Assignment 1 asks you to demonstrate your understanding of the effect(s) of lifestyle choices on health by applying problem solving to the common health concern of stress.
In this assignment, you will apply the problem identification and analysis to your personal experience of stress. It’s very important for health care providers to develop knowledge and skills in stress management, for themselves as well as clients. As you learn in Module 3, “burnout” is common among health care providers, as the work can be physically and emotionally demanding. Being able to identify stress symptoms, their effect(s) on health, and appropriate stress management approaches is an essential skill in the provision of health care services.
Read all of the instructions carefully before you begin the assignment.
To complete this assignment, you are expected to keep a Stress Journal for 10 days, in which you make an entry at least once a day to identify stress symptoms that you experienced. At the end of two weeks, you will analyse the stress symptoms you observed, identify a stress management approach you think will work well for you, and submit a brief summary report of your analysis.
Part I: Stress Journal
When you make your daily stress journal entries, try to give yourself at least 15 minutes of quiet reflection time. Each time you make a journal entry, record your responses to the following questions:
Identify the problem/issue
What stressful events occurred today?
What stress symptoms did you experience?
What do you see as the most likely cause(s) of your stress symptoms?
Tip:
Refer to the “Understanding Holistic Nature of Health” handout.( can be found in the attached file).
Part II: Stress Journal Analysis
You should start analysing your journal entries at the end of the first week to give yourself enough time to reflect on any stress patterns and holistic health effects. Taking time to clarify issues is essential to choosing solutions that are most likely to be effective. Use the questions and instructions below to guide you through the problem analysis:
Analyse the problem.
Which stress symptoms did you experience the most often? List your symptoms in order of most frequently experienced to least frequently experienced.
Which stress symptoms felt the most difficult to you? List your symptoms in order of most to least difficult.
Compare your stress ‘frequency’ and ‘difficulty’ lists. Are some of your stress symptoms on both lists – or in a similar order? What other patterns, if any, do you notice between how often you experience stress symptoms, the causes of stress, and the level of stress difficulty you experienced?
Identify your top two or three personal stress symptoms.
Which health dimension(s) is/are most affected by your top stress symptoms, and in what ways?
Select one top stress symptom that you would like to change to improve your health.
Identify stress management approaches that can reduce stress symptoms and causes, ( can be found in the attached file).
Choose one approach that you think will be effective and workable in your situation.
In this assignment, you are not required to complete Steps 3 and 4 of the Four Step Problem-Solving Process. However, we encourage you to do so independently, if you feel it would benefit your health.
Assignment Requirements
Journals tend to be of a personal nature, so you are not expected to submit your daily stress record. We also recommend that you include only information you feel comfortable sharing in your report.
The Summary Report must include:
An introductory paragraph that states the assignment topic, describes how you carried out the journaling process, and indicates how you worked through the problem solving steps.
Identification of your selected top stress symptom/issue, related cause(s), and the personal health dimension(s) most affected.
A description of what you learned about the interrelationship between stress symptoms and causes across different health dimensions as you worked through the assignment.
Identification of one stress management approach that you think will be effective and workable for you.
A concluding paragraph that includes a description of what you learned about how lifestyle choices contribute to holistic health, and any feedback you may want to offer on your personal learning and/or the usefulness of this assignment.
Grading Criteria
Provides a complete response on all requirements described above.
Shows evidence of working through the problem solving steps.
Shows evidence of thought about the interrelationships between stress symptoms and their effects on holistic health. Ideas are well-supported by references to relevant course learning materials.
Shows well-organized, logical, clear communication of ideas.
