Stress Management Essay

Stress Plan Reaction

My stress management technique consisted of cardio workouts three times a week and

gratitude entries at the end of every day. This term I registered for a workout class to motivate myself to exercise throughout the week. Also, I pushed myself to sit down and write down “gratitude” entries every evening, which prompted me to think about the positive moments. With this stress management plan, the impacts were significantly evident. I realized how evidently my anxiety subsided, and when going through the high intensity workout, my mind was able to relax and release tension that built up during the day. For example, according to my stress data, most my stress is related to the completion and presentation of Finance projects, but after attending the cardio class, my body was able to release that nervous tension afterwards.

When attending the cardio class, I liked the satisfaction that I felt afterwards, which was due to the release of the dopamine hormone in the brain (Sapolsky). However, I disliked the precise timing of the class, because I would rather prefer an evening workout. In terms of the gratitude entries I enjoyed remembering the small “happy” moments throughout the day, and before bed, those memories put me in a relaxed and positive mindset. Yet, I disliked physically writing the entries, and would rather prefer to play back those moments in my mind.

When analyzing my stress data for the first two weeks (April 17-23) my stress levels significantly declined during the second week, to numbers ranging from 1-4. This is evidence that the stress management plan helped me cope with my anxiety and tension. The next weeks (April 30-May 7), my stress levels stayed mostly stable from 3-5 with an occasional outlier of 8

or 9 on Thursdays, because of the in-class presentations. Analyzing the remaining weeks (May 14-May 30) stress levels jumped to higher numbers throughout the week and ranged from a 2-9. That was due to the increasing amount of workload and additional stress related to an unsatisfied midterm grade. I strived to complete my stress management plan every day, despite a few constraining health circumstances. Overall, despite the higher stress levels in the end, the workouts helped me ease the stress in middle of the day.

My stress management techniques relied on commitment, which was difficult during my first two weeks of class, because of a barrier that was due to soreness from the intense workout. I also realized that in many situations my daily mood affected my motivation to go to cardio class or record the gratitude entries. Factors such as gloomy weather, life circumstances, or other daily frustrations affected my mood in negative