Diandra Schonyers
Health Behavior
Part Two: Self-Assessment
Dr. Spencer
For the behavior change project I have chosen to make a change in my stress mastery
skills. Deciding on an area to focus on for my behavior change project was not very difficult. I
chose this area because I want to be confident in my ability to handle emotionally charged and
stressful situations, as well as overwhelming emotions. The behaviors that I specifically focused
on were dealing with stressful situations as they arise by making a conscious effort not to
suppress or ignore my emotions and, in the long run, improve my relationship with my sister,
Kayla.
The decision to make this behavior change stemmed from a depressive state that I
experienced last year. In April of 2009, my freshman year at the university, I was raped by a
person that I was very close to at the time. I knew this person before I came to Rowan; he was
one of my close friends, somewhat like an older brother. I believed that I could trust him and put
myself in a vulnerable position and he took advantage of me. Following this situation I became
very socially withdrawn and suppressed my feelings surrounding the assault. From April 2009
until the summer of 2011 I did not inform anyone about the incident. I disclosed this information
to my mother following falling into a depressive state for many months prior. At that point, my
mother realized that there was not much that she could do to help me come out of this
depression. Therefore, she looked into and found a therapist and, with my permission, set an
appointment. I consented to the appointment because I realized that in order to address and cope
with the feelings stemming from this assault I had to get help from someone. I then sought
professional help and have been seeing the therapist since then. My therapist has helped me
conquer my feelings of guilt and shame and, after overcoming those feelings, I have been able to
address every day issues, flawed relationships and stressful situations.
To assess my stage of change during the beginning of this project I took two assessments.
The two assessments were the long URICA assessment and the short assessment in the book,
Changing for Good (CFG). On the long URICA assessment I scored received a score of 33, this
score places me in the contemplation stage. While the short assessment from the book, Changing
for Good, placed me in the preparation stage. Although the URICA assessment was more
thorough and detailed, I agree more with the short assessment.
The score I received on the long URICA assessment placed me in the Contemplation
stage, however; I do not agree with this result. I believe that have taken significant steps to
prepare myself for my behavior change. My overall goals are to be confident in my ability to
handle stress and emotionally charged situations as they arise. In November of 2010 I was
diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression due to a sexual assault that occurred on campus.
Since this diagnosis, I have taken steps to prepare myself control my anxiety. This preparation
and work has allowed me to deal with any suppressed emotions stemming from the sexual
assault. Addressing these feelings has made handling daily situations much easier than past
years.
The short assessment in the CFG book placed me in the Preparation stage. As stated
before, I agree the most with this assessment. I believe dealing with the suppressed emotions that
derive from the assault is a significant step in preparing myself for a behavior change. Sorting
out these emotions was extremely important because I realized that the depression that was
plaguing me was not going to subside until I took some sort of action. Restructuring and
managing these feeling was vitally important because if I had continued to wallow in the
depression I would have sunk deeper into the depression and I would not be in the position that I
am in today. Following handling those feelings, I have been better able to control my emotions
and reactions during various emotionally charged situations.
I believe these two assessments placed me in different stages of change because I have
taken steps to deal with one issue that contributed to my depression. However, I had not yet
taken action to bring myself completely out of the depression. As mentioned before, the URICA
assessment asked several questions about each stage of change and had a more in depth measure
of each stage. Although it was not very thorough, I believe the results from the short assessment
were the most accurate. I have prepared myself for this behavior change by attending weekly
appointments with my therapist. I have been able to apply the tools discussed in our
conversations to each many stressful situations and have seen some success. The Changing for
Good assessment also placed me in the preparation stage because I have taken measures toward
progressing in my behavior change in the last six months.
There are a number of processes of change that are recommended for my stage of change.
These processes are emotional arousal, self re-evaluation, and helping relationships. The
processes of change that stood out the most were commitment and helping relationships.
Commitment is recommended because in order to make and maintain a positive change in
handling stressful circumstances, I will have to be dedicated to improving my mental health and I
must attempt to change my current way of thinking. This commitment is very important in
maintaining the behavior change because if I am not dedicated to this process, I will not see
lasting results. Committing to this change will lead to a number of positive outcomes. A few of
these positive outcomes are prevention of relapse into a depressive state or isolation, a complete
behavior change and continuing to carefully address each situation, one issue at a time. Helping
relationships is also another influential process of change. This process is important because it is
imperative for me to have a strong support system. Without a little motivation and someone to
talk to I would fall back into isolating and suppressing my problems. Throughout childhood and
my teenage years, I found it difficult to communicate my problems and suppressing them was
much easier. This suppression led to a build-up of emotions and in my life I have had two mental
break downs. From these breakdowns and the depressive state I experienced a year ago, I learned
that expressing my emotions is the healthiest thing for me to do. In order to express these
emotions and maintain my mental stability I must create a support system of people that I trust
and love. I will depend on these people and the skills I am learning during my therapy sessions to
maintain a positive mood and outlook on life.
In the beginning of the project I planned to track my progress by assessing my mood at
several points during the day. I planned to document my emotions at three different times during
the day, the morning, the middle of the day around 3pm and finally at the time I go to sleep.
During this tracking system I assigned myself 3 specific questions to answer during each mood
assessment: How am I feeling, why am I feeling this way, and what will I do about my mood.
After progressing through the behavior change I realized that this tracking process was not
realistic. Attempting to document my mood three times each day was time consuming and,
because of my schedule, was unrealistic. After talking to my group members in one of our
coaching sessions I decided to scale back a bit and document my mood just once per day. This
tracking system was much more effective and I was better able to monitor my progress. As I
planned to, I used a calendar to record my feelings.
Each day I wrote a sentence or two describing my mood and a little about the reasons or
issues that led to the emotions. By writing these sentences, especially the positive statements, I
was able to encourage myself to continue making the behavior change. This motivation carried
me through the more emotionally charged and difficult days. Because I documented this progress
I was more successful in preventing any relapse into a depressive state.
In the book, Changing for Good, there are various assessments for each stage of change.
The precontemplation stage contains the consciousness raising self assessment. After completing
this assessment I received a score of 10, which places me in the contemplation stage. I do not
agree with this assessment because, as stated previously, I have taken significant steps in
preparing for this behavior change, including beginning and continuing weekly appointments
with my therapist. Also in the precontemplation stage is the helping relationships assessment. On
this assessment I received a score of 19. According to Prochaska, this score means that I am
ready to progress from the precontemplation stage into contemplation. Another assessment in the
precontemplation stage of change is the self liberation assessment. On this assessment I received
a score of 9. Prochaska states that this score is also an indication that I am ready to move into the
contemplation stage.
The contemplation stage of change also contains a number of assessments. The first
assessment in this stage was the emotional arousal assessment. On this assessment I received a
score of 7. According to Prochaska this score means that I should increase my efforts in
emotional arousal. I believe I am emotionally charged to make a change for very private reasons,
related to relatives, friend and personal experiences. The self-reevaluation assessment is also in
the contemplation stage. I received a score of 13 on this assessment. I believe this indicates that I
have made good use of self-reevaluation; but, it would not hurt to do some reassessment in this
area.
The commitment assessment is in the preparation stage of change. I received a score of
14 on this assessment which, according to Prochaska, means that I am ready to move into the
action stage. The decisional balance evaluation is also in this stage of change. On this assessment
I received a score of 21 for both the pros and cons of changing. I believe this means that I need to
think more about the cons of changing and determine which cons will be the most challenging.
The action stage of change contains the countering assessment. On this assessment I
received a score of 14, this score means that I have done a good job at countering my problem
behavior; however I can make more of an effort and do a little better. This stage also contains the
environmental control assessment. On this evaluation I received a score of 14, which means that
I am ready to move on to the maintenance stage. The final assessment is the reward assessment.
The score I received on this evaluation was 15. This score also means that I am ready to move
onto the maintenance stage of change.
I believe all of these assessments apply to different aspects of my behavior change. After
assessing my overall level of success in the beginning of the project, I realized that I had to put
much more effort into handling stressful situations in a more appropriate manner. Now that I
have reached the end of the project, I am moderately satisfied with the progress that I have made.
I have made significant changes in the manner that I handle arguments and stress. However, I
still have a great deal of work to do with the way I handle, talk to and my sister. At this point I
have come to realize that a relationship with my sister will not be possible until she works
handles her issues and is in a position to talk to and treat me much better. At this point I have lost
a great deal of hope regarding improvement of this relationship and my sister and I barely
acknowledge each other currently. However, no matter how emotionally charged or hostile we
both have become, I am still optimistic about the future and am hopeful that one day we will be
able to not only coexist, but possibly be friendly towards each other.
During this behavior change project I used both of the processes of change that I
discussed earlier and the wellness coaching group to communicate with. I was very satisfied with
these strategies. I committed to making a change and I have noticed significant changes in my
thinking and mood. The strategy that I found most useful was helping relationships. There were
many instances during this semester that I decided to talk to someone and calm myself down
instead of doing something irrational. In addition to using the helping relationships that I
established with my support group, I also had the help of my group members in my wellness
coaching group. I found the coaching sessions very beneficial. My group members helped me
identify specific goals for the project and changing my tracking method many other things. I do
not believe I would have stayed as focused making this change if I did not have my coaching
group.
When assessing my stage of change I believe that progressed into the next stage of
change, action. I believe that I am in the stage because I have and continue to take measures to
improve my mental health and handle my problems as they arise. I have seen a great deal of
success and I have noticed my relationships with my friends and family are changing as a result
of the actions I have taken to better myself. If I had to do this project over I would put more
effort into developing a relationship with my sister and involving her in my life. However, I do
not know how successful I would be because I am aware that I cannot force her to have a
relationship with me. I can only hope that time will ease the amount of hostility that she holds
toward me and that our relationship will flourish in its own time.