Health and Stress Project 1

Madison Ludwig
Psychology 1010
November 28, 2017
Heath and Stress Semester Project

The first method that I tried was to work out for three days straight. This was more of an

experiment that I wanted to try for myself because I have been working out more in the past

couple of months and I wanted to prove to myself that it is better for my life to do it. I did this by

first not working out for three days and then working out for the next three days. During all six

days I noticed my stress, energy, and effort during my day. The three days that I didnt work out

I noticed that I was tired, my stress was high, and I didnt make as much effort as I normally

would have in my day. I also didnt want to work out the second and third day when normally I

want to every day because I once I get it rolling I want to continue. The next three days that I did

workout I worked out in the morning for two of them and in the evening the last one. I had high

energy throughout my day, my stress was more manageable, and I put more effort into the things

that I did during my day. I did however notice that the day that I worked out in the afternoon I

didnt have as much energy, I didnt put in as much effort, but my stress was just as manageable.

I think this was because the other two days it was in the morning so it was the first thing that I

did so I started my day off on the right foot. I plan on making this into a habit because I think

that not only it would help me with my mental health but also with my physical health. I dont

think that this would hinder my life at all but in fact elevate my life and I think that everyone

including me could use something like this in their life.

The second method that I tried was taking at least 30 minutes in my day to unwind and

destress. I tried this for the three days and honestly found it super stressful. I dont think that I
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will be trying this again any time soon. I have super busy days during the week with work,

school and the drive that I have to do to get to work and school and trying to find time during my

day even if it is 30 minutes is super stressful to me because when I do finally get home I just

want to spend a little time with my husband and go to bed. I tried to do it in the evening because

I am not a morning person and I honestly couldnt do it because my mind would wander or I

would even fall asleep. I even tried different breathing techniques and mind clearing techniques

that I looked up and nothing worked for me I could not destress and my mind would actually get

more cluttered than it was during my day. I think that if I was taught how to actually meditate

and clear my mind I think that this technique would work better for me but with how my mind

works and my personality is it didnt work without as of right now. I also think that if I would

have taken 30 minutes to do something else like read or take a bath it would have worked better

so I think that maybe in a later time I will try something like that.

The third thing that I tried was limit my self judgement during my day. I did this by being

aware of my thoughts towards myself and stopping myself if I starting to think something

negative. I found that this was actually quite helpful because I do stress about things that I

shouldnt be stressing about because my anxiety makes me think that they are stressful things.

By limiting my self judgement I didnt dwell as much on the things that I messed up on during

my day because they were just small parts in the bigger picture. I think that a lot of my anxiety

and stress is worrying about all the things that I did wrong during my day and trying to come up

with the ways that I could have changed what I did, which is pointless because I cant change it.

I really want to make this one a habit because I do believe that most of my stress comes from

unfair self-judgement and I think that it stems from not only stress but other parts of my life. I

think that in order for me to be able to make this into a habit I will not only have to change the
Health and Stress Project 3

way that I think about myself but also how I see myself. I think that in order to do this I will start

a journal about the things that I think about myself during my day to make a note of them so that

I can pay attention and in the long run change my whole life. I also think that I will start to try

and catch myself when I do start to think negatively and correct how I am thinking to something

more positive.

Stress is something that everyone is affected by in their life and the ways that people cope

with it arent always the best ways. Stress can lead to other problems such as depression and

anxiety and if you already have those conditions the stress that you have in your life can multiply

it. Stress is not something that can be completely alleviated from ones life but it can be dealt

with in healthy and beneficial ways such as how we talk to ourselves. It is said that we are our

own biggest critic and that is true because we dont typically see ourselves as others see us and

as humans we tend to focus on the negative over the positive. How we think about ourselves and

how we talk to ourselves can change a good day into a bad day really quickly and it all stems

from a simple thought of not being good enough, not having enough time to get something done,

not being smart enough, or even not having the right clothes. With these thoughts causing

feelings of anger, anxiety, depression, and many others in us it is no wonder that stress not only

takes a toll on your mental health. R. Carlson said It has been estimated that the average human

being has around 50,000 thoughts per daySome of these thoughts are going to be positive

and productive.Unfortunatelymany of them are also going to be negative, angry, fearful,

pessimistic, worrisomethe important question of becoming more peaceful isnt whether or not

youre going to have negative thoughts its what you choose to do with the ones that you have.

(p. 165)
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In the book Experience psychology by Laura A. King she talks about The Stages of

Change Model and two of the stages are preparation/determination and action/willpower (p.

512). In these two stages you have to believe that things are going to get better, that you will be

able to go through the change, and focusing on the things that are getting better as you make the

change in your life (King, 2016). Without having positive thoughts no one would be able to

make it through the changes that they want to make in their lives and eventually everyone would

give up on their dreams for their lives. King (2016) also states Emotional support: Individuals

under stress often suffer emotionally and may develop depression, anxiety, or loss of self-esteem.

Friends and family can reassure the stressed person that he or she is valuable and loved.

Knowing that others care allows a person to manage stress with greater assurance. (p. 515).

Stress is something that can be managed when people know that they have someone out there

that they can rely on because it puts their mind at ease and they arent thinking negative thoughts

like Im alone and no one cares about me. I believe that most people in the world fear being

alone and having no one in their life that cares about them and it can cause a great deal of stress

in lives because of the negative way that they talk about themselves when they think that they are

alone in the world.

Another reason that positive self-talk is so important is because it can ward off a lot of

other mental and physical health problems. Positivity and negativity are as contagious as a yawn

and without even knowing it if you are being negative all day toward other people in your life it

is going to spread to them as well. You can spread the negativity from your thoughts to your

body as well. Stress has been known to cause health problems such as: headaches, stomach

ulcers, hypertension, weight gain, chest pain, insomnia, and constipation/diarrhea (WebMD,

2016). With these health problems can make your stress go up along as well as making your
Health and Stress Project 5

thoughts become even more negative. The only power that anything has over us is the power of

belief that we give to it. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 212) If we dont give power to the negative

thoughts that we have than they cannot take hold in our minds and therefore cannot hurt our

bodies. Thought is powerful because it has a high rate of vibration. A thought is a thing: is has

an energy pattern. (Hawkins, 2012, p. 213) Our mind controls the rest of our body so if our

thought process is so powerful than strong emotions like anger and fear can cause damage to our

body that we might not even be aware of. The same goes for strong emotions like love and hope

they can do wonderful things to our bodies.

Life is meant to be lived and having stress in your life can seriously hinder that because it

stops you from going out and having a fun night with friends; even if you do go out and have a

fun night with friends a lot of the time you are worrying about all of the different things that you

have to get done when you get home. Richard Carlson said Ive yet to meet an absolute

perfectionist whose life was filled with inner peace. (p. 9) I found this quote to have an

immense amount of meaning because negative self-thoughts can stem from trying to be perfect

all the time and that is not something that can be achieved. R. Carlson also said .the very act

of focusing on imperfection pulls us away from our goal of being kind and gentle. This strategy

has nothing to do with ceasing to do your very best but with being overly attached and focused

on what wrong with life. (p. 9). We need to be kind and gentle not only to other people but to

ourselves. Parents teach their children to take interest in others, be kind to others, and to care

about others but not a lot of people talk about taking an interest in ourselves, being kind to

ourselves, and caring about ourselves. I believe that if we were to do those things we would be

able to find more inner peace and not have as much stress in our lives.
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References

Carlson, R., Ph.D. (1997). Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff (1st ed.). New
York, NY: Hachette Books.
Hawkins, D. R., M.D., Ph.D. (2012). Letting go The Pathway of Surrender. Hay House.
King, L. A. (2016). Experience Psychology (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
WebMD (2016). Retrieved November 25, 2017, from https://www.webmd.boots.com/stress-
management/physical-stress-symptoms?page=2 Medically Reviewed by Dr. Rob Hicks on
March 08, 2016