Monday, July 19, 2010
Unit 10 My Progress to Integral Health
When I first started this class, I scored myself low on psychological, spiritual, and physical aspects of my beginning learning of integral health. Even though I still feel that I have a long ways to go, I do feel that I have learned quite a bit the past ten weeks. I have always had the most trouble with the physical and psychological aspects. I have struggled with body image my whole life. And as far as my psychological, I have really struggled with depression the past few years. I lost 3 of my brothers three years in a row, then lost my mother. It has been difficult for me to come to terms with this. However, I can say the my spiritual growth has helped a lot during these times. I still have a little ways to go with the spiritual health, because I think we all need to continually work on our spiritual outlook. This class has given me some of the tools I can use to help me with the process of the search for integral health. I know that if I continue to use the exercises and continue to follow what we have studied, I will only continue to get better, feel better, and maybe again, start to be a little bit happier.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Kaplan University
HN 420 – 03: Creating Wellness
Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing
Instructor: Dr. Susan Stewart
Deborah Sunblade
July 9, 2010
Project Unit 9
Introduction
Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop?
1. Psychologically: To help them understand the levels between the biological, behavioral, and social factors that influence health and wellness. It will help them to find out that they are and how do they see themselves.
2. Spiritually: When treating a patient, it is important to know how their spiritual or religious beliefs may be affecting their feelings about their illness and treatment. Patient’s spiritual beliefs may affect their health care decisions and their ability to follow treatment recommendations.
3. Physically: Patients look to health and wellness professionals for advice and counseling. They need to provide a good example for others to follow.
What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?
I need to develop in all three; psychologically, spiritually, and physically.
Assessment
How have you assessed your health in each domain?
By taking a look at me and my circumstances, identifying the areas in my life that need attention, decide on the changes I wish to make and start a program that will help me make those changes.
How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
1. Spiritually: I continue to need help in developing spiritually, so I score myself poor.
2. Physically: I again have to score myself as poor.
3. Psychologically: And again, my score would be poor.
Goal Development
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, physically, psychologically (mental health), and spiritual.
1. Physically: My goal is to get my physical self more healthy. Right now, the most exercise I get is while I’m at work.
2. Psychologically: My goal is to be more stress free, feel happier, and tries to get off the antidepressant medication I am on.
3. Spiritually: My final goal is to be more spiritual. I can do this by looking more closely and reflect on my thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivation.
Practices for Personal Health
What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains?
Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.
Physically: Right now the most exercise I get is at work. After a 3 year illness, it has been difficult for me to start exercising again. However, it has been a year now since I was able to go back to work, so I think it is about time to get myself in better shape. One practice I plan to start is taking a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes every day. My doctor told me this is the best exercise for me to start out on. I can do it early in the morning or in the evening with my husband along for the company. The second thing I plan to do is to start cutting sugar from my diet. I know this will be difficult for me, but I have been thinking about it for awhile. I know others who have done this and they tell me they feel so much better.
Psychologically: I plan to start training my mind. I can do this with some of the exercises we have learned during the past nine weeks. One is the Silence and Stillness exercise and the other is the Visualization exercise. I plan to alternate nights so I can concentrate on just one each night. I can go to my room at night and ask not to be disturbed for at least one hour. I have a really comfortable chair in my room, where it is peaceful and quiet. I will do the exercises as we have done them during our readings.
Spiritually: By looking at my own experiences, the decisions I make, the relationships I have, will help to provide insights on my life’s goals, on the good traits I need to keep and the bad traits I need to get rid of. I plan to use two exercises that we have also used in our readings.
Loving-Kindness and the Subtle mind. Again, I plan to use these exercises on alternate nights. I know I said I would need at least one hour of quiet time, but I will actually need 2 hours. I can do two exercises per night. I will follow them like we did in our readings.
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?
To assess my progress, I plan to keep a journal. By journaling, I can keep track of my progress, how well I am sticking to my goals, and maybe start some new goals. Strategies I can use are getting my family involved. My daughter is already talking with me about my diet and lack of exercise. If I told them my goals, they would help me achieve them. Also, I would get my husband to start with the goals that I have. He is a great support system, and I think we would both be great in supporting each other and monitoring our success in attaining our goals.
For the long term, I think that once I started to feel better, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually, I would have no trouble maintaining this commitment for the rest of my life. I want to feel better and be happier. I want to be off medication for depression and for sleep. I don’t like taking pills to make me feel better about myself. So, if I can do this and be happier, I won’t have any problems continuing it. Just these past nine weeks, I have started feeling so much better and less stressed about everything.
HN 420 – 03: Creating Wellness
Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing
Instructor: Dr. Susan Stewart
Deborah Sunblade
July 9, 2010
Project Unit 9
Introduction
Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop?
1. Psychologically: To help them understand the levels between the biological, behavioral, and social factors that influence health and wellness. It will help them to find out that they are and how do they see themselves.
2. Spiritually: When treating a patient, it is important to know how their spiritual or religious beliefs may be affecting their feelings about their illness and treatment. Patient’s spiritual beliefs may affect their health care decisions and their ability to follow treatment recommendations.
3. Physically: Patients look to health and wellness professionals for advice and counseling. They need to provide a good example for others to follow.
What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?
I need to develop in all three; psychologically, spiritually, and physically.
Assessment
How have you assessed your health in each domain?
By taking a look at me and my circumstances, identifying the areas in my life that need attention, decide on the changes I wish to make and start a program that will help me make those changes.
How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
1. Spiritually: I continue to need help in developing spiritually, so I score myself poor.
2. Physically: I again have to score myself as poor.
3. Psychologically: And again, my score would be poor.
Goal Development
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, physically, psychologically (mental health), and spiritual.
1. Physically: My goal is to get my physical self more healthy. Right now, the most exercise I get is while I’m at work.
2. Psychologically: My goal is to be more stress free, feel happier, and tries to get off the antidepressant medication I am on.
3. Spiritually: My final goal is to be more spiritual. I can do this by looking more closely and reflect on my thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivation.
Practices for Personal Health
What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains?
Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.
Physically: Right now the most exercise I get is at work. After a 3 year illness, it has been difficult for me to start exercising again. However, it has been a year now since I was able to go back to work, so I think it is about time to get myself in better shape. One practice I plan to start is taking a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes every day. My doctor told me this is the best exercise for me to start out on. I can do it early in the morning or in the evening with my husband along for the company. The second thing I plan to do is to start cutting sugar from my diet. I know this will be difficult for me, but I have been thinking about it for awhile. I know others who have done this and they tell me they feel so much better.
Psychologically: I plan to start training my mind. I can do this with some of the exercises we have learned during the past nine weeks. One is the Silence and Stillness exercise and the other is the Visualization exercise. I plan to alternate nights so I can concentrate on just one each night. I can go to my room at night and ask not to be disturbed for at least one hour. I have a really comfortable chair in my room, where it is peaceful and quiet. I will do the exercises as we have done them during our readings.
Spiritually: By looking at my own experiences, the decisions I make, the relationships I have, will help to provide insights on my life’s goals, on the good traits I need to keep and the bad traits I need to get rid of. I plan to use two exercises that we have also used in our readings.
Loving-Kindness and the Subtle mind. Again, I plan to use these exercises on alternate nights. I know I said I would need at least one hour of quiet time, but I will actually need 2 hours. I can do two exercises per night. I will follow them like we did in our readings.
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?
To assess my progress, I plan to keep a journal. By journaling, I can keep track of my progress, how well I am sticking to my goals, and maybe start some new goals. Strategies I can use are getting my family involved. My daughter is already talking with me about my diet and lack of exercise. If I told them my goals, they would help me achieve them. Also, I would get my husband to start with the goals that I have. He is a great support system, and I think we would both be great in supporting each other and monitoring our success in attaining our goals.
For the long term, I think that once I started to feel better, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually, I would have no trouble maintaining this commitment for the rest of my life. I want to feel better and be happier. I want to be off medication for depression and for sleep. I don’t like taking pills to make me feel better about myself. So, if I can do this and be happier, I won’t have any problems continuing it. Just these past nine weeks, I have started feeling so much better and less stressed about everything.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Unit 8
I have chosen the two exercises of meditation and visualization. The benefits of meditation and visualization is that it helps me to improve my mood. It helps me to calm down and keeps me from having so many negative thoughts. It helps get rid of physical and mental stress. Meditation helps me rid myself of thoughts and worries about the past and the future. It helps me concentrate on the now. Visualization can take me to a calm and peaceful place. I visualize a place where it is beautiful, peaceful, and calm. I also do the exercises we have studied. Especially the visualization with the rainbow of bright lights shining out of us. I like being able to sit quietly, with no noise from the TV or radio. I turn off my phones and pick a quiet place in my house. Afterward, I feel more calm, less stressed, and ready to face the day. I find that I am not getting so depressed either. I have suffered from depression for the last 8 years and have been on medication most of that time. In fact, my doctor recently changed my meds because they didn't seem to be as effective. Now, with meditation and visualization, I find myself sleeping better and getting up more relaxed. I don't seem to worry as much about what is going to happen. I don't feel as depressed any more and I am able to look to the future as a happy time instead of one that I dread. I feel much happier and even my family has noticed a difference in me.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Unit 7
"Meeting Asclepius: Mindfulness and Meditation"
When doing this exercise, it didn't take me long on deciding who to concentrate on. My older brother passed away a few years ago, and June 30 is his birthday. He and I were very close. He was my go to person whenever I had problems or decisions to make. I miss talking to him and getting his advice on things. Even to this day, when I have to make a decision, I try to think of what he would tell me to do. Concentrating on his image was easy for me. This exercise actually helped me a lot, focusing on him. because I have missed him so much lately. Transforming my mind int his mind, feeling like he was with me, feeling his energy. Taking on the love and his wisdom. I allowed his energy to come into my heart and tried to take on his qualities. Picturing him and concentrating on his words, I now realized it was really myself talking. It is really myself that I have to look to for guidance. I need to accept that it has been myself guiding me and will continue to do so. This was really hard for me to accept, because I never thought I could make the right decisions for myself without talking it over with someone else first. Meditating, concentrating, focusing. This is all something I will need to continue to work on.
One Cannot Lead Another Where One Has Not Gone Himself.
How can one try and tell someone how to live there life, what is best for them, when they don't practice what they preach. I have seen doctors and nurses tell their patients that smoking, overeating, drinking and etc. is not good for them, but yet they are doing it themselves. Many times I have seen caregivers pass out education about quitting smoking, telling patients how bad it is for them, only to see them a short time later, outside taking their cigarette break. How can you try to advocate good health, when you are not practicing good health. How can you recommend alternative treatments, when you have never really tried them, or at least attempted to educate yourself about them? All caregivers need to really take a look at this statement, and really examine the meaning, and start living the statement.
When doing this exercise, it didn't take me long on deciding who to concentrate on. My older brother passed away a few years ago, and June 30 is his birthday. He and I were very close. He was my go to person whenever I had problems or decisions to make. I miss talking to him and getting his advice on things. Even to this day, when I have to make a decision, I try to think of what he would tell me to do. Concentrating on his image was easy for me. This exercise actually helped me a lot, focusing on him. because I have missed him so much lately. Transforming my mind int his mind, feeling like he was with me, feeling his energy. Taking on the love and his wisdom. I allowed his energy to come into my heart and tried to take on his qualities. Picturing him and concentrating on his words, I now realized it was really myself talking. It is really myself that I have to look to for guidance. I need to accept that it has been myself guiding me and will continue to do so. This was really hard for me to accept, because I never thought I could make the right decisions for myself without talking it over with someone else first. Meditating, concentrating, focusing. This is all something I will need to continue to work on.
One Cannot Lead Another Where One Has Not Gone Himself.
How can one try and tell someone how to live there life, what is best for them, when they don't practice what they preach. I have seen doctors and nurses tell their patients that smoking, overeating, drinking and etc. is not good for them, but yet they are doing it themselves. Many times I have seen caregivers pass out education about quitting smoking, telling patients how bad it is for them, only to see them a short time later, outside taking their cigarette break. How can you try to advocate good health, when you are not practicing good health. How can you recommend alternative treatments, when you have never really tried them, or at least attempted to educate yourself about them? All caregivers need to really take a look at this statement, and really examine the meaning, and start living the statement.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Unit 6
Doing these exercises sometimes becomes difficult for me. I really start to get stressed on whether I am doing them right or not. I did the loving kindness exercise, but I couldn't do it for the 10 minutes, nor could I do it as a mantra. Instead I did it as a prayer. This helped me some. It did help me to realize that I need to take a look around me and try to think of others more.
The assesment exercise made me realize that I really need to work on my health and fitness. The past 3 years I have had multiple surgeries and since then I don't have the energy I did. I start things and can't finish. After work, I am so exhausted that I have a hard time not coming home and just going straight to bed. Until I get my health and fitness back, I don't see me moving forward towards integral health.
The assesment exercise made me realize that I really need to work on my health and fitness. The past 3 years I have had multiple surgeries and since then I don't have the energy I did. I start things and can't finish. After work, I am so exhausted that I have a hard time not coming home and just going straight to bed. Until I get my health and fitness back, I don't see me moving forward towards integral health.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Subtle Mind
The Subtle Mind exercise had more to do with us concentrating on our breathing. Trying to relax and concentrate on my breathing was at first difficult, trying not to let random thoughts in. I did this exercise a couple of times before I could really start to concentrate on my breathing.
The Loving Kindness exercise wanted us to focus on someone close to us and to experience the loving feelings we have for that person, to fully experience the love we feel for that person. It also wanted us to help take the hurt away from the person we were concentrating on. This was difficult for me to concentrate on just one person. There are so many in my life that fills my heart with so much love.
The blogs I read helped me to see that it takes time to learn how to do these and put ourselves into them fully. It takes time for us to really concentrate and push out the mindless chatter that we have. So many times we come home stressed from the day, rethinking everything that had happened. Learning these exercises will help us to relax, not feel so stressed, and to help us be more happy and healthy. I find in the quiet, I do feel more blessed, more spiritual. I want to continue on this journey and learn the new skills and insights.
The Loving Kindness exercise wanted us to focus on someone close to us and to experience the loving feelings we have for that person, to fully experience the love we feel for that person. It also wanted us to help take the hurt away from the person we were concentrating on. This was difficult for me to concentrate on just one person. There are so many in my life that fills my heart with so much love.
The blogs I read helped me to see that it takes time to learn how to do these and put ourselves into them fully. It takes time for us to really concentrate and push out the mindless chatter that we have. So many times we come home stressed from the day, rethinking everything that had happened. Learning these exercises will help us to relax, not feel so stressed, and to help us be more happy and healthy. I find in the quiet, I do feel more blessed, more spiritual. I want to continue on this journey and learn the new skills and insights.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Loving-Kindness
This past weekend at work was very stressful for me. Not just for me, but also the other nurses I worked with. We were working short, so everyone was tense. I was also in charge this weekend and that adds greater stress. I came home exhausted both days (I work 12 hour day shifts). I was upset about some things that had happened at work, such as short tempers, people asking me why I did assignments like I did, and why didn't I get more help! I had done my best at work, but was still upset when I got home. Sunday night, I began the Loving-Kindness Practice. It took me some time to get my negative thoughts out of my head, but I did manage to, even though it was short term. The Loving-Kindness practice did help me to relax. When I first came home I was very tense, but after doing this practice, I found myself relaxing more. I'm not saying that I was able to do it perfect, it is going to take some practice. But it did help me calm down. Sometimes it's hard to find a quiet place in my home, but I am going to dedicate some time on learning this practice. Hopefully, I will be able to use the technique at work so I won't come home so tense.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Crime of the Century
This exercise was hard for me at first. Trying to concentrate and imagine the colors while trying to relax was hard. I did the exercise a few times and it did get easier. It did help me relax my breathing but I still had difficulty with the colors.
On rating myself on my physical well-being, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being was also kind of hard for me. My physical well-being, I would have to give myself a 5. I am trying to eat a well balanced diet, but have not started a good exercise program for myself yet. This is one of the goals I have set. My spiritual well-being I set as a 6. I still need lots of improvement on this. I have started meditating, reading and trying to be still and listen. This is hard around my household, so I have found that I do this best at night, when everything is much more calm. On my psychological well-being I rate myself also a 6. I have always found it difficult to give myself credit for anything I do. I am my own worse enemy. Since starting this class, I am learning ways to turn this around, so my goal is to at least reach an 9 in this area in the next few weeks.
I know this will all take time. I have to being by acting on the whole picture until it becomes a reality. I need to focus on the end results. I want my physical well-being to be a 9 or 10, my spiritual well-being a 9 or 10 and my psychological well-being to be a 10. Once I make the decision to change, I need to stick to it and pretend that there is no other option and live my life with this goal in mind.
On rating myself on my physical well-being, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being was also kind of hard for me. My physical well-being, I would have to give myself a 5. I am trying to eat a well balanced diet, but have not started a good exercise program for myself yet. This is one of the goals I have set. My spiritual well-being I set as a 6. I still need lots of improvement on this. I have started meditating, reading and trying to be still and listen. This is hard around my household, so I have found that I do this best at night, when everything is much more calm. On my psychological well-being I rate myself also a 6. I have always found it difficult to give myself credit for anything I do. I am my own worse enemy. Since starting this class, I am learning ways to turn this around, so my goal is to at least reach an 9 in this area in the next few weeks.
I know this will all take time. I have to being by acting on the whole picture until it becomes a reality. I need to focus on the end results. I want my physical well-being to be a 9 or 10, my spiritual well-being a 9 or 10 and my psychological well-being to be a 10. Once I make the decision to change, I need to stick to it and pretend that there is no other option and live my life with this goal in mind.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I have really started to enjoy the readings and all the postings. The last class I took was on holistic nursing and I loved it. I'm really loving this class too! I'm a beginner at meditation, but I'm getting better at it. I also am interested in guided imagery and healing touch. As we start to learn new meanings related to healing in our work and our lives, we can blend our knowledge from nursing as well as other disciplines.
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