KIN 69 Stress Management

KIN 69 Stress Management

Stress Log:

This is a two-part assignment (turn in a copy of both the log and the paper)

Part 1: Stress log

Students will record routine and unique stressors encountered during 1 week (7 days).  For example, driving to school/work each morning through heavy rush hour traffic is routine, but getting a flat tire is (one hopes) unique.  Next, record your psychological and emotional reactions to these stressors, how you responded physically to the stressors (physiological stress response), and how you coped with each stressor (use of interventions).

• Each log should have roughly five lines per entry: 1. unique or routine stressor 2. physiological, 3. emotional, 4. behavioral responses, 5. coping methods employed./to be employed
• Be detailed in your listings in your log, It will help you when you write the paper

Part 2: Formal Scholarly Paper and Analysis

After recording entries for 7 days, analyze your entries, identifying patterns of stressors, responses, and coping methods. Discuss the patterns you observe, and include methods that could have been employed to cope more effectively with the identified stressors, including use of appropriate university and community resources. Also related to journal research.  A 3 – 5 page paper analysis (min. 3 pgs) about your log will be submitted. In the paper itself, avoid writing about specific situations, write more about themes, overall issues, styles of anger, conflict management, personality, etc.

Students are required to cite at least TWO (2) primary sources (i.e. academic journal articles, etc.) in the paper (APA Style).

Criteria for evaluation of the paper include:
1) content
2) organization/structure
3) integration of relevant theory and class materials
4) writing clarity
5) originality

See online rubric for details 

GENERAL NOTES

• See canvas for examples of peer review journal articles and how to cite
• 10 or 12 pt. font, APA style, black ink, times new roman font style, white paper, indent new paragraphs, use paragraph breaks
• APA is written in past tense whenever possible (e.g. The purpose of this paper was .The goal of this paper was)
• Need to have in-text citations for any material noted on the reference page
• Double space lines of text
• Inside the paper – main section titles are good for organization (e.g. section title – Moving Physiological Stress Themes)
• Brief, clear, and concise writing; write with academic, formal voice
• No more than 3 direct referenced quotes in paper
• Read and follow in detail the paper guidelines; see grading rubric for specifics
• Try to avoid overuse of it, they; make sure tenses agree; use of I in this paper is OK; yet use minimally
• Use spell check and grammar check!
• Need separate title page and reference page

1. Title Page

Title page should include:

1. Running Head (left justified, upper case letters, paper title)
2. Upper Right Hand Corner: a shortened version of paper title placed in the upper right hand corner in the header section, 5 spaces before the pg number
3. Title of Paper (be creative here!)
4. Author Name
5. University
6. Class Name & Section if applicable
7. Date (e.g. 4 January 2007)
8. Pg #s in upper right hand corner preceded by truncated running head title (5 space between title and pg #)
9. Except for running head and pg numbers, everything else on title page is centered and double spaced
10. 12 pt. Font only!
11. Introduction (1 pg)
12. Optional cite an interesting quote to frame the discussion
13. Intro sentences to topic and paper
14. Statement of purpose (what you will write about and discuss do in the paper)
15. Goals of paper
16. Physiological Stress Themes (1 pg or so)
17. Describe and analyze physiological stress manifestations and themes
18. Emotional and Cognitive Themes (1 pg or so)
19. Describe and analyze emotional and cognitive stress manifestations and themes
20. Coping Responses, Resources, and Potential Coping Methods (1 pg or so)
21. Coping methods most commonly used by you over the course of the week
22. Ones you should have employed
23. Ones you will employ in the future
24. Relate to interventions discussed in text or class

F: Personal Experience relation to Journal Research (1/2 pg or so)

1. Bring in journal research
2. How does it shed light on your week stress log
3. Similarities/dissimilarities with your experiences and the research
4. Summary of Content and Conclusion (1/2 page or so)
5. Summarize the main content of paper
6. Wrap up main themes of paper
7. Suggest possible intervention(s)
8. Reference any additional journal materials
9. Final thoughts and looking forward, future areas of research
10. References 
11. New page unto itself
12. APA style is usually cited: Last Name, First Name 1^st (year). Article title. Journal title, vol, pp.
    e.g. citation: Johnson, B. (2007). Learning to read the media. Journal of Popular Culture, 11, 124 -135.
13. See Purdue owl link for more on APA

GO TO THIS APA LINK BEOFRE YOU TURN IN THE PAPER!:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Web Site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ (VERY useful resource for writing and research including APA style)

Sample Log Entry

Stress Log

Example:

Routine:

1. Every day to and from work I have to sit in 30 minutes of traffic.
2. I become extremely frustrated, I clench my teeth, grip the steering wheel, in conjunction with sitting in the car for so long I get back pains and headaches from muscle tension.
3. Initially I tried diaphragmatic breathing to try and calm down but this was ineffective. After a couple days I decided to ask some of my office mates that live near me if they would want to set up a car pool so we could utilize the carpool lane. (social support)

_________________________________________

1. Record the following in a journal or diary:
2. Routine and unique stressors you encounter for 1 week (7 days)
3. Your responses to those stressors (i.e., physiological, psychological, and emotional responses or reactions)
4. Interventions that you used for each stressor, or how you coped with each stressor.
5. After recording your entries for 7 days (stressors, responses, and coping strategies or interventions), analyze these entries. Look for patterns, and consider other interventions that you could have used to handle the stressors you encountered. Also consider university and community resources that could be used to help you cope effectively with stress.  You should discuss how you used, or could have used, at least 5-6 interventions.  Following is a list of interventions that are introduced during the semester.
6. Cognitive reappraisal
7. Social engineering
8. Creative problem solving
9. Communication skills
10. Assertive behavior
11. Strategies for handling anger and fear
12. Time management
13. Physical activity
14. Humor
15. Social support
16. Spirituality
17. Meditation
18. Diaphragmatic breathing
19. Autogenic training
20. Guided imagery or visualization
21. Progressive neuromuscular relaxation
22. Biofeedback
23. Behavior change strategies
24. You will be turning your original stress log, in the format above, along with your 3-5 pages of analysis.