Stress Management Plan

I. Introduction

1. a)  Explain stress and the relevancy of stress within the larger field of psychology and within your own life, using the terminology covered throughout

   the course. What is stress? Why is stress an interesting topic of study for psychologists? How does stress play a role in your own life?

2. b)  Summarize two different studies either from the list below or of your own choice around the topic of reducing stress that appropriately use the

   scientific method to explore human behavior. What specific elements of human behavior are the studies examining? What is the goal of each study, and how do they achieve that goal through their research or experiment?

   1. How Stress Influences Disease: Study Reveals Inflammation as the Culprit
   2. How to Predict Who Will Suffer the Most From Stress
   3. Stress Changes How People Make Decisions
3. c)  Compare the two studies of stress for their use of psychological principles and their empirical findings. What are the main psychological principles

   and concepts included in each study? If the authors discuss similar principles and concepts, note how the definitions or understandings of those

   things vary between the articles. How are the big conclusions or takeaways from the studies similar or different?

4. d)  Explain how these studies are relevant to your personal career interests.

II. Personal Stress Experience

1. a)  Describe a minimum of three personal or professional goals and the ideal situation that would support accomplishment of your goals. Your ideal

   situation might include things related to your health, living situation, financial situation, or relationship status. For instance, if your goal is to buy a

   house, then an ideal situation would be that you continue to work and receive expected raises, allowing you to save money.

2. b)  Summarize your results and your interpretation of the Holmes and Rahe self-assessment. Did your results surprise you? Why or why not?
3. c)  Explain how the results of your self-assessment could potentially impact your ability to reach your personal or career goals.

III. Analysis

1. a)  Relating back to the two studies you summarized in your introduction, consider how the findings relate to your own situation and personal stress

   levels. Can you learn anything from the conclusions of either study that you can apply in your own life?

2. b)  Summarize different ways in which you can minimize or manage stress in order to support your personal or career goals. Draw from resources you

   reviewed throughout the course.

IV. ActionPlanning

1. a)  Rewrite the three personal or professional goals you identified in Section II-a as DAPPS goals (dated, achievable, personal, positive, specific). These

   three larger goals will inform your sub-goals for stress management.

2. b)  Consider the DAPPS goals you identified in Section IV-a, and identify three sub-goals that address ways you can better cope with stress as you work

   towards your larger goals. These three goals become your action steps. Like your three main goals, your sub-goals should be DAPPS.

3. c)  Explain how each supporting action step you identified relates back to psychological concepts and the stressors of your own daily life. How,

   specifically, will accomplishing each of these goals help to minimize your stress? What specific benefits do you think you will gain from achieving your sub-goals?

V. Conclusion

1. a)  Summarize how learning to manage stress can support you in the achievement of your personal or professional goals.
2. b)  Assess how successful you expect your stress management plan to be based on the studies you used for this project.

Guidelines: The paper should be at least 1,200–1,500 words in length, double-spaced, using 12 point Times New Roman font and one-inch margins, with citations and references in APA format.