the stressful thoughts in my mind. I have also learned that different stressors lead to different stress levels. The pressure to perform in class is one of the most stressful factors in my life. The high expectations of the professor and my parents create a lot of pressure in my life. Additionally, thoughts about my future in terms of life after school also activates my stress levels.

One of the ways I have been responding to stress is through meditation. It helps a person to have a sense of balance, self-awareness, and lowers anxiety levels (Olpin, & Hesson, 2014). I have been relaxing my thoughts in a quiet place during the evenings. This allows me to focus on one thing at a time, which also gives me a clear map of what I want to achieve. I also focus my thoughts away from school by listening to music and watching movies. This shifts my thoughts away from class and the pressing issues in life. Moreover, I direct my focus on having good moments with my friends by sharing jokes. When I am with friends who are jovial and forthcoming, my mind relaxes, and the pressure of performing in class is relieved. During the laughing moments, the mind also calms down hence relieving the stress levels.

I also handle stress by engaging in simple exercises. My body reacts positively to exercises where both my mind and muscles are perfectly relaxed. One of the perfect exercises I prefer is going out for a walk during weekends with one of my classmates. Walking along the streets and enjoying the serene environment calms my mind hence relaxing my thoughts. We also visit the park and a children’s center to interact with kids. Seeing the kids play is a refreshing moment that relaxes one’s mind and eliminates all the stressful thoughts. During weekdays, I also prefer working out in my room. Stretching acts as a form of muscle relaxation, which helps to ease tension and lower the stress levels. I have also realized that working out in my house is effective in relaxing my mind in the evenings.

Stress Management Plan

Since stress is unavoidable, people must learn how to come up with effective management strategies that will lower their stressful thoughts. Meditation is one of the stress management techniques that I have been using to relieve stress. It is a straightforward relaxation technique that does not require an expert. It only needs a mental device termed as a mantra, which can be a word or a sound. Additionally, meditation requires an individual to be in a quiet environment and a relaxed sitting position. Meditation calms the mind by clearing all the negative thoughts and focusing on a single item. The body and the mind are also in a balanced state; hence there is no room for negative thoughts.

Implementing the meditation technique has positively impacted my life by lowering stress levels. I have experienced a lot of change in my stress levels. In the evening, I have always had a pattern of being stressed from the day’s activities. However, meditation has helped to calm my mind and eliminate unnecessary thoughts. Since I started practicing the meditation technique, my stressful thoughts have significantly disappeared in the evening. I am now always relaxed after meditating for a few minutes. However, I feel that proceeding with the meditation technique in the coming days will be difficult. Meditation requires a quiet and relaxed environment, which is hard to find in the school premises (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Noises from students and cars passing along the road make it difficult to concentrate when meditating. I have also learned that I need to explore other techniques, such as muscle relaxation. I feel that my body is also affected when the levels of exhaustion are high, and I need to relax the muscles.

Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is another meditation technique that I feel is effective in lowering stress levels. Tension in the muscles, which takes the form of tight shoulders, and back pains are common causes of stress (Olpin, & Hesson, 2014). I have chosen PMR because it is a simple technique that one can undertake on his own. I feel that this technique will help to relieve the feeling of being exhausted in the evening. The stressful thoughts of raising my performance in class generate muscle tension in the body. Therefore, I feel that PMR will help in relaxing my muscles, which will further lower the stress levels.

The power nap technique is the other stress management technique I would choose and use it in the long term. It is a simple exercise that requires only a floor and a mat or a bed. A power nap encompasses different elements, such as yoga, deep breathing, and relaxation exercises. It also helps one to relax both physically and mentally through yoga and breathing exercises (Deshpande, 2012). Besides, it increases the focus of an individual, creates more energy and a sense of rejuvenation. I would like to implement the power nap technique in the long term as it will help in both mental and physical relaxation. The act of having a quiet moment will relax my mind and generate positive thoughts. Additionally, yoga exercises will relax my muscles hence lowering the tension that leads to stress.

References

Deshpande, R. (2012). A healthy way to handle workplace stress through Yoga, Meditation, and Soothing Humor. International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2(4), 2143-2154.

Olpin, M., & Hesson, M. (2014). Stress Management for Life. A Research-based Experiential Approach.

Staner, L. (2010). Comorbidity of insomnia and depression. Sleep medicine reviews, 14(1), 35-46.

Varvogli, L., & Darviri, C. (2011). Stress Management Techniques: evidence-based procedures that reduce stress and promote health. Health science journal, 5(2), 74.