Final Journal Assignment

Stress Measures

Completing the stress self-assessments provided deep insights about the issues that have confronted me in the past month and the strategies that I have utilized to cope with the stressors. In the perceived stress scale, I managed to average 13 points. This indicates that I score at an average when it comes to stress levels. Over the past month, various things have happened to me unexpectedly. I must admit that of these unexpected happenings, I have almost never been upset. I am able to manage changes in my life well and develop the resiliency required to deal with life stressors. Over the past month, I am certain that I have never felt that I was unable to control the important things in my life. Some of the factors that have enabled me take control of the happenings in my life include proper planning, adaptability, flexibility and utilizing critical thinking to solve any problems that I encounter.

Even though I have been able to manage stress well sometimes, I must admit that I have sometimes felt stressed in the past month. The stressors primarily stemmed from increased workload at the place of work and increased obligations in familial responsibilities. Financial difficulties have also been a source of stress in some instances. Despite these stressful situations, I have never found myself in a position that I could not cope with all the things that I had to do. I have always found ways of coping and navigating through the problems for example through soliciting social support from family and friends, communicating openly during times of disagreements or distress and seeking therapy wherever appropriate. The aforementioned strategies that I have implemented to cope with stressors have ensured that I am able to control the irritations in my life very often.

Over the past month, I have encountered a number of things that were outside my control. Such things have never angered me. I have also never felt that difficulties were piling up so high that I could not overcome them. I have managed to overcome many of the difficulties through exercising regularly and forging strong interpersonal relationships based on trust and mutual respect. I have also developed high levels of emotional intelligence that has enabled me to understand and regulated my emotions in addition to understanding and respecting the emotions of others. The ability to handle stress well has enabled me to have a higher sense of self-worth, remain optimistic even it times of adversities and lead a healthy, fulfilling life.

In the student stress scale, I had a cumulative score of 117. This indicates that I have a 1 in 3 chance of a serious health change within the next two years. Some of the major events that have contributed to this score include change in eating habits, change in living conditions and marriage. I divorced a couple of months ago with my partner due to some irreconcilable differences. Following the divorce, I moved out of my big own house into a small apartment where I now reside with my two children. This change in living conditions brought some minor distress into my life. During the past month, my eating habits have also changed. Previously, I used to eat a healthy, balanced diet but since the past two months, I started eating whatever I want and reduced engaging in exercises. I am however thinking seriously about my dietary habits and plan to resume to my normal healthy diet soon because of the realization that if I continue with the bad eating habits, I will be at a higher risk of developing complications such as hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular events.

Nevertheless, even though I have experienced the aforementioned changes and predicaments, it is worth mentioning that I have also had outstanding personal achievements. Some of the achievements that have helped to alleviate my stress include attaining a promotion in my place of work, attaining higher grades at school and forming new professional networks. All of these accomplishments have helped to boost my self-esteem and provided me with increased motivation to tackle some of the stressors that confront me in my day-to-day life.