Reflection
The case that I studied really hit home. I know the horrors that Katya is getting through and I know how hard it is to handle school and maintain good grades. However, because I know this persons determination with her good grades, I also know that she can and will make it through this. I feel so connected to this story and literally have lived, and sometimes still live, this story. I really hope I take the advice I gave her and start mediation. I know that this would help me extremely with my stress level and reaction to it. I would love to do yoga at least three times a month just to me my body, mind, and soul where it needs to be so that I can handle such extreme stress. I understand that Katya and I are far from the only people who are suffering from unhealthy stress so I’m glad that this health class is leading me into the journey that will eventually help me out. When I signed up for this class I thought I was going to learn health matter that wouldn’t pertain to me but studying this case proves that it’s all about me. I would like to review other case studies that pertain to my struggles and come up with solutions very much the way I have with this case study. This way I’ll be finding ways to help myself without giving myself a hard time. This would allow me to have compassion for others and maybe I can take my own compassionate advice.
The case study I'm about to review is sadly a reality that's all too real. Katya is a college student who has worked hard to keep her 3.0 grade point average but, like all of us college students, faces a great deal of anxiety from all the stress to keep her scholarship. She has an important chemistry exam coming up that she has to nail to keep her scholarship and this exam is getting the best of her. Due to all the stress she suffers from her test anxiety she recently had a panic attach. My goal is to take this case and explain what the options Katya has that can aid her anxiety.
I can truly relate to this poor girl and her story. I too work extremely hard at every class I take in college and have a great GPA because of how much I put into my studies. I feel as if I know the material but do horrible on test for some reason. Last semester I suffered from anxiety due to stressing over my classes and the physical results where horrible. I lost the feeling of my hands while I was driving home from class one night and I know that it was because of all the stress I was carrying. I didn't eat very much and felt depressed all the time. I really wish I would have studied the material I studied for this paper as I believe it would have helped me powerfully. Sure, I understood that mediation and yoga help release stress but never felt that doing these would really help or I didn't feel up to trying it.
I studied the book “Anxiety Reduction Techniques” by Laurie J. Fundukian and Jeffrey Wilson. I will be discussing all the techniques that the book offers and how to practice them. The book defines anxiety reduction as “techniques are learned skills that can be used by an individual to help overcome anxiety and its associated mental and physical symptoms, including tension, worry, and nervousness.” This is exactly what Katya is suffering and in my option needs to practice some of these actions that the book goes in dept about. First they start with explaining how relaxation helps muscle with anxiety but it doesn't explain too much about where to get your muscles relaxed. I really like the next techniques discussed, which visualization is. The power to think of a pleasant place or seeing yourself accomplishing something is an anxiety relief that doesn't seem too common or respected. I would suggest Katya take breaks during her studies and visualizes herself accomplishing her goal. It's like when I plan my week out and see it, I'm not afraid of it because I see that it's not as bad as it sounds. Diaphragmatic breathing is the exercise of breathing using your lower chest area of the lungs so that your blood moves and delivers oxygen to the body. This goes hand and hand with mediation. Katya can mediate and practice diaphragmatic breathing at the same time to help with her anxiety. Stress inoculation is taking an event in your life and giving it more power than it deserves. Addressing this can take small events and realize that they aren't that bad. Lastly, mediation is covered. This is the probably the most dreadful thought for a person to envision themselves doing. We all know the benefits of mediation but so few of us actually participate in the practice that can help a person’s stress tremendously. Of course there are way too many mediations to discuss but I will say that all have the same goal of helping a person control their thoughts rather than their thoughts controlling the person. I believe that if Katya mediated and realized that she can, and will, accomplish her goals, and truly believed it, she would stress too much over this issue. Too, it's worth saying that even if she lost her scholarship and didn't do too well in school her life would still go on and she would still turn out alright. I'll end with a warning the book has at the end of this chapter: “Once a person begins to implement these anxiety reduction techniques effectively, he or she may discover old or hidden psychological pain.” It goes on to suggest that the person talk to a friend or mental health professional. It's a bummer that the book doesn't explain that it will get better if you persist with these techniques.
All the techniques I offer from the book are all practices that should be taken before the person feels the anxiety. Practice these things regardless of your panic level and you’re bound to live a healthier and happier life. I can't honestly say that I practice these things myself but I do really want to. I know that if Katya practiced these suggestions chronically she would be able to get through the tough things going on in her life and enjoy her life 100 times better.
Beard, K., Wienclaw, R. A., & Atkins, W. (2012). Anxiety Reduction Techniques. In K. Key (Ed.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health (3rd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 117-122). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX4013200041&v=2.1&u=pasa19871&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=d3d1ea518612b06c634a84723e51e17e
Case Study - Stress
Project #3
