My stress journal is where I logged my feelings of stress for 5 days. I logged the reason I was stressed, my reactions (behavioral, cognitive, emotional and physiological) and how I coped. Day 1 Friday June 8th Today I became stressed when I remembered the homework I have to complete this weekend, including my historian speech. I think if I do my homework right away and do not procrastinate, I will alleviate myself from stress. If I leave until later, the stress will only increase and I will make it worse for myself. Behavioural: Fidgeting Cognitive: Recurring thoughts, difficulty concentrating Emotional: Doubting my abilities to not procrastinate Physiological: Uncomfortable gut-feeling Coping: Suppression Day 2 Saturday June 9th I was stressed today because I told someone I would meet them at a certain time, yet when it was time to leave, I did not have a way of getting there. This stress stemmed from my poor planning and did not have an obvious solution. The result was that the stress heightened until I arrived, then, guilt and slight embarrassment from being late formed a different type of stress. Behavioural: Quick movements Cognitive: Not thinking clearly Emotional: Angry at self for leaving planning to last minute Physiological: Uncomfortable gut feeling Coping: Active Coping Day 3 Sunday June 10th Since I did in fact end up procrastinating with my school work, my initial stress levels from Friday have climaxed today. I plan on doing my assignments right now, in order to calm myself. However, now that I have waited until last minute, I will be stressed AS I work, rather than just before I start, like usual. Behavioural: Short-Tempered/Panicked Cognitive: Recurring Thoughts Emotional: Overreacting from minor irritations Physiological: Nervous Coping: Active Coping Day 4 Monday June 11th LATE PMs I am stressed as I type this because I have forgotten that I committed to a soccer game after school tomorrow. I do not have my soccer stuff clean and ready, and I have lots of school work to for Wednesday, including finishing this journal. I feel rushed and panicked, especially because there is nothing I can do about now that it is late at night. I will have to try and sleep and deal with the issue tomorrow. Behavioural: Change in posture Cognitive: Recurring thoughts Emotional: Nervous, quick tempered Physiological: Uncomfortable feeling in stomach Coping: Planning Day 5 Tuesday June 12th I am stressed because I have not heard a back from Footlocker, where I have applied for a job. It has been over two weeks and I am now doubting that I will get the job, despite feeling confident I would get it. Behavioural: Temporary change in posture Cognitive: Recurring thoughts, poor concentration Emotional: Self-Doubt Physiological: Uncomfortable feeling in stomach Coping: Planning Analyzing my Stress: After logging my stress patterns for the past week, I have learned many things. Firstly, it would seem as though I am most stressed in situations that I have created myself, such as dealing with piled up work after procrastinating. I think this stems from some form of guilt, and or embarrassment by not being organized like I believe I should be. I saw this in when I procrastinated about school work, and when I failed to be organized for upcoming events, such as my soccer game. Usually, how I cope with stress depends on the situation. If I am stressed for something that is happening in the future, I use mental planning to assure myself everything will be fine. If I am worried about something out of my control, suppression helps me get my mind off of it. I think active coping is the most useful, because it deals with the problem right away, eliminating future stress. After monitoring my stress, I find that I am more aware of rising stress levels. Sometimes, this is a good thing as I can attempt to deal with the stress as it presents itself. Other times, this is harmful because I can not stop thinking about how I am stressed once I become consciously aware of it. Questions for Further Investigation:
1. I wonder if logging my stress reduces, or leads to more stress in my life. Would this differ from short to long term stress logging?
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