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Unit 9 Assignment

Ashley Campbell

Purdue University Global

HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention

Tywanna Purkett

September 28, 2021

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Unit 9 Assignment

The population that has been selected as needing a stress management and prevention

program includes military personnel. This group was selected due to the variety of people in

regards to age, gender, cultural backgrounds and beliefs. Each military branch has unique

requirements that take time and effort to live up to, even if those rules are not adopted at first by

the individuals when they take the oath of enlistment. Stress to meet deadlines or work

continuously with limited time off can take a toll on a person if they so not have a good support

system (Seaward, 2018). It is imperative that military personnel learn coping mechanisms, in

order to manage stress before it degrades their health and sense of morale.

The first stressor is leaving on deployments, there is training to attend and out-processing

to do and not seeming to have the time to complete all the tasks. The second stressor would be

that strain on relationships when an individual is gone, losing contact with people you are close

to makes a person feel isolated. The next stressor could be financial, some families taught their

children how to manage money, for those that did not an individual may wrack up a pile of debt

and feel trapped by it. Another stressor could be the hours an individual is required to work a

week, forty hours seems to be standard but some career fields that number can get up to seventy

hours a week, which leads to minimal time off to decompress. In addition to that another stressor

is an individual not be meeting standards and facing disciplinary actions being taken against

them, which makes them feel like a failure. The promotion system presents stress for all ranks as

it is highly competitive and not making the cut, may alter how a person feels about others that

did get promoted over them. Relationships with coworkers can get challenging once some

opinions come out and there are conflicting views which divides a work center. Involuntary

movement from one career to another temporarily or permanently is common stressor. Conflicts
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with direct supervision over management style or loss of faith contribute to a fair amount of

stress in a subordinate. Favoritism is something that seems to come up and get addressed, the

people who work do not get the credit due to them and the individuals management favors win

the awards.

The stressors mentioned previously fall into two categories, one which can be contributed

to by the individual internally or two brought on by external forces. Leaving on deployments and

being unsure how much time you will be gone or home, puts a limit on personal freedom to do

make plans to go do things. The distance from being gone limits interactions with family and

friends, which put a gap between the individual and their support system. Financial troubles can

be presented as overspending or having to move in and out of living quarters due to constant

deployments. Working over forty hours a week can run the risk of personnel burning out on their

job and losing the will to want to work (Bray et al., 2001). Which can lead into not showing up

to work or being late and then not meeting standards set by regulations and being disciplined can

negatively impact how someone thinks about their own capabilities. Watching other people being

promoted due to not having a problem meeting standards may change how individuals interact

with them. Two individuals may have the same job and perform the same but may have

incompatible views on how to do the job and be unable to productive if they are teamed up due

to a conflict of interest or method. If a person is difficult or excels they may be moved or

suggested for alternative jobs that come up without any in input from them on their own career

goals. Personnel in management positions engage in micro-managing tendencies which make

subordinates under them question every decision they make. Not every person in a supervisory

position upholds standards across the board, some people get let off easy and it may be seen as

favoritism if other people are disciplined more harshly for the same offense.
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There are a few ways in which military personnel can address stress from whichever

direction that it may have come from. The first thing would be to get active, most military

branches encourage physical training time, so finding a sport or other activity like running that

they enjoy and can do to help counter the stress that they feel would be useful. Taking a moment

to re-center themselves when they feel overwhelmed and to do some breathing exercises is a

more flexible option as it can be done anywhere (Stahl & Goldstein, 2019). Another technique

is to realize that of all the things happening around them, which ones they can control and

change if needed and to make a plan of action. If they are surrounded by random piles of clutter

that has no place at work or at home, clearing out the unnecessary items, helps to clear the mind,

fold the laundry put away the dishes make the bed all contribute to things they can control.

Watching funny shows, movies or videos on the internet can give personnel a mental break from

what they have been managing all day. If at the end of the day those things are not enough, it

may time to reach out to friends or support groups or therapy, because being able to talk it out

with people that care and will listen is also beneficial.

The first step to changing a situation is the realization that personnel are in a stressed up,

burned out pattern. The next step would be to identify things that may trigger them and work

with supervisors if possible to lessen those experiences. Developing a schedule that includes

some sort of stress reducing activity daily would be beneficial, such as Mondays go for a run,

Tuesday try a fifteen minute meditation at lunch, while away from work, Wednesday take the

dog for a walk, Thursday set up some canvas and paint after dinner, and Friday go to the local

comedy club and take in a show with a friend. Partnering up with someone to do these activities

increases the likelihood that it will become a habit because there will be a small amount of
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accountability to show up instead of declining to take part in the activity that the individual set

up.

There are bound to be obstacles in the way of implementing any of the suggested

activities above, whether it is due to working seventy hour work weeks, weather, or

uncooperative supervisors. There has to be something that has to give in, stress and burnout if

not managed well, will impact whole groups of people as some individuals will see a permanent

solution to a temporary problem. The personnel left behind will ask why and the cycle will

continue until supervisors and managers realize that people are human and not everybody

handles stress the same. Some supervisors regard people who seek therapy as weak, it is an

outdated stigma that needs to be addressed immediately.

One of the healthcare professionals that I would like to incorporate would be that of a

registered dietitian. The reason for that is that certain foods can increase the stress in our bodies

and reduce the nutrients available that we need on a daily basis, which may be why some

individuals may feel more sluggish than normal when suffering from the effects of stress their

nutrients have been depleted. Dietitians can customize a meal plan reducing the foods that

increase stress and replace them with foods than reduce stress depending on individual likes and

dislikes. The next healthcare professional I would like to incorporate is a psychologist.

Psychologists have a wide range of things they can treat, amount those include stress and

anxiety. They offer an outside looking in type of view on situations and ask pointed questions in

order to locate the source of the stress that individuals may be going through. Once they have

identified the source, they can offer different methods in order to help manage the stress or work

around it (Krans, 2020). Diet changes and alternative methods of handling day to day stress, can

alter how people feel and how they perceive the situations.
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Building in a way to track progress is implemented in the form of a monthly survey

completed by all program participants with the psychologist. It will have several questions

regarding physical and mental symptoms and frequency as well as how often they utilize

unhealthy vices if so, to get through feelings of stress on a scale of one to five. There will also be

questions regarding diet; physical activity and time spend on other mindful activities. There will

be a block at the bottom for comments, suggestions that the questions do not address.

Military personnel experience stress from many different sources, and without adequate

coping skills it can be detrimental to their health. Stress can take many shapes such as

deployments, relationships, financial hardships, duty hour requirements, disciplinary, being

passed over for promotion and dealing with unfair supervision are the most common. There are

many methods available to use to counter stress such as getting some exercise, doing breathing

exercises, controlling the things they can, organizing the areas in which they work or live,

watching funny shows and consulting with a mental health professional if necessary.

Intentionally setting time aside daily for hobbies and following through builds a healthy

habit to manage stress in the future. There will be obstacles that stand in the way of personnel

seeking help with stress management; personnel have the right to be treated regardless of how

the chain of command will view it. The use of a registered dietitian and a psychologist will have

positive influences on how individuals eat and recognize foods that contribute to or reduce stress

and identify behaviors t and symptoms that are helping or impairing their ability to manage

stress. Providing honest and accurate responses to the monthly surveys will indicate whether the

program for that individual is work or needs an adjustment and gives them the opportunity to

bring up other topics which may be hindering or helping them in the process (MentalHelp Staff,

2021). Honest feedback is the real indicator as to the whether or not a program is effective,
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tracking data from participants can identify strengths and weaknesses and ultimately help curate

a better program in the process.

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References

Bray, R. M., Camlin, C. S., Fairbank, J. A., Dunteman, G. H., & Wheeless, S. C. (2001, April 1).

The effects of stress on Job functioning of military men and women. Armed forces and

society. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2883251/.

Krans, B. (2020, March 31). How to know if you need to consult a psychologist. Healthline.

Retrieved September 28, 2021, from

https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/psychologist-help#depression.

MentalHelp Staff. (2021). Tracking your progress and maintaining your gains in stress

prevention. Mental Help Tracking Your Progress and Maintaining Your Gains in Stress

Prevention Comments. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from

https://www.mentalhelp.net/stress/tracking-your-progress-and-maintaining-your-gains-in-

stress-prevention/.

Seaward, B. (2018). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (9th

ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2019). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook (2nd ed.). New

Harbinger Publications.