Week 5

As I began reading the chapter on stress, I tried to reflect first on what things in my life cause me stress.  I realized that some of my stress can be better referred to as eustress.  Often times my stress can be classified as good stress stemming from a healthy challenge versus a negative form.  I enjoy problem solving and planning and organizing to create solutions to everyday problems.  At the same time, my love for planning can also provide me with distress.  It is in my nature to want to create “To-Do Lists”, checklists, agendas, and plans.  Often times this works to my advantage as I run my classroom and the Middle School Student Council.  When my plans go as expected, life is wonderful and neat and organized and happy:) When things do not go as planned, that is when the distress kicks in.  I try to tell myself it will all work out in the end, and it’s not worth stressing over, but it still seems to happen regardless.  I think a lot of it has to do with the pressure I put on myself to do things well.  The crazy part is, that at work, my biggest stressor is the pressure I put on myself with student council.  Which sounds silly, because it’s not my full-time job and it only pays a small stipend.  However for some reason, I get very stressed out with planning middle school dances and fundraisers.  One thing I try to remember is that a 13 year old will like the dance no matter what I do.  Even if I run out of soda, or the decorations fall down halfway through, they’re still going to have fun and that is all that matters!

 

A part of the text that really resonated with me was the section on becoming physically ill due to stress.  I 100% believe this to be true and I use this as a guiding force to refrain from letting too many things stress me out.  One of my family members has an autoimmune disease and her symptoms are only heightened with her stress levels.  She spent a lot of the past year struggling with this, because naturally the fact that she was diagnosed was causing her great stress, and with the stress came more severe symptoms.  She had to find a way to let go of the stress, and since then, her symptoms have drastically improved.  I also notice with myself, that it is when I am tired, run down, and stressed that I find myself becoming sick.

 

The last thing I wanted to talk about was the part in the text on sexual exploitation.  I think this is a very important topic to read about and understand, going into the school counseling profession.  It  makes me very sad to say this, but in the 3 years I have been teaching, I have encountered numerous students who have been sexually abused.  Those children need support and trust from adults in their lives, and that is the role a counselor would play.  I also think it is very important for us to understand how victims of abuse feel and view themselves, so that we are better able to help them heal and overcome their abuse.

 

Corey, G. , & Corey, M.S. (2008). I never knew I had a choice: Explorations in personal growth (9^th ed.). Belmont, California: Thompson Brooks/Cole. ISBN: 9780495602293.