Mind-Body-Spirit Final Project

Kelly McDowell
HW420: Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing
Kaplan University
February 14, 2017
 For us to determine our health conditions, it is important for us to know our current state

in preparation for actions in case of change. To be totally healthy, a human being's mind, soul,

and body must normally operate. Psychological and spiritual welling assists humans in many

ways. Mental stability helps one to face day to day life challenges. To develop the required state,

one needs to perform spiritual exercises daily. Cognitive mental exercises will also help the

brains activity. Here is the list of self-assessment questions that can be used to determine ones

spirituality and psychological spectrum of self-being.

Inventory questions

Whenever you want to clear your mind, what do you normally do?

I think by asking this type of question you are just curious about how someone lets their stresses

out and relaxes. This could be just by taking a walk or doing some yoga and meditation.

Everyone handles life stresses differently but when you know how to handle them and it works,

you stick with that.

What are some challenges and obstacles that hold you back from accomplishing your goals and

dreams?

Some challenges that someone could face with accomplishing anything in life are lack of

motivation, other people, lack of information, lack of skills. I think if something is very

important to you, you will do what is necessary to accomplish those dreams and goals. If you

want to lose weight for example, you cant just expect to lose weight by not doing anything

about it. You need to commit to changing your lifestyle and habits.

How can we motivate ourselves more effectively through reinforcement?

Wed all like to be more effective in reaching our goals, and per behaviorists, the way to improve

our effectiveness is by rewarding ourselves for the little steps that take us closer and closer to

those desirable outcomes. First, find something you really like to do or something youd like to

have that can, realistically, serve as a reward. Then, take the goal that you are hoping to achieve

that, realistically, you could achieve but just havent succeeded at yet. Next, work backward from

that goal to your present state. Arrange to give yourself those desired rewards as you inch closer

from where you are now to the desired end. As you start to make progress, only give yourself a

reward when youve moved forward from where you are now.

How does the mind-body connection affect our emotions?

Psychologists from William James to Richard Lazarus have struggled with the notion of

specifying the ways our mental states are affected by our physical states, and vice versa. William

James proposed a theory of emotions that emphasized the bodys role in producing emotional

experiences. Physiologist Carl Lange proposed a similar theory, and so the theory is known by

both of their names. The theory proposes that our bodily changes follow directly from the

perceptions of an exciting fact, and that these bodily changes are the emotions. Physiologist

Walter Cannon, regarded the thalamus as the key relay station between the cortex and the

autonomic nervous system. An emotional stimulus activates the thalamus which, in turn,

activates the autonomic nervous system (which then produces arousal) and the cortex (which

interprets the event and the experience of the emotion). Per Stanley Schachter and his colleague

Jerome Singer, emotions are the product of autonomic arousal and the reactions of other people

in the environment, or context. The facial feedback hypothesis proposes, instead, that our

emotions are determined by the muscles of our face. If you want to be happy, this suggests, you

should smile. Even though no one of these theories may be completely correct, psychologists
seem to agree that our emotions are defined, at least in part, by the responses of our bodies, with

perhaps the added coloring provided by our thoughts about a given situation.

Do you have spiritual beliefs that help you cope with stress?

Having spiritual beliefs in helping to deal with stress are very important in your life. Having a

belief in something greater than your immediate experience can be a powerful force in helping

you create inner peace and cope with the stress in your life. We live in a universe that is both

mystifying and, at times, overwhelming. We attempt to give meaning and purpose to our all-too-

brief lives.

Do you have a spiritual or faith preference?

Some people will have a connection to a religion or faith while others have a connection

spirituality. They arent the same thing but very similar. So, different beliefs are different for

everyone.

People invest time and energy into developing their career, their bodies, and relationships, but

often neglect the spiritual dimension of their lives. How do you actively pursue spiritual growth?

I think this question is a good one to ask because sometimes we just get so caught up in our

everyday lives and dont think about the bigger picture. I started meditating and calming my

mind to help with my spiritual growth. I also pray but I was brought up that way, so its second

nature for me.

What does it mean to be self-actualized?

Per Abraham Maslow, who was instrumental in developing the theory of self-actualization, self-

actualization is a continuous process of realizing our own unique potential. The theory proposes
the famous hierarchy of needs to show that self-actualization sits at the top of all our

motivations. Often, this theory is wrongly described as suggesting that you cant consider

fulfilling your higher-order needs until your lower-order needs are fulfilled. However, you only

should think of a few examples of some of the most famous self-actualized individuals to see that

this is not necessarily the case. In fact, Maslow himself believed that many self-actualized people

specifically chose to make sometimes life-threatening personal sacrifices to fulfill their inner

potential. Its also important to realize that there is no one state of perfection that characterizes

self-actualization but, instead, each of us has our own idiosyncratic way of achieving inner

fulfillment.

Do you find that faith and spiritual values play a role in your (work), (day), (marriage),

(perspective on life)?

Of course, faith and spiritual values play a role in every part of my daily life. I pray that my kids

have a successful day at school, my husband is safe at work and our marriage is on point and

track. Everyone has a different outlook on how faith and spiritual values play a key in their life.

What aspects of your spirituality or spiritual practices do you find most helpful?

Some different aspects for spiritual growth are meditation, yoga, journaling and prayer. Some

people can choose to do one, all or none of these.

I interviewed a friend of mine who sometimes I think could use some spiritual growth in

her life. When asked about how she clears her mind, she said that she usually just locks herself in

her room or bathroom to get a 5-minute break from the kids and the chaos in her life. She is a

great friend of mine and I would recommend she does some meditation to help calm her mind

and relax her. She is a busy mom to four, just like myself and she needs an escape from everyday
chaos. Meditation can induce feelings of calm and clear-headedness as well as improve

concentration and attention. Prayer may elicit the relaxation response, along with feelings of

hope, gratitude, and compassionall of which have a positive effect on overall wellbeing.

Having a strong spiritual outlook may help you find meaning in lifes difficult circumstances. I

made some suggestions to her to help her calm her mind and get her focused on her faith and

spiritual well-being without being too pushy. This will also help her not be so stressed out with

everything going on in her life.

 References

Seaward, B.L. (2013) Health of the Human Spirit, 2nd Edition. [Kaplan] Retrieved from
https://kaplan.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284090444/
Whitbourne, S., MD. (2013, April 23). A Top 10 List of Psychology's Big Questions, and the
Answers. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201304/top-10-list-psychology-s-
big-questions-and-the-answers
Why Is Spirituality Important? (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from
https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/enhance-your-wellbeing/purpose/spirituality/why-
spirituality-important