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
Randi Dunda
Kaplan University

HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

17 June 2014

Table of Contents
U NIT

THE

NATUR E

OF

STRES S

Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
U NIT

THE

P HYSIO LOGY

OF

ST RESS

Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
U NIT

THE

PSYCHO LOGY

OF

ST RESS

Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
U NIT

PERSO NAL ITY

TRAITS

AN D

THE

HUM AN

SPIRIT UAL ITY

Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
U NIT

DEAL I NG

WITH

ST RESS:

COPI NG

STRATE GIES

Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
U NIT

REL AX ATIO N

TEC HN IQ UES

IM AGE RY

Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
U NIT

NUT RITI ON

AND

STRESS

Information to Remember

1 :

B REATH IN G,

M EDI TATIO N,

A ND

MEN TAL

Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
U NIT

PHYSIC AL

EXE RCISE

AND

ACTIV ITY

Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
U NIT

APPLYI NG

PRE VEN TIO N

TO

STRES S:

YOUR

CRI TICAL

P ROF ESSI ONAL

ISSU ES

F O R

M A NAGEM EN T

L IF E

Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
AD DITI ONAL

INF ORM ATIO N

(End of the Guide)

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AN D

1
Unit

Unit 1: The Nature of Stress

Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit Overall health does not necessarily mean just
the absence of disease. One can be unhealthy even if they do not have illness
or disease.
Being healthy means engaging in a healthy lifestyle; this
encompasses having good nutrition habits, leading more than a sedentary or
slightly active life, and having the ability to deal with stress in an effective
manner.

Key learning point from the unit There are a lot of things in your life that cause
us stress, even if we do not think they are affecting us. This can include
anything from finances, to work, to family.

Key learning point from the unit Being an integrated person is something that
is very helpful in obtaining and maintaining overall health and wellness. What
this means is that you not only rely on allopathic medicine for prevention and
treatment, but you also incorporate the use of complementary and alternative
medicine modalities to help as well.
(Seaward, Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and WellBeing , 2009)

Resources: Exercises:

List the title (s) of Exercise (s) selected to include in the resource guide Daily
Stressors

Making a table that lists my daily stressors, as well as rank them. Doing this on a
regular basis will help me keep things in perspective and will allow me to
know where to focus my efforts to reduce stress.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s) of Journal Writing (s)selected to include in the resource guide
Sleeping Patterns

Since I am an older student who is returning to college and have a family life, I
would say that my sleep patterns are pretty consistent and are not changed
due to starting back to school. I do get to bed before midnight every night,
usually sometime between 10-11pm. Due to the fact that I am a chronic pain
sufferer with a spinal fusion, I have been prescribed both a pain medication
and an additional sleep aid in order to ensure a good nights rest. Without
those, I would be waking every time that I turn during the night due to pain.
One thing that has changed since I started school is that I wake up some
nights and worry about schoolwork. Other than that, I usually get 8 hours of
sleep-if I do not, I can really feel it because of the medication I use to sleep.

(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

2
Unit

Unit 2: The Physiology of Stress

Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit

signs of a stress response.

It is important to recognize what are my

Key learning point from the unit It is important for me to change my frame of
mind and focus on relaxing when these occur.

Key learning point from the unit Knowing my numbers (blood pressure,
cholesterol levels, weight) are perfect indicators of my risk of stress related
diseases.
(Seaward, Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and WellBeing , 2009)

Resources: Exercises:

List the title (s) of Exercise (s) selected to include in the resource guide
Physical Reactions to Stress

This is a table that details what physical reactions that I have when immediately
threatened, intermediate (within hours after) stress response, and prolonged,
long term stress.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s) of Journal Writing (s) selected to include in the resource guide
Physical Symptoms

I do have a high score (77); however, much of this is due to my spine being fused
with residual effects from that affecting my neck muscles as well. The points
accumulated in the other areas not associated with the muscle tightness and
pain are due to stress related issues.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

3
Unit

Unit 3: The Psychology of Stress

Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit There are five building blocks of psychological
stressors according to Robert Sapolsky: outlets for frustration, social support,
predictability, control, and perception of things worsening.

Key learning point from the unit Stressors are many times either fear based or
anger based; they are also very likely the result of unmet expectations.

Key learning point from the unit Self-esteem plays a big part in how you deal
with stress, and whether you promote it or resolve it easily.

(Sapolsky, 2004)

Resources: Exercises:

List the title (s) of Exercise (s) selected to include in the resource guide Anger
Checklist

This checklist lets me identify which symptoms and results of anger that I
experience. Since anger is a primary result of stress, this will help to identify
when I am feeling anger, even when I do not realize it. This, in turn, will help
me to diffuse the situation before it gets past the point of no return.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s) of Journal Writing (s) selected to include in the resource guide
Psychology of Stress: My Unmet Expectation

A pretty recent unmet expectation that I have had to face was the loss of my
ability to be as physically active in my life as I once was. I absolutely love to be
doing things that are physically active, but a spinal injury and eventual surgery
has taken a significant portion of that ability away from me. For me, I think
that I am somewhere in the middle of the Anger and Depression stages. I am
not at the acceptance stage, as I still feel there is hope for me to be more
active than expected. I hope I never reach that stage, since that would feel
like I gave up on myself.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

4
Unit

Unit 4: Personality Traits and the

Human Spirituality
Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit Your type of personality can determine if you
are stress prone or stress resistant. You cannot change your personality type,
but you can change different traits of your personality that may make you
more stress prone.

Key learning point from the unit As we move through our lives, those things
that are most important to us change. As a result, those things that cause us
stress will change as well.

Key learning point from the unit Self-esteem plays a major part in how we
prevent and deal with stress. It is a vicious cycle, meaning if we have low selfesteem, we will not deal well with stress; in turn, if we do not deal with our
stress, we will have lower self-esteem. One directly affects the other.
(Seaward, Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and WellBeing , 2009)

Resources: Exercises:

List the title (s) of Exercise (s) selected to include in the resource guide
Distractions of the Human Path

I chose this exercise to use from this unit because it puts ones life in perspective,
as far as what is really causing us to veer away from our most balanced path
for our lives. We all require different things in our lives to keep us balanced
and centered, as well as different means of achieving those things. By keeping
a regular list of what we perceive to be distractions that keep us from our true
paths, we can focus on how to change our daily paths in order to avoid them,
or how to deal with them differently so that they do not become distractions.

(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s) of Journal Writing (s) selected to include in the resource guide
The Stress-Prone Personality Survey, and The Stress-Resistant Personality
Survey

I chose these two surveys because they will allow me to keep up with how I am
doing as far as leaning toward being stress-prone or stress-resistant. We know
that we cannot change our personality type, but we can change the traits that
make us lean one way or the other. This is helpful as it can allow me to focus
on which traits I possess or that dominate my character that are unhealthy or
healthy. By doing this, I can work on lessening the ones that cause me to be
more stress-prone, and to nurture the ones that allow me to be more stressresistant.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

5
Unit

Unit 5: Dealing With Stress: Coping

Strategies
Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit By examining the stressors in our lives, we
can very often change our perspective on them. This allows us to put a more
positive spin and view on them, which virtually takes the stress out of the
stressor, or at least diminishes it. This practice is called reframing.

Key learning point from the unit When we do not deal with stress well, the
area of the brain, called the hippocampus, is damaged. This is the area of the
brain that deals with memory and learning, and degenerates when exposed to
stress hormones. This causes it to age faster. If we deal with stress in a more
effective, healthy way, we essentially keep this vital part of our brains from
aging prematurely.

Key learning point from the unit There are three effective ways of successfully
dealing with stress: physical conditioning, psychotherapy, and repetition.
These are essentially exercising on a regular basis, counseling, and becoming
familiar with the things that cause you stress in order to lessen the severity of
your stress response.

(Sapolsky, 2004)

Resources: Exercises:

List the title (s) of Exercise (s) selected to include in the resource guide
Reframing: Seeing a bigger, clearer Perspective and Time Crunch
Questionnaire

I chose the first because it allows me to take inventory of all the things that cause
stress in my life, and force me to see the more positive, beneficial side of them.
This completely changes my attitude towards these things, and causes me to
be less stressed about them. Basically, it puts things into true perspective, and
shows me that these things are not as stressful as I would tend to make them.
This is important to help me maintain a lower overall stress level.
I chose the second because it helps me to keep my codependency traits in check.
By seeing where I stand on the different traits, by keeping my scores and
occurrences on the low end, I can be sure to keep my stress level down.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s) of Journal Writing (s) selected to include in the resource guide
Value Assessment and Clarification

This writing allows my to take stock of and keep inventory of those things in my
life that I would define as my values. Values define a person, and how much
priority one puts on certain things can cause a certain level of stress. This
allows me to put those things that are necessary in my life at the top of the
values list, and to put those things that are not lower down. By knowing what
are your true values, one can more effectively determine the reasons behind
our thought processes and beliefs. We can also determine if any of these
values are in conflict with each other, which will most definitely cause added
stress in our lives. This will also help us to determine what and if we need to
work on to alleviate those conflicts.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

6
Unit

Unit 6: Relaxation Techniques 1:

Breathing, Meditation, and Mental
Imagery
Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit Learning how to breathe properly is a great
way to teach yourself how to relax. By concentrating on how you breathe, it
can lower your blood pressure, lower your heart rate, and lower your overall
stress response.

Key learning point from the unit There are two main categories of meditation:
inclusive and exclusive. Inclusive meditation is one that allows ones minds
and thoughts to wander; this type would include Zen meditation, and is most
often used by those who tend to worry a lot, and allows them to let go of
worry and welcome distractions. Exclusive meditation is one that requires
focus on a single object or thought; it is one that wipes clean the mind, and
is helpful for people who lead very busy lives and need to have a clean slate,
and yoga would be a good example of this.

Key learning point from the unit Mental imagery and visualization are
sometimes classified as being different forms of meditation, but they are
essentially the same.
(Seaward, Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and WellBeing , 2009)

Resources: Exercises:

List the title (s) of Exercise (s) selected to include in the resource guide Short
Guided Visualizations

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I chose this exercise because it was a great learning experience that will be
beneficial to carry with me from now on. By going through these guided
imagery/visualization, I was able to tap into a place and time that I felt very
much at peace. This has served me well since then, as I picture myself back at
that very place when I start to feel stressed. I can feel everything about the
place, as well as the smells, sounds, and emotions that were present. It was a
great experience, and one that I will continue to explore.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s) of Journal Writing (s) selected to include in the resource guide
I Have a Vision: The Art of Visualization

I chose this writing because it opened my eyes to what the world of guided
imagery and visualization can do for a person. It can be extremely helpful in
bringing one down off the ledge of stress, and more importantly, prolonged
stress. It did a great deal for me, and I continue to put hone these skills with
each time I engage in them.
(Seaward, 2009) (Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook)

7
Unit

Unit 7: Nutrition and Stress

Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit The most common way that stress affects our
eating habits, according to Seaward, is that they tend to overeat. The reason
for this is that we have become accustomed to using food as a pacifier. We
also use eating as a relaxation method, and as a reward system. Ultimately,
we use eating as a coping technique. It is for this reason, combined with the
lack of quality of the foods we choose, that there is an obesity epidemic in this
country. In some cases, however, it is the opposite, and some individuals will
under eat if they are stressed. In either case, stress-eating habits make a
person very susceptible to being nutritionally deficient.

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Key learning point from the unit Stress affects all aspects our digestive system.
It also affects both the absorption of our food nutrients and our elimination
processes. When we are stressed, we tend to crave more comfort foods. This
often times will mean we will reach for the processed, unhealthy foods, which
in turn, affects not only what we absorb from our food, but what is even
possible to get nutritionally, from those foods. In addition, certain foods that
often are included in those comfort foods (sugar, caffeine, salt) will evoke the
stress response.

Key learning point from the unit There are four stress domino factors
according to Seaward:

1. Stress depletes our system of important nutrients-water soluble vitamins as

well as many essential minerals that are used for energy during the fight or
flight response.
2. The way we currently live our lives as Americans, in general do are not
conducive to dealing with stress. We lead stressful lives, but our eating habits
(junk food, fast food, processed foods) do not replace the essential nutrients
lost during a stress response.
3. Many of the foods we do consume work to keep the stress response elevated.
These foods include: caffeine, processed sugar, processed flour, and salt. This
can even include alcohol, if it
is over used.
4. Processed foods in our diet will include toxins such as: synthetic or petroleum
based fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. These will hinder the immune
system from working effectively and efficiently. This domino level can lead to
cancer, diabetes, colds, flu, and many other illnesses.
(Seaward, Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being ,
2009)

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s) of Journal Writing (s) selected to include in the resource guide
Stress Related Eating Behaviors

I chose this writing because it gives me a good tool to evaluate my eating habits
when it comes to stress. It lets me see if stress affects them a lot, or not as
much as I think they do. When I did this exercise, I was pleasantly surprised
to learn that I am more mindful of my tendency to mindlessly eat when
stressed than I thought I was. This questionnaire will be very helpful in the

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future to keep abreast of my eating habits, and not allow them to become a
thoughtless action.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

8
Unit

Unit 8: Physical Exercise and

Activity
Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit When one exercises, mainly in cardiovascular
exercise, there is a very important thing that this does for us as far flushing
out the stress hormones. In just one round of exercise, stress hormones are
burned off by sending them to their intended purpose, instead of allowing
them to stay in the body. When they hang out in the body, they work against
both our vital organs as well as our immune system. So, by working out on a
regular basis, we are effectively changing the oil in our systems, moving out
any toxic substances. They are not toxic in and of themselves, but if they are
left to fester, they will start to wreak havoc on our vitally important systemssystems that are essential for us to maintain good health. By exercising, we
use up those stress hormones so they will not become unwanted, over-staying
their welcome, guests.

Key learning point from the unit Physical exercise is vital in ensuring that our
bodies use stress hormones for their intended purpose, rather than allowing
them to stick around and cause issues. Physical exercise, since it is deliberate
act, allows us to essentially cause a stress reaction in our bodies. We also
adapt to the stress response, called a parasympathetic rebound effect, which
causes us to have less negative effects when we are faced with a stressor.

Key learning point from the unit Physical exercise is the stress response, in
that it increases heart rate, increases blood pressure, increases rate of
breathing, increases metabolic activity, increases muscle contraction, and

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increases perspiration. In the long run, though, the physiological effects of

physical exercise include: decreased heart rate, decreased blood pressure,
decreased cholesterol levels, decreased body fat, increased immune response,
increased bone density, decreased muscle tension, increased heart efficiency,
and decreased aging effects.
(Seaward, Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being ,
2009)

Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s) of Journal Writing (s) selected to include in the resource guide
Your Circadian Rhythms

I chose this journal writing because it allows me to take inventory of my schedule.

We all know that it is important to stick as closely as possible to a regular
schedule in order to keep your mind and body working in harmony. By listing
the times for my everyday activities on a regular basis, I can see if I am doing a
good job in this department of helping myself out in this aspect. As always, life
does get in the way every once in a while, but as long as it is not a habit, I
would say I am doing well in that aspect. As long as I am honest when filling
the table out, I can make a good assessment.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)

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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 from the unit Hobbies are basically a vacation from your
worries. When you are in a state of perpetual stress, engaging in something
that you enjoy creates a diversion from your stressors. This essentially acts as
a change of scenery, and gives us a clean slate. In addition, if someone plays
more of a role in the escape, then it is more beneficial to their identity,
character, and overall self esteem, as opposed to a passive one (this would
include an escape such as watching tv or sleeping). Hobbies, for the most
part, involve some amount of creativity, and give the person a sense of being
able to make order out of chaos, which in turn gives them the feeling that they
have some control over their lives, and therefore improves their self-esteem.
These are all positive results, and greatly help in reducing the amount of
stress we have in our lives, and helps us also to better deal with the stress that
we do have.

Key learning point from the unit Gathering of information can be a doubleedged sword when it comes to how one deals with stress. On the positive side,
gathering information about a certain situation can cause someone to be well
prepared for related circumstances, allowing them to have a decreased stress
response. On the negative side, gathering information about a certain
situation can cause one to become overwhelmed, and stressed out about
something that may only be a possibility and not a probability.

Key learning point from the unit Forgiveness is a very important coping skill,
as it releases us from the stress caused by another individual. This stress
can be in the form of anger or hurt, and these will both only cause anguish to
the person holding onto them, and will not serve any other purpose. By
forgiving, we may not always forget, but it will certainly lower the importance

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of the emotion evoked by the act/individual. This means that it will not longer
be a stressor in our lives.
(Seaward, Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and WellBeing , 2009)

Additional Information
Secondary Source
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek
problems because you need their gifts.
Richard Bach,
Author of Illusions

This quote is from unit 5, and it comes from chapter 8 in the Seaward book. I
like it very much because it reminds me that something good almost always
comes from something bad, and things are as never as bad as they seem. I am
someone who has had a very hard time in the past dealing with stressful
situations, and I tended to make mountains out of molehills. This quote really
hits home for me, and I will keep it on hand to read whenever I feel myself
slipping.
Primary Sources

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The Relaxation Strategies pamphlet from unit 6. This is helpful to me because

it gives a brief, quick overview of the different relaxation skills we learned about
during this course. It details different things to focus on to achieve relaxation.
By having this on hand, it will be easy for me, should I forget, to look back at it
and remember the techniques more easily. It can also serve as a good teaching
tool when introducing the art of relaxation to another individual.
(Relaxation Strategies , 2014)
The General Relaxation Techniques pamphlet, also from unit 6. This is helpful
to me because it explains how to focus on breathing for relaxation. I found this
to be very beneficial, and I want to make sure that I do not forget how to focus
on my breathing, should I forget. Having this on hand will help me to
accomplish this more easily. It can also serve as a good teaching tool when
introducing the art of relaxation to another individual.
(General Relaxation Techniques, 2014)
Exercise 17.1, Dolphin Breath Meditation, from our Unit 6 Journal. This was
very memorable for me, as I remember how much it relaxed me. It brought a
sense of utter calmness over me, and I am so glad that I learned this technique.
As previously stated, I have struggled with worrying for much of my life, and
have recently been seeing the physical ramifications of this. This course, and
mostly this particular unit, have provided me with great tools for dealing and
coping with the way my body reacts to stress.
(Seaward, The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook, 2008)
Take Two More Hours of Pine Forest, and Call Me in the Morning, an article
that I read from Outside Magazine, after completing the unit 8 Journal. From
the units and their activities leading up to this unit, it became apparent to me
that an essential ingredient for me to remain in balance is to get a good dose of
the outdoors everyday. I did not realize this as vividly previously; I did know
that it was something that I enjoyed very much, but never realized that it was
essential to my overall well-being. I enjoyed this article very much, and it
allows me to realize that I am not alone, or strange, for needing to be
outdoors. I will keep this article on hand in order to remind me of the
importance of this aspect in my life, should I ever forget (doubtful!).
(Williams, 2012)

Works Cited
General Relaxation Techniques. (2014). Retrieved Jun 2014, from University of Minnesota:
http://content-hsc.kaplan.edu/HW410_1303C/highresmedia/stresstechniques.pdf
Relaxation Strategies . (2014). Retrieved Jun 2014, from University of Minnesota Web Site:
http://content-hsc.kaplan.edu/HW410_1303C/highresmedia/stressrelaxation.pdf

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Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Seaward, B. L. (2009). Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being (6th
ed.). Jones and Bartlett.
Seaward, B. L. (2008). The Art of Peace and Relaxation Workbook (7th ed.). Jones and Bartlett
Publishers.
Williams, F. (2012). Take Two Hours of Pine Forest and Call Me in the Morning. Retrieved Jun
2014, from Outside Magazine: http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/wellness/Take-Two-Hoursof-Pine-Forest-and-Call-Me-in-the-Morning.html

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