unit 10

1. The only assessment that has changed for me is psychological which is huge for me I would say I went from a 5 to a 6 during this class because I have been much more aware of my thoughts and feelings and changing negative thoughts when they start. I have also been meditating every day for at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes daily. I hope I can continue with this. 2. I have really been concentrating on my psychological well being because that is what really needs more attention and as above I have made great improvements compared to before taking this class. The other aspects spirit and physical have not changed so much because I am focusing my time on what I think really needs it. 3. No, only the psychological area because that's where I feel I need to concentrate right now. 4. This class has really helped me a lot as far as concentrating on my mental well being and I have been doing really well taking care of this every day even just for 10 minutes a day. I developed improved well being. The most difficult was the loving/kindness exercises, one step at a time always a work in progress. I feel I am better able to assist others because I myself have felt the benefits of concentrating on my mind and spirit as well as the physical.

blog 9 final project

CREATING WELLNESS: PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL ASPECTS OF HEALING Unit 9 Final Project HW420 Kaplan University Lisa Carucci I. Introduction It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because they need to be able to recommend these practices to their client. In order to do so they need to feel passionate about it and deeply believe in what they are teaching their clients to get the full benefit. Clients will have less faith in their health and wellness professional if they do not practice what they preach. It is only beneficial to clients if they can look up to their teacher and have faith in what they are preaching. The areas I need to develop to achieve the goals I have for myself are to concentrate more on my mental and spiritual well-being. Since taking this class I have dedicated time most mornings to meditate. I have found this very beneficial. I feel I am better able to handle daily stressors. I have also been practicing intention, principle 3 in Dacher which is the mental ability to consciously choose and act. As Dacher states, “Without intention we cannot direct our life.” I have found this extremely helpful especially when I am in the moment stressed. I have been able to diffuse the stressed feeling quickly basically by being aware of what my thoughts have been doing to my body. 2. Assessment I have assessed my health in each domain by my physical symptoms and my appearance. As far as mental and spiritual I assessed myself by how I deal with daily issues, stress, and my interactions with others. I score my physical wellness a 7. I work out most days and I eat clean most of the time. I scored a 7 because I have stomach issues I believe are caused by chronic stress. I scored my mental wellness as a 5 I guess because as a psychiatric nurse I see some pretty bad cases, so with that said, I feel I am not so bad compared to them. I consider myself a Type A person and I let things bother me too easily. My body has suffered physically because of the way I handle stress. I am baseline anxious and worrisome and in the past couple of years I have really been trying to concentrate on my mental wellness for optimal wellness. I scored myself a 6 on spiritual wellness. I am not religious but I am very spiritual and feel I have a comfortable connection that way. Meditation will increase my spiritual awareness. 3. Goal development A physical goal I have for myself is to balance out my work outs more. I have been concentrating on cardio work outs and have been lazy about strength training because it is just easier and quicker to get on the treadmill. I will concentrate on mixing up my work outs. I will substitute a couple of cardio work outs a week with strength training. A psychological goal for me is to meditate daily even if it’s just for 10 minutes. A spiritual goal for me is also meditation and visualization to connect on a higher level spiritually. 4. Practices for personal health Some strategies I can implement to foster growth physically are 1) write out a work out plan on paper 2) set aside time every day to work out 3) find new active hobbies to keep myself interested in working out. I am self-motivated but I get bored easily so changing my routine will make my work outs more enjoyable. 4) eat healthy and take supplements and herbal teas to build up my immune system. Some strategies I can implement to foster growth psychologically are 1) set aside time every day to concentrate on my mental wellness. 2) Listen to healing visualization tapes. 3) Have reminders around me such as a peaceful meditation Buddha and my pink meditation bracelet to remind me of the importance of taking care of my mental health. Pink is a very healing color to me. Some strategies I can implement to foster growth spiritually are 1) meditate daily 2) visualization exercises to increase my spiritual awareness. 5. Commitment I will continue assessing my progress in the next six months by reviewing my goals at the end of each week. I will also assess how I am feeling physically, which is a reflection of my mental health. I have implemented a few strategies to help me commit to my mental and spiritual well-being. I have purchased a meditation statue I will see every day when I come downstairs to remind me of the importance. I have also purchased a CD on visualization and healing and will listen to it to help me with visualization exercises. I am also going to keep updated on new practices and studies. Physically I have maintained my regimen for several years now. It is much easier for me to be committed to my physical health. My motivation is I hate being sick and I work hard each day by eating clean most of the time and exercising. I also subscribe to several health and wellness magazines to keep myself motivated and updated on current information related to health and wellness. REFERENCES Dacher, E.S. (2006). Integral Health. The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health. Schlitz, M. (2005). Consciousness and Healing. Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine.

UNIT 8

     The two practices I have determined to be most beneficial are meditation and visualization. I can implement these practices daily by taking time in the morning (I work eves) when my mind is clear and to help me start the day off on the right foot. After I work out in the morning I will set aside anywhere from 10-20 minutes to practice my meditation and visualization exercises. I will sit in my sunroom where I can see the birds and squirrels outdoors and start by practicing deep breathing. I will then visualize a nice quiet place such as in the woods near a waterfall and just imagine the sounds of the wilderness, the birds and the wind. It is easier for me to visualize serene settings than it is to concentrate on individuals or problems in my life.

unit 7

     1. I found the exercise difficult at first until I just imagined a fictional person who I look up to. I was able at that point to complete the exercise. Meditation and mindfulness have fostered an increase in my psychological and spiritual wellness by helping me to concentrate on healing the inside. I can continue to apply these practices daily to enhance my wellness.

     2. Basically you need to walk the talk. The health and wellness professional needs to practice this themselves to be able to help others. It will give more credence to what you're explaining. The professional also has more enthusiasm towards the subject because they have reaped the benefits of integral health. Yes, we have an obligation to our clients. I feel we need to be genuine to be believed if we have never practiced it our clients will not respect what we are saying to them. We can integrate these practices daily such as yoga, meditation, and mindfulness exercise.

blog 6

     1. I found the universal loving kindness practice beneficial. It was very calming. What made it even better were my surroundings I was in a quiet room watching the snow fall. It was easier for me to think loving kind thoughts of strangers in general than to think of people I know and do not like.

2-3. I found the exercise and assessment process to be somewhat confusing and hard to follow. I found it easier to take on small section at a time. I discovered that I did not want to focus on areas of my life that are a problem.The area I chose to be a focus of growth and development is interpersonal because I let things bother me very easily which causes me stress. I need to concentrate on this area of my life and try to control it before I can move on to other areas. Meditation and Yoga are two activities that I can implement to foster greater wellness in this area.

unit 5

1. I found the subtle mind exercise easier because the difference from the loving kindness exercise is the subtle mind exercise is  simpler. In the subtle mind exercise you concentrate breath and ignore thoughts as they come in. The loving kindness exercise is more difficult because you have to concentrate on loving kind thoughts of others in your life instead of just clearing your mind of any thoughts and concentrating on your breath which I find is less frustrating, maybe because that is what I am used to doing. It's more difficult to think about things and to take the negative thoughts out. I found more benefit for me to do the subtle mind exercise. It was more calming and peaceful to just concentrate on my breathing pattern to clear my mind.

2. The connection between spirit, mind, and body is all interconnected. In order for total wellness you need to be in touch with all 3. You need to be connected to some type of spiritual belief to connect on a higher level and to be well physically and mentally. The spiritual self needs to be healthy. 

unit 4

1. I found the experience to be peaceful. I did find it beneficial because I tend to carry negative feelings towards individuals with me and it was good to let those feelings go. I have been trying to practice this throughout the day. When a negative thought enters my mind I immediately try to diffuse it with positive thoughts. This is the year to really concentrate on internal wellness. I would definitely recommend this to others because a person needs to start with loving, kind thoughts in order to move on with deeper, inner healing. It is very beneficial and I have learned that to be physically well is only part of wellness.

2. The concept of a mental workout is practicing daily for five minutes to an hour 2 x's a day working out your mind as you would any other muscle in the physical body. Just like anything else with daily practice you will improve. The point of the daily mental work out is to find inner peace by first practicing loving/kindness. During the meditation you work on having only kind thoughts towards yourself and others. The proven benefits are an improved self physically and mentally. I can implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health by taking just 10 minutes a day to find a quiet place and concentrate on loving/kind thoughts which is the first step to becoming psychologically healthy.