On The Road to Psychological Health

I found the experience for both exercises much better than the previous one in unit 3. The voice in these exercises was not as distracting because it wasn't constant, and maybe because it was a female voice. There were long periods of time when the sound of the waves and a distant music were the only thing heard and that was very helpful in staying focused. Every time the voice came on, I lost my focus and I had to work harder to gain focus again. I was surprised to notice that the voice wasn't that bothersome anymore by the end of the second exercise. I did get some relaxation. As they said in the exercise “steel the breath, steel the mind”. If these exercises work for me somehow, I will definitely recommend it to others.

The concept of “mental workout” suggests that we can train the body just like we do the body. Research studies have demonstrated that mental training can transform the mind by reducing disturbing emotions that cause anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and doubt while enhancing positive emotions such as patience, loving-kindness, openness, acceptance, and happiness (Dacher, 2006). For my psychological health, I need to first train my mind to rest and relax. This warrants a daily commitment, just like I do for my physical workout now. Once I master that, I will then, slowly, develop a state of expanded consciousness with loving-kindness and wisdom. The latter are crucial in the healing process and human flourishing. This is going to be a long and challenging journey but it is one that is essential to attain health for my body, mind, soul, and spirit.

Browny.

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Wholesome wellbeing

Ratings

I rate my physical wellbeing at 6 because, for the past year, I haven’t been as physically fit as I used to or ought to be. I don’t want it to become problematic for me as I have a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure and I am terrified at the idea of getting such diseases.

I rate my spiritual wellbeing an 8. I am still out-of-balance and it shows through my physical and psychological shortcomings. I need to be more in tune with myself.

I rate my psychological wellbeing a 7 because I still let the daily stressors of life get to me at times.

Goals

Physically, my goal is to lose 20 lbs in 4 months (about 1 lb/week). Spiritually, my goal is to be in fine tune with “me”. Psychologically, my goal is to cope better with life’s adversities.

Actions

I need to be more consistent in my exercise routine as evidence by working out at least 5 days/week, stop eating on the go or eating late, get enough sleep, and “finish online schooling”. This will allow me to move towards my physical fitness goal.

For my spiritual fitness, I need to integrate a more conscious awareness of the spiritual presence in every area of my life. I will, therefore, meditate and pray every day to tap into the calmness and peace I know to be within myself.

To accomplish psychological fitness, I need to remember that, like my husband like to say “every problem has a solution”. When faced with stressful situations, I need to take a step back, focus on getting a clear picture of the issue, and work toward resolution.

Relaxation exercise

The relaxation exercise was not at all as relaxing as it was intended to be, for me. The man’s voice, even though he tried to make it sound soft, was distracting me a great deal. I would have done better with just the background music which I found very calming, soothing and relaxing.

Browny (Assie). 

Introduction

Hello and welcome to Browny’s blog. I am not familiar with the “blogging thing” but, if you bear with me, I promise, I will get better eventually.

I took this class as an elective in my pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN). I’ve always believed in the power of the mind in achieving anything we set ourselves to achieve. That belief did not weaver a bit when I became a nurse, over 13 years ago. In the contrary, it became even stronger. I found myself telling my patients that their mindset played a huge role in their recovery and/or healing process. That is my personally belief that 50% of the recovery/healing (R/H) process comes from the mind: it feeds off our inner energy, our openness to receiving it. The mind is a powerful tool indeed and, as human beings, we don’t tap into this wonderful and readily available resource nearly enough. Now that I started this class, I couldn’t have been happier that I chose it. I am glad I chose the opportunity to learn about integral health: it not only validates my initial belief, but, can further assist me in achieving excellence in the care I provide my patients.

I am looking forward to the educational journey of discovering “The path to human flourishing”.

Browny.