Unit 10

1.        Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas. How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

From unit 3 personal assessment, I scored my psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being as a 2 on all of them. I said that my physical well-being was so low because I hurt all the time and my pain causes a lot of distraction and stress. My score today has not really changed much. I still hurt but I really haven’t done anything to try to resolve my pain. Hopefully before too long I will be able to do something about it. I had a low spiritual score because I said I felt lost and not sure what life has for me. As of today I feel as though I am still in the same position I was then. I’m still confused (or maybe just scared) that I won’t know what to do with my degree or find a job after I’m finished with school. My psychological score is probably lower now than it was before because of even more stress now than I had before. Right now I’m having a hard time just getting to a computer which is affecting my school work. This has been a very stressful year so far and I’m counting the days until everything goes back to the way things used to be.           

2.        Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

I have reviewed my goals and activities and unfortunately at this point I have not started my goals yet. My biggest problem is the stress I have because of my daughter living up here. I believe that once she goes back to her mom (which will happen in about 4-6 months) things will start going back to the way they were. Another problem I have is that I am waiting on a house to be built and I know that once we move in things will get better. I won’t be sleeping on the floor anymore, I won’t be living out of my duffle bag, and I’ll have a computer of my own for school.    

3.        Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

I have not implemented the activities yet, however I am checking out cruises right now so I can book one as soon as I get my tax return back. I know that when I get away from all of this stress and relax on the islands and the ship I’ll get rid of all of my problems (even if it for a week). This will help with my spiritual, psychological, and physical aspect. By relaxing on the beach my spiritual aspect will be better, walking on the islands and around the ship all day will help my physical, and not worrying about all the drama around here will help my psychological side.  

4.        Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

My personal experiences throughout this course started off very hard. The first few weeks I was not into this class at all. It was not what I thought it was and I was never into meditation and things like that. By the end of the term I had a much better understanding of everything and a much better appreciation of the things that we have learned. This class has been rewarding because I did discover a few things that helped but it has been difficult because this was something that I never believed in and it was hard to change my mind about it. Because it has changed my opinion on this subject I believe it won’t only help me but also allow me to help others. As a father of two I now know some exercises that I can pass on to them whenever they get older and have problems. I also want to get into child psychology which may help me help some of my patients relax.        

Unit 9

                         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, spiritually, and physically because it allows them the knowledge and skills to create a better health and wellbeing for themselves and others. Allowing the mind, body, and spirit to work as a whole will bring better healing and wellness to everyone involved. Professionals must have a complete understanding for their clients to gain the most from their selves. Once one understands their spiritual side they can gain a sense of who they are and allow their mind and body to gain as well. Once they learn to control their mind the spiritual and physical aspects will improve. Once the body becomes healthier, the mind and the spirit will become stronger. All three combined will give one everything they need to have a healthier more wellbeing life.

For me I need to develop my spiritual, physical, and psychological aspects to achieve my goals. For my spiritual I really need to start following the bible better. My dad (along with the rest of his side of the family) is very dedicated church goers and they all seem happier than I am. He has been trying for years to talk me into going and I know I need to. My physical aspect is that I need to start eating healthier and exercising more. I get tired all the time and never have enough energy to get out of bed half of the time. I need to lose about 30 pounds in order for me to be happy with myself. I also have a very bad back that I need to go get taken care of. I keep telling myself that I will but keep putting it off. The psychological aspect is trying to remain sane as I try to finish school, fighting with my family, taking care of my kid who doesn’t want to be with me and who is getting in trouble all the time, taking care of a newborn, trying to move, and working everyday (just to name a few). I believe if I can fix all three of those aspects then I can focus on combining them in a positive way, if that happens my life will become much better and allow me to live a healthier life.

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

I have not assessed my health in each domain, in fact I would score my wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically around a 4 out of 10. There are so many things that I feel I need to fix about myself in each category, however I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that once my daughter goes back to her moms and I move into my new house and get a computer that will resolve about 75% of my stress. I also believe that once I move into the house with my girlfriend that the extra income will reduce some more of my stress. I will also have someone who will help me with my diets since I don’t follow it very well on my own and perhaps I can finally see the chiropractor that I’ve been needing to see for a few years now. We will also be living next to a church that I took a tour through a few weeks ago and was really impressed. Perhaps once we move we can start going as a family and increase the spiritual side of me. I believe this will be the year that I will bring my 4 out of 10 up to about 8 out of 10.  

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

My goals for this year is that my physical side will be better due to me finally getting into see the chiropractor. I said all of last year that the first of this year I am going to start seeing one. I haven’t yet but with me having a new baby I want to be able to go out and play with her as she grows. I will use her as an inspiration to follow and reach that goal. My psychological goal is to reduce my stress by the beginning of the summer. The first of February we will be moving into the house and sometime in April my daughter will be going back to her mom. Both of those things will relieve a lot of stress and hopefully I can get back to the person I really am instead of the guy who snaps at every little thing. My goal for my spiritual side will be to start practicing some of the exercises we learned in this class. I believe that some of the ones that didn’t work while in the class may have a better result once I do relieve some of my stress. Hopefully I will achieve all of my goals and hopefully I will be able to notice it throughout my entire body.    

                   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.

I have already had strategies in my head for awhile now in order to implement growth in my physical, psychological, and spiritual aspect. In the physical aspect I have been talking about going skydiving and whitewater rafting for years now and I just keep putting it off because I can never find the time. I need to stop being so lazy and actually get out and do it this year. I’m also planning on taking my girlfriend on a cruise this year which will really reduce a lot of stress and help me psychologically, I wanted to last year but she ended up getting pregnant. I would also like to start taking more trips and doing more things with her and the kids which will also help me psychologically by easing my mind for that little bit of away time. Spiritually I need to teach my new baby right from wrong and allow her to learn from me the right way to treat people and become a better adult. I need to show her how to respect people and to do the right thing in everything she attempts. I also want to start doing more things with the family and working with everybody to become the family that everybody dreams of, by doing this I think it will increase all three aspects and allow all of us a healthier and happier life.      

                      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?

Over the next six months I will continue to remind myself of how important it is to accomplish these goals. I will focus on my new baby and my family and remind myself that I am not only doing these goals for myself but them as well. As the time goes by, the more goals I reach I will pay attention to the way I feel. The better I start feeling the harder I will try to achieve the other goals. I will continue to see that there is a light at the end of my tunnel and as long as I can see that it can be reached, however once I lose that light I may never be able to get to where I want to be in life. For a long term practice, I will remind myself that I am also a role model and ask myself during everything I do if I want my child to grow up doing that. By focusing on what is important I believe I will be strong enough to get to where I want to be with my life. My family and love ones are my inspiration to achieve every goal I set for myself, I know by me doing what is best for me not only will I be able to provide more for them but I will also know that they may grow up to practice these same goals and have a better life for them and their family.

Reference:

Dacher, Elliott S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications.

UNIT 8

I think out of the practices we have completed the two that would benefit me the most would be loving kindness and visualization. The meditation wasn’t too much help for me because I get bored to easy and just sitting there in one place drives me crazy. I have always believed that by doing good things to others good things will come your way. All my life I have put others first and it makes me feel good when I can do something for someone to make them happy. I also really enjoyed the exercise on visualization because it reminded me of my daughter’s birth and that made me feel really good. These two practices I can use these practices each time I start feeling down or upset. I know that when I get frustrated with my school work I can always walk away from the computer, go sit in my room, and visualize the day my daughter was born. I also know that when I’m out and get frustrated with the heavy crowds (especially around holidays) that I can pick up a toy for one of the kids and imagine how happy they will be when they receive it. These practices won’t just make me feel better but everyone around me as well. Knowing that I can be in a positive environment will make my life happier which will also provide better health and well-being.