Unit 9

Stuart Baxter

HW420-02

Unit 9 Project

Kaplan University

1 October 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                      I.               Introduction:
Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically because they are working in a critical career field. Not having a strong mind could lead to mistakes and poor decision which in the worst case scenario could lead to death. Being spiritually developed can help with a strong mind, when a person is at peace with themselves they can better focus on helping others. Lastly being physically healthy can help a health professional focus on their patients’ health. The combination of these three aspects will allow health professionals to do their jobs to the best of their ability and show they practice what they teach. The areas that I need to work on are my psychological, spiritual, and physical.

                    II.               Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

I assessed my psychological aspect of my life through going to a therapist regularly. I have PTSD symptoms still and they are anxiety, poor stress management, night mares, and several other issues. So I would score this portion as low.  Spiritually is the area that I need the most improvement. I assessed myself throughout reading our reading requirements every week. I would score this aspect as low as well, meaning I need to work on it more. Physically I assessed myself through my cardio, muscular, and overall health of my body. Figuring out my BMI, going to the doctor for checkups, and taking physical tests through the gym. I would score my physical domain as medium.

                  III.               Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

The first goals that I have are psychological. I would like to someday be able to handle stress and anxiety at a manageable level. My goals with my spirituality is to learn my mind better through meditation. My physical goals are to make my health more of a priority in all aspects.  

 

                 IV.               Practices for personal health:
What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

Psychological practice that I am using to reach my goal is counting down from ten slowly while taking a deep breaths when stress becomes overwhelming. Another technique I use is stopping my worries and asking myself if I am ok? This allows me to look at reality and not focus on all the worries running through my mind. Spiritually I want to begin to bring meditation into my daily routine to help provide a better understanding of my mind and to find inner peace. Physically I would like to begin a physical workout called Insanity. Also physically I would like to decrease the amount of sodium I am consuming to help lower my blood pressure.

                   V.               Commitment:
How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

Psychologically I can start out with a beginning assessment using a scale of 1-10 on how stressed I am before the exercise and 1-10 on how stressed I am after completions of the exercises. 1 would be lowest amount of stress and 10 would be the highest amount of stress. Spiritually I would use a journal to document how I felt after each week and compare the journals as I go to see what areas I am progressing at. Physically there is a test at the end of each week while doing the Insanity workout, this will be a guide as to how I am improving. Also working on my sodium intake I will create a diet plan to document what I am consuming and measure my progress through my blood pressure dropping to a safer level. 

Reference:

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications Inc.

 

 

Unit 8

I really enjoyed the Subtle mind practice. I still continue to use this practice since we embarked on it. It has helped me become calm and does help clear my mind in all of the chaos that can go on. With school, work, and family all playing factors in my life, it's important to have some sort of mental calmness.

Unit 7

The meeting Aesclepius was pretty interesting. I was able to really focus on my wife in this exercise. I am almost completed with my degree and I admire her so much because she is already working on her masters and is 7 years younger than me. I was really cool to focus so intently on my admiration for her accomplishments. She really makes me strive to do better.

One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself is a pretty profound statement. to me this means that a person would have a hard time teaching someone something that he or she has not learned or experienced themselves. Is it possible to guide someone on a topic or point in life that the teacher hasn't experienced on their own. Life is a lot about trial and error. With those trials  and tribulations comes the wisdom to help others in those areas.

Have a great week everyone.

Unit 6

Hi Everyone,

In regards to the exercise, it was pretty cool to be able to think less of myself and more for others. Sending out positive energy was enlightening as well as uplifting. I think that a continuation of this practice will be beneficial to grow and develop in the wholesomeness aspect of myself.

The assessment helped me figure out that my biological side is the part that needs the most work. I am in pretty decent shape, however, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cholesterol runs rampant between my mother and father. They are both in decent shape, but have had heart struggles their whole lives. I really need to take my biological needs and make them a priority in my life. I wanted to make a preemptive strike at my health to keep it from getting out of control.

Something that I am going to participate in is Insanity. I have done it for the two months, but I quit after I reached my goal. So now I need to restart that program and just continue to do it.

Unit 5 Subtle Mind

The subtle mind exercise was a little more challenging. It was easier for me to think of feelings and emotions of for others in the last exercise. This exercise challenged me to clear my mind. It was difficult to really let all the thoughts go. At first, I thought it was going to be a piece of cake to just relax my mind and the exercise proved me wrong. I now notice how much I really have going on and I need to take time each day to really relieve some mental stress and just relax.

Unit 3

My physical wellbeing would have to rate at a 7 on the scale. I am in pretty decent shape; however there is always room for improvement and I have had heart surgery. My spiritual wellbeing would rate at a 3. I do pray to god on a regular basis; however I do not go to church or any church functions really. My psychological wellbeing would rate at a 7 as well. I am pretty mentally sound, but stressful situations really affect me negatively. It is something I have been working on and there is always room for improvement.

My physical goal would have to be to eat a healthier diet due to having a family history of heart problems. A healthier diet with less sodium consumption will really help my body out. My spiritual goal would have to be to go to church once a month for a consecutive year. My psychological goal would be to incorporate distressing activities in to my daily life for a minimum of three days a week.

An exercise that will help me with the physical portion would be more cardio. Cardio is good heart training. My spiritual exercise would be meditation, while praying. It will give me time to clear my thoughts and focus on the spiritual side of things.my Psychological goal will be engage in yoga. Yoga is an physical exercise, but it is very calming and relaxing as well.

I think that this exercise would be more beneficial to me if I did not have a full plate. It was difficult to focus and not let my mind wonder.

Welcome Statement and Exercise Reflection

Hi Everyone,

I just want to welcome everyone to following my blog. This class seems very intriguing and I am excited to delve deeper into human flourishing and the power our minds truly have. See you on the blogs!

Looking back on the exercise, the sounds were very soothing. His voice was monotone which was very relaxing. It was difficult to become relaxed for about the first 30- 60 seconds. After that time period, I was able to really focus on his words and my breathing. My breathing was very important to focus on so that my body became relaxed. Overall, the exercise was really enlightening. I felt rejuvenated afterwards which was a plus.