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Wellness Plan: Guided Imagery—Still Mountain Lake

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Wellness Plan: Guided Imagery—Still Mountain Lake

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Daytime (first time):

1. I was feeling tired, a little tense, and anxious.

2. I could feel my breathing and heart rate slowing a bit. I felt a sense of awe and peace and familiarity because I was picturing something similar to mountain imagery I have seen in real life that has personal significance to me. That was comforting. I definitely still struggled with wandering thoughts, some restlessness, and distraction by my own body activities like fluttering in my stomach. But I was able to regain my composure and get back into the meditation.

3. Somewhat more relaxed - I had somewhere to go right after, so I was still a little stressed and focused on getting things done to make it to the next thing on time. But the lower heart rate stayed with me, and overall I felt a little more centered.

4. Several hours later, I felt relatively calmer but I was also very tired from the entire day. I couldn't really tell if I had any long-lasting effects from the meditation.

Daytime (second time):

1. I felt tired, a little nauseous/edgy from drinking coffee, anxious about delivering some difficult news tomorrow.

2. Frustrating at first because I felt pretty anxious. The longer I stayed in the meditation, the more relaxed I got, though the anxiety returned a bit once the prompt instructed me to start to return to daily activities.

3. I felt a bit calmer. I really wanted to take a nap but I had other things to do.

4. Still tired, though less actively anxious. I was able to move on with my day and do the things I needed to do, with a little bit of worry about what the next day held.

SUMMARY:

1. I enjoyed taking the time to slow down and appreciate nature through the imagery of my imagination. I liked feeling a bit calmer and less physically tense. I disliked the way my mind wandered and the times when I felt too agitated to focus on the relaxation.

2. I enjoyed this meditation/relaxation activity because it related to nature. Other similar activities have focused more on mantras or affirmations, and I find it more difficult to quiet my inner voice because it likes to argue with the affirmations. Using guided imagery felt a little less pressured.

3. Yes I could see myself continuing to use meditation activities like this, although it is difficult for me to slow down and take the time to do it, when I would rather be distracting myself with TV or my nintendo switch. Although I do not feel as present and calm in those activities. This activity clearly had more benefits.

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Lifestyle habits (introduction to relaxation and breathing)

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Lifestyle habits (introduction to relaxation and breathing)

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1. One thing I have improved related to stress management is my connection to others as a source of emotional support.

2. One thing I want to accomplish in the last few weeks of this course is to reduce procrastination by building a better routine. I want to make sure I am leaving the house every day to go to work, even when there are no external consequences to me staying home- I need the change of environment and to prioritize having integrity surrounding my job in order to relieve some stress related to it.

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Lifestyle habits (exercise, nutrition, sleep, & healthy vs unhealthy coping strategies)

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Lifestyle habits (exercise, nutrition, sleep, & healthy vs unhealthy coping strategies)

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1. One of my commitments from last week was to log and update my expenses in my check register 2x that week. I learned that staying on top of my finances helps me feel less stressed overall.

2. This week I will commit to no late-afternoon or evening naps.

3. I chose this commitment because I want my sleep schedule to be healthier. I feel horrible when I do not get enough sleep, and napping during the day definitely affects my sleep schedule.

4. One barrier is exhaustion. I will have to be sure to get enough sleep at night to make sure I don't need to take naps during the day. Another barrier is depression. I will need to use other coping mechanisms besides sleep to cope with my depression - such as staying out of bed and doing things that keep me distracted and awake.

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social support, relationships & the environment

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social support, relationships & the environment

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1. One of my commitments last week was to commune with nature by taking a walk 2x during that week. I learned that doing this helped me notice the smaller things and took my mind off of a lot of the negativity that was swirling in my head at the time.

2. This week my commitment is to identify 5 ways I might make my environment more relaxing or healing, and try implementing 1 of them.

3. I picked this because I have noticed that my environment often reflects how I am doing in terms of my anxiety and depression, and I would like to see how I can create an environment that instead influences me.

4. One barrier will be time management. It is hard to find the time to change or rearrange my environment. I will have to schedule it in to my week so I do not forget to do it. Another barrier is indecisiveness. Many times I don't want to change things because I'd rather make no decision than commit to something I don't end up liking. I can combat this by asking for someone else's opinion.

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1. My other two commitments from last week were to complete a 15-minute mindfulness meditation when I am at the beach, and to participate in a caring community - 12-step support group known as Narcotics Anonymous - at least 2x. I did both of these commitments. I had a hard time meditating at the beach because I had consumed caffeine not long before trying to meditate. This was a barrier I had not predicted affecting my ability to meditate. I completed the meditation, but I was a lot more focused on my fast heartbeat and how much I was sweating in the sun than actually focusing on stilling the mind. I learned I need to take weather and climate into account when I am trying to meditate. I also learned that going to meetings, even when I did not want to, helped me feel more connected to others. I heard things in one of the meetings that made me feel less alone in what I am currently going through.

2. My commitment for this week regarding time and money management is to log and update my expenses in my check register spreadsheet 2x this week.

3. I chose this commitment because seeing what I spend my money on in almost real time allows me to monitor where my expenses are and where I need to be in order to make sure I can pay my bills and prevent unnecessary stress and worry about not being financially responsible. I already have a budget, so evaluating my spending against the budget is a good way to make sure I am staying on track.

4. One barrier is forgetfulness. I will schedule time into my week on two different days to update my check register. Another barrier is my banking app not working. I may need to schedule an additional day/time to do my register just in case the app is down and I cannot see what transactions went through at that particular time.

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1. One of my commitments from last week was keeping a log of negative self-talk for the week. I will keep a note in my notes app that I can add to each day. I did complete this commitment, although I realized that I had a lot less negative thoughts for the past seven days than I expected to have. I only had to log negative thoughts (or only recognized them to log them) for 5 of the 7 days. I think that is because I am on vacation so I feel I have more to be grateful for. The negative thoughts were usually related to not being productive in my downtime or comparing myself with others.

2. This week my commitment is to commune with nature by taking a walk 2x this week.

3. I picked this because nature is important to my spirituality and feeling connected to the world. I think being more spiritual will help improve my sense of purpose.

4. One barrier is not wanting to take the walk. I need to get it done right after doing something else, like right after I eat, that way I do not avoid it by procrastinating. Another barrier could be weather. I will check the weather ahead of time.

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1. Already discussed last week's commitment (3 nights of meditation & daily gratitude list) in a previous post.

2. This week, I will participate in a caring community - 12-step support group known as Narcotics Anonymous - at least 2x. I plan to go tonight, Wednesday 6/28, and Friday, 6/30.

3. I picked this commitment because I have not been to an NA meeting in over a week and a half. I need to reconnect with my routine of going to meetings, as it supports my spiritual health in being surrounded by other individuals who are trying to better themselves and heal from their pasts.

4. One barrier could be not wanting to go because of having a lot of homework. Fortunately I have downtime at work to reduce my homework load so I can manage my time effectively and be able to make the meetings. Another barrier might be social anxiety. When I haven't been to a meeting in a minute, sometimes it makes me nervous to be around people who are used to me coming regularly. I will have to walk through my anxiety and use thought-stopping to counter any negative predictions I have about how people will respond to my absence/presence at the meeting.

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mindfulness & planning for challenging emotions

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mindfulness & planning for challenging emotions

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1. Previous week's stress management goals: I honestly have barely done the goal I started last week - I may need to change it because I learned I am having a hard time using self-control to turn off the TV before bed, so I end up not meditating. I also probably did one gratitude list the past week and I don't think I made it to 5 things. I am going to try to do better this week - and I am telling myself I am capable of self-discipline, because when I put my mind to something, I do accomplish it. I am doing an excellent job keeping up with the work from my 5-week course which is almost over, so I can hang tough this week and soon I'll have more time to focus on my daily routine.

2. I am going on vacation this week, so my goal for this week related to mindfulness will be to complete a 15-minute mindfulness meditation when I am at the beach.

3. Overall, my stress management goals were to increase my sense of purpose and connection to spirituality. This commitment supports my connection to spirituality because being present in nature, especially by the ocean, is a spiritual experience for me.

4. One barrier could be spotty internet, since I usually use a meditation app. I could download a meditation ahead of time to ensure I don't have this problem. Another barrier could be no cell phone battery. I will make sure my phone is charged in my car on the way to the beach.

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Stress management goals: I honestly have barely done the goal I started last week - I may need to change it because I am having a hard time using self-control to turn off the TV before bed, so I end up not meditating. I also probably did one gratitude list the past week and I don't think I made it to 5 things. I am going to try to do better this week - and I am telling myself I am capable of self-control, because when I put my mind to something, I do accomplish it. I am doing an excellent job keeping up with the work from my 5-week course which is almost over, so I can hang tough this week and soon I'll have more time to focus on my daily routine. My goal is to do a little bit better this week.

Additionally, this week I will add the commitment of keeping a log of negative self-talk for the week. I will keep a note in my notes app that I can add to each day. I chose this commitment because I have been struggling a lot with how negatively I speak to myself in my mind, and in therapy we have been working on examining the core beliefs behind these negative thoughts. If I can keep track of the self-talk, I will have more to bring to therapy - it's hard to remember all the ways that I abused myself mentally once I get to therapy, it's like my mind goes blank. One barrier I perceive is forgetfulness - I am setting a reminder in my phone for mid-day so I have an additional environmental stimulus to remind me to use the log. A second barrier I perceive is procrastination. Even when I get a reminder, I might want to do it later and then I will really forget. I am going to schedule time at the end of the night with an additional alert on my phone to make sure I have completed my commitment for that day.

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After completing the self-assessments from Chapter 2 of Stress Management for Life, I concluded that 1. I've been doing better than I've been feeling, and 2. I am struggling with spirituality and a sense of purpose. I often feel the symptoms of my stress, namely my anxiety and depression, so viscerally that it takes me away from the big picture of how well I am doing in school, and in life. As far as spirituality goes, I have gotten away from some of the practices I had been doing - such as keeping a daily gratitude list and meditating  - and I forgot how much they helped center me.

Two stress management goals I would like to complete by the end of the semester are to meditate at least 3 nights a week before bed and to keep a daily gratitude list of 5 things I'm grateful for.