KAPLAN UNIVERSITY
HW410 Stress: Critical Issues in Management and
Prevention
Stress Management and
Prevention Program
Resource Guide
1
KAPLAN UNIVERSITY
Stress Management and Prevention
Program Resource Guide
By
Kathy Huss
Kaplan University
HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention
Date of Assignment
Table of Contents
UNI T
1
THE
NATURE
OF
STRESS
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing: Journal Writing
UNI T
2
THE
BODY
AS
BATTLEFI ELD
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing: Journal Writing
UNI T
3
FEAST
OR
FAMI NI NE
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing: Journal Writing
UNI T
4
ONE
PLANET
UNDER
STR ESS
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
UNI T
5
UNDER
STRESS:
WHAT
N OW?
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
UNI T
6
AGELESS
WI SDOM
OF
MEDITATI ON
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
UNI T
7
SI GHT,
SOUND,
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
AND
BO DY
WORK
UNI T
8
THE
WELLNESS
MANDALA
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
UNI T
9
APPLYI NG
PREVENTI ON
TO
STRESS:
YOUR
CRI TICAL
P ROFESSI ONAL
MANAGEMENT
AND
LI FE
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
UNI T
10
APPLYI NG
PREVENTI ON
TO
STRESS:
YOUR
CRI TICAL
P ROFESSI ONAL
MANAGEMENT
LI FE
Information to Remember
Resources: Exercises
Tools: Journal Writing
ADDI TI ONAL
I NFORMATI ON
(End of the Guide)
AND
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Unit
Unit 1: The Nature of Stress
Information to Remember:

Definition of stress- Stress is a perceived threat, real or imagined. I had never given any thought to
imagined threat before, but I have discovered that my dad and husband are good at this. My dad will
worry about things that probably haven’t happened for 20+ years, like a flood.

Definition of stressor- Situation or circumstance that feeds stress. Which for my mom would be a
trip to Wal-Mart!

Types of stress- There are three types of stress, eustress or good stress, nuestress which is neutral
stress, and distress which is negative stress. An example of eustress would be getting married. An
example of nuestress would be hearing about a tragedy somewhere else, like a hurricane. Distress is
anytime an event causes negative reactions, such as going through a divorce.
Resources: Exercises:

Exercise 1.1 Inventory: Are You Stressed?- I picked this exercise because this class is all about stress
management, so I figured most appropriate was to include the exercise where we figured out our
own stress level.
Tools: Journal Writing:

Exercise 1.2 My Healthy Philosophy I like this exercise because it gives us the opportunity to assess
our health and to see if there are things that can be fixed. Are we stressed and how can we change it?
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2
Unit
Unit 2: The Body as Battlefield
Information to Remember:

Chakras- I recently went to a Parkinson’s support group seminar where Ayurveda was discussed. I
found this very interesting and something I would like to learn more about. Chakras are an essential
element in mind-body connection.

Subtle energy- This suggests that there are layers of energy surrounding the body, and if one layer is
out of balance it causes all of the other layers to also be out of balance.

Stress/disease connection- Although there is no scientific proof, yet, many studies suggest that there
is a direct connection between stress levels and sickness. Some of the more common sicknesses
believed to be brought on or aggravated by stress are colds, migraines, and acne.
Resources: Exercises:
EXERCISE 2.2 Immediate, Intermediate, and Prolonged Stress Effects- I like this exercise because it brings
awareness to how you are being affected by stress. It brings to light things you maybe didn’t think about before.
Tools: Journal Writing:

Exercise 3.6 Energy Ball Exercise- I chose this because I think it is important to include relaxation or
meditation in your daily life to help with stress.
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3
Unit
Unit 3: Feast or Famine
Information to Remember:

I like the quote by Ben Franklin “The Constitution only gives you the right to pursue happiness. You
have to catch it yourself.” To me that means you have to make an effort to achieve happiness, it’s not
going to be handed to you on a silver platter.

Guilt and worry are a waste of emotional energy. We cannot change the past or the future, what will
be will be. No amount of dwelling on the past or possible future events will change anything.

Any emotion is a healthy emotion, even anger and fear. Emotions become unhealthy when they last
longer than they were meant to. When love becomes an obsession it is no longer healthy.
Resources: Exercises:

Exercise 4.2 Domestication of the ego- I like this exercise because it makes you think about and
realize that almost everyone has prejudices and look at certain people in stereotypical ways.
Tools: Journal Writing:

Exercise 5.1 Anger Recognition Checklist- This exercise helps someone realize that maybe they are
holding on to anger more than they thought. Some of the ways they express anger maybe perfectly
normal.
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4
Unit
Unit 4: One Planet Under Stress
Information to Remember:

Personality types can cause us to be more stressed. Type A personalities, or those with a rushed or
hurried lifestyle, and codependent personalities, those considered to have addicted lifestyles, are two
types that are more prone to stress.

Spiritual Bankruptcy plain and simply lacking spiritual direction. I think a lot of people are not aware
of spirituality, at least in the sense discussed in the mind-body connection.

Spirituality-To me spirituality has to do with inner peace, making a connection with your inner self.
Everyone needs to understand the concept and try to make peace with themselves, and that the
process will not be the same for everyone.
Resources: Exercises:

Exercise 6.4 Giving Your Self-Esteem a Healthy Boost- I like this exercise because it gives you a
chance to list favorable qualities about yourself. It gives you a chance to dig deep and see there are
things you are good at.
Tools: Journal Writing:

Exercise 6.9 Boosting Your Self-Esteem- I know this is very similar to the previous exercise I chose,
but if nothing else throughout this class I have learned the importance of self-esteem. This exercise
gives you the opportunity to evaluate your self-esteem and see where improvements can be made.
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5
Unit
Unit 5: Under Stress: What Now?
Information to Remember:

Self-efficacy- What a person believes they can do. This term is used not only in this class but in others
also. When discussing fitness and wellness it is used a lot to refer to a clients perceived ability to do
something, such as an exercise.

Humor Therapy- Using humor to laugh yourself well. Watching funny TV shows and movies helps
put you in a positive mood, which in turn can help you have a better outlook on life.

Time and money are two stressors that almost everyone has in common. Nobody ever has enough of
either and often times wastes what they do have.
Resources: Exercises:

Exercise 8.1 Reframing: Seeing a Bigger, Clearer Perspective- This exercise encourages you to take a
situation you find stressful and turn it into a positive.
Tools: Journal Writing:

Exercise 8.2 One Thousand Things Went Right Today!- This exercise encourages you to stop
looking at everything in a negative light, and realize that maybe one or two things went wrong, but
good things happened as well.
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6
Unit
Unit 6: Ageless Wisdom of
Meditation
Information to Remember:

Diaphragmatic breathing- concentrating on breathing deep into the stomach instead of shallow
breaths to the chest.

Bandha is a combination of deep breathing and visual imagery to relieve chronic pain. Using this
process it is possible to breathe through the pain which can be very helpful for cancer patients among
others.

Mental imagery is the process of using visualization to cope. You can use it as a relaxation technique
by picturing yourself in a calm place. You can also use it to try to change bad habits or behaviors, and
it can also be used to visualize a tumor shrinking or even a wound healing.
Resources: Exercises:

Exercise 20.2 Three Short Guided visualizations- I pick this exercise because I thoroughly enjoyed it
as an assignment. I thought it did an excellent job of experiencing visualization.
Tools: Journal Writing:

Exercise 18.1 Too Much Information- Technology now can be very helpful, unfortunately it can also
steer you in the wrong direction. Anyone can post on the internet, but it is not all factual.
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7
Unit
Unit 7: Sight, Sound and Body Work
Information to Remember:

GMO-genetically modified organisms. Altered foods created to withstand greater temperature
variances, and to be nutritionally better for you, among other things.

Frankenfood- foods that have been genetically modified.

Herbal therapy-Using herbs to keep the immune system, cardiovascular system and vital organs
healthy.
Resources: Exercises:
Exercise 27.4 Food, Glorious Food! - This exercise gives you the opportunity to look at your eating
habits and write them down. Is there anything you can or should change?
Tools: Journal Writing:

27.5 Fast Food Nation- I really like the book Fast Food Nation. I found it enlightening. Therefore I
thought this was a good exercise for the information content and also because it has you think about
your fast food habits.
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8
Unit
Unit 8: The Wellness Mandala
Information to Remember:

FITT Principle- Frequency, intensity, time and type refers to how often, how hard, how long and
what type of activity you are doing. It is a way of keeping yourself on track with your activity.

Regular exercise has a lot of physiological benefits. It can lower resting heart rate, lower blood
pressure and help lower cholesterol. It can help lose weight and help prevent disease.

Regular exercise can also have psychological benefits. It can decrease episodes of depression,
improve self-esteem, and give you a better perception of yourself.
Resources: Exercises:

Exercise 28.2 My Body, My Physique- I like this activity because it gives you the chance to assess
your body. What do you like? What don’t you like? Be honest.
Tools: Journal Writing:

Exercise 28.1 Physical Exercise- This exercise encourages you to look at your exercise routine,
looking to see if you are following the FITT principle, and what are you doing to motivate yourself.
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9
Unit
Unit 9: Applying Stress: Critical
Management to your Professional
Life
Information to Remember:

Information seeking is the process of learning about the unknown. You can look up things on the
internet, or seek out other resources. It is important to know that the information you are getting is
factual.

Having a hobby is a good way to relieve stress. It gives you the opportunity to forget about what is
bothering you and focus on something else for a while.

Forgiveness is necessary for well-being. Keeping anger and resentment bottled up inside only causes
problems later.
Resources: Exercises:

Exercise 16.1 Defining Your Support Group- This activity encourages you to assess your support
group. Realizing you have people on your side, that you have someone you can talk to is important,
because talking things out can help you understand things better.
Tools: Journal Writing:

Exercise 16.5 Sweet Forgiveness- Gives you the opportunity to face any anger or resentment you
maybe harboring. It then encourages you to forgive those you hold resentment against.
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10
Unit
Unit 10: Applying Stress: Critical
Management to your Personal Life
Information to Remember:

Key learning point from the unit about Applying Stress: Critical Management to Your Personal Life
<insert your text>

Key learning point from the unit about Applying Stress: Critical Management to Your Personal Life
<insert your text>

Key learning point from the unit about Applying Stress: Critical Management to Your Personal Life
<insert your text>
Resources: Exercises:

List the title (s) of Exercise (s) selected to include in the resource guide <insert your text>
Tools: Journal Writing:

List the title (s)of Journal Writing (s)selected to include in the resource guide <insert your text>
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Additional Information
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
This book discusses many different aspects of the fast food industry.
Quick Calm Deep Breathing by Jordan Friedman
This is a video on a very short, very easy breathing exercise that can be done anywhere to help
you calm down.
Stress Management-Topic overview
This is an article on Webmd that talk about stress, what it is and how to deal with it.
http://calm.com
This is a website that shows a calming nature scene and plays appropriate sounds associated
with the scene.
http://www.mindful.org
This website promotes mindfulness. Think before you speak, and ways to relax are things you
can find here.
Chapter 20 Power Point: Mental Imagery and Visualization
I am intrigued with mental imagery, so I like this power point. It highlights the importance of
mental imagery and its uses.
Humor Therapy
This is an article on the cancer.org website describing humor therapy. It tells what it is used for,
and how it can be useful.
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References
Humor therapy. (2008, November 01). Retrieved July 16, 2013 from http://www.cancer.org
Kaplan University. (2013). HW410: Stress: Critical Issues in Management and Prevention course
material retrieved July 16, 2013, from Kaplan.edu
Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation, the dark side of the all-american meal. New York:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Stress management-topic overview. (2009, October 14). Retrieved July 16, 2013 from
http://www.webmd.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoPD0cVquPo
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