My Stress Journal Essay

As a school counselor, I have found that stress has been a constant throughout my career. I work with students, parents, teachers, and administrators who have different needs and require attention, sometimes all at the same time. I often feel like I’m trying to keep my head above water, sometimes to the detriment of my home life. The stress journal assignment gave me the opportunity to reflect on the many sources of my stress as well as identify changes that could be made in order to help minimize its effect on my productivity, health, and relationships. As I analyzed my stress journal I found that my stress came from two sources, in the most generalized terms, things that I am responsible for and unexpected crisis. The responsibilities
I have always known that certain aspects of my job are stressful due to the fact that I often have to work with students and families that are in crisis. I work well under pressure and have never had a problem navigating through a crisis. What I didn’t realize, is that I spend a lot of time anticipating the worst case scenarios. In preparing for meetings, the majority of my stress comes from thinking that the worst will happen. Too often, I engage in catastrophic thinking which consumes large parts of my day. I also realized that the lack of time management and organization skills are major factors in my catastrophic thinking. I find that I am always planning for things at the last minute which leaves little time for handling unforeseen issues. Certain meetings can be successful with planning a week in advance, however, larger multi-component meetings require additional planning and I don’t always have the time or forethought to give myself more time to prepare. Another issue that arises with meetings that involve a larger group of participants, is that I can’t ensure that everyone will be as prepared as I would like them to be. The human component adds an extra layer to my stress. I know that I work well under pressure and typically am able to pull things off at the last minute. What I can’t control is how others will prepare for, or respond to
I am always on auto-pilot, ready to complete tasks and put out fires. This activity required that I notice the impact of stress on my health and behavioral responses. I was able to identify that stress has taken a toll on my physical well being and manifests itself in almost constant neck and shoulder pain and weekly headaches. I know that exercise helps me relax and minimize the pain I feel, but I always find a reason not to go for a run. This I feel, is another byproduct of stress as I am always tired and have lost motivation to take care of myself. I understand that nutrition is also a factor in my physical well being, and yet I find that I have established unhealthy eating habits. I fluctuate between stress eating and not making enough time to eat. I have periods throughout the day where I feel foggy and forgetful, and I’m always exhausted. There are moments when I try to make good food choices, but when I am under a lot of stress I choose to ignore what is good for me and seek out what makes me feel better in the moment. This in turn affects my mood. I realize that stress also plays a large role in how I behave. I always believed that I was able to control my behavior regardless of how much stress I was under. Unfortunately, I realized that I spent a lot of time this week feeling frustrated, angry, and at one point I had a meltdown and completely shut down. I don’t allow