Activities for Stress Management and Prevention - Assignment Example

 Activity 4.3: Unresolved Issues What are some of the issues or recurrent problems in your life that arise repeatedly in slightly different forms? Answer I've always had had complexities in my love life. It all commenced on one Sunday morning on March 2012 after several avalanche of suspicious text messages instantaneously flooded my boyfriends' phone which he had coincidentally left in my room as he went to check out on his pal. The text messages were all from anonymous phone numbers. The messages history displayed that Brian, my boyfriend, knew these anonymous people since he had responded to them via calls and texts often. When Brian finally came home, I confronted him with the evidence that he was cheating on me, without thinking twice he affirmed that our relationship was over. I went through untold trauma as my only shoulder to lean on had withdrawn from me. A year later, I met Kevin, a cool, down-to-earth engineering student at one of the preeminent universities in Asia. We became great pals and in a short while fell in love. Unknown to me, Kevin was dating a well-known model in Asia at the time. I came home one evening unannounced. I encountered the shock of my life when I busted Kevin and his model girlfriend in bed. That was the end of the relationship. Memories of these premature relationships often leave me embarrassed and humiliated. Activity 4.4: “Reflection 4.5” Answer On 20th May 2015, three of my best friends came to my room owing to prepare yummy chocolate cakes for my upcoming birthday that was due on 23rd May. The occasion was blissful, and we all had fun contemplating on how to perfect the anniversary. We experimented on many cake preparation methodologies and vast variant flavors. That same evening my cousins and nieces accompanied by two of my twin sisters gate crashed the occasion unexpected. They insisted that it would be fair they have their share of the prepared cakes. I left them watching their favorite thriller film as I left to purchase additional shopping at the nearby grocery shop. I coincidentally met one of my former high school classmates along the way, and we ended up spending more than four hours chatting as we reviewed our high school life. To my surprise, upon returning home, I found that all my friends had left altogether with my cousins and my twin sisters. They had also cleared all the cakes that we had spent more than 24 hours preparing. On 23rd May, I had no cakes to color my birthday and none of my friends turned up. I tried to call most of my close friends, but they simply gave lame excuses as to why they wouldn't manage to attend. I left each of them a short message to alert them that they were no longer my friends. At the end of the day, I had lost 24 friends. It was the most heartbreaking moment in my life. Looking back at these episodes I concur that my reactions went overboard. In this contexts, I would have deployed a humanistic model approach by “living in the now” and embracing anxiety and stress as a parcel of life. I would have also tried to understand them by appreciating their concern despite not turning up for the birthday occasion. Activity 4.5: Stress Journal Day/Time Place Context What Happened? Reactions Thoughts Monday 27/4/15 7.00AM At the school Hostels, Reading an Amusing Novel. I should be at Health unit For a medical Check up, Pretty disillusioned. My novel slipped And dropped in My bathing Water. Extremely Perplexed, I carefully Picked the novel and spread it in the table. How on earth Do I drop my favorite novel in my Bathing water? Grrr! Monday 27/4/15 10:00AM At the school Health unit Queuing For a Medical Check up I am always impatient on queues. I should learn to be more Patient. Delays at the health unit. This is The 4th time to Have such an incident. Hopeless and in despair I patiently relaxed at The waiting Room. The school Health services are the Worst I’ve ever Encountered. They are always very sluggish and unreliable. Monday 27/4/15 12:00PM Relaxing at the school cafeteria Perusing my documents after looking for my School identity card for an hour. I have lost my school identity card again, or rather I forgot To pick as I left home. Deep sigh (almost in tears) This must be the Worst day in my life! Monday 27/4/15 1:45PM At the school garden, checking my Missed calls Tried calling my Hospitalized brother to no avail. Something must be wrong! Received the worst breaking news that my brother succumbed to cancer. Covering the face (in tears) God must be So unfair to take the only brother in our family! Monday 27/4/15 3:00PM At the school Library shelves perusing for a literature Book. I have to wind up the literature Assignment before it is Too late. Complete power failure in the entire library. Felt so awful Since I had to Wait for 5 More hours to locate the literature book. Oh my God! Seems I never Beat deadlines. How could I miss that? I Bet to keep time from now Onwards! Chapter 5- Individual and Cultural Differences Activity 5.2: Assessing Type A Behavior Question: Write down (or discuss in some groups) ways that the following qualities of this personality style significantly increase stress levels. Answer Being Competitive: Type A individuals are always compulsive to achieve the targets which guarantee them an edge over others. This elevates their stress especially when these set targets are not met. Strong Desire for Recognition: Type A individuals are overtly ostentatious. This induces nervousness in them especially at verge of deadlines which subject them to a probability of recognition. Impatience with Self and Others: Type A individuals always aim to achieve targets faster. Hence this trait induces stress to them especially when their expectations are not met on time (i.e. a Type A boss working with sluggish employees) Multi-tasking: Type A individual’s embrace undertaking vast activities at once. This trait leaves them overwhelmed (often stressed) especially when those tasks are tied to strict deadlines. Hostility and Aggressive Behavior: Type A individuals tend to be hostile and extremely aggressive to persons around them. This often occurs when they are under tension or when they are straining to accomplish demanding tasks. Since they are goal-oriented, if their objectives fail, they tend to vent their anger to their close associates as a way of expressing their disappointment. Activity 5.3: Cultural Identities “Reflection 5.4” How have your most dominant cultures influenced the ways that you experience stress? Answer I’m love rugby sport. Unfortunately, my pals taunt me that this is a male sport. In addition, being a Christian, I find it extremely challenging to cope with Muslim friends who are extremely rigid and insensitive. Also, my college major subjects are extremely demanding. This often imposes stress especially during exams as I try my level best to achieve excellently in those subjects References Kottler, J. A., & Chen, D. D. (2008). Stress management and prevention: Applications to daily life. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth. Read More