Dr. Martin S. Turnauer Davis Hall 29 540.831.5315 mturnaue@radford.edu
Office Hours MWF 12 2TR
Meeting Dates 1-4pm May 10/ May 31/June 7 Classes held in Davis 142
"Stress is an ignorant state. It makes us believe everything is an emergency."
"Happiness is often presented as being very dull but...that is because
dull
people are sometimes very happy and intelligent people can and do go
around
making themselves and everyone else miserable."
- Ernest Hemingway in 'Islands In The Stream'
Self-concept, self-responsibility, competence, and realism are among the key to wellness. Mental wellness may, in fact, be the heart of wellness in general. One recent study found that experts on wellness considered the mental and emotional aspects of health to be among the most important elements of wellness.
One of the most promising strategies for promoting mental wellness involves the challenges of managing stress for personal growth. The college years are known to be a stressful time for most students. In a recent study, college students identified the most important stresses in their lives. Finding the time to do course work, especially if working while attending college, was cited by most students as one of their major stresses. Other stresses noted by these college students included financial concerns, worry over what they would do following graduation from college, and problems with interpersonal relationships. Commuter students felt the added pressure of traffic and parking problems, as well as the stress of meeting home and school responsibilities.
In this course, we will focus on the concept of mental wellness and how to achieve it in our daily lives through improving self-concept and competence, expanding awareness and experience, and learning to effectively manage life's stresses.
My Team Members
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IN-Class activities for May 10
Team activity for May 10
Brainstorming ideas in a national/political problem - make suggestions
for solving (child abuse/high divorce rate/homelessness/social
security/safety of sport utility vehicles, road rage
or Social Security or medical coverage crisis, changes since 911, Energy prices,
Cutting my misery, etc.)
Video, " Stressed to Kill". After the video, you will respond as to whether you agree/disagree with content, identify vivid impressions which you will remember, and what unanswered questions remain. This will be done in groups of 4.
What in life do I REALLY need? Activity
Writing activity prior to life extenders. Which do I do? Why not others? What prevents me from doing 5 of the 8? Do these life extenders during the weeks of the course:
breakfast every day 3 meals no snacks maintain a moderate weight
7/8 hours sleep
exercise 3x/week for 20 minutes use no or be moderate with alcohol
use seat belt
no smoking
Answer this:
What should/could/would YOU do to increase YOUR life span by 11 years? (View library video #4260, Are we scaring ourselves to death?)
As a group read/discuss Stress Readings To Get Your Through Life
Murphy's Other Laws http://www.murphys-laws.com/
Take 3 of the stress tests at http://dev.triothinkquest.org/TTQ02178/test_links.htm and share the results with your group
Team Activities from the web due June 7 70 points
Team group tell/show demonstrations on following relaxation techniques with 2 http sources:
Useful sites to help you do your presentation
In Class final review http://www.heartcenteronline.com/myheartdr/quiz/index.cfm
Final Exam 100 points Choose 1 or 2 Due July 1
1. What was my stress level before this class? What is my stress
level since taking this class? What strategies and in what manner will
I incorporate the ideas discussed/learned into my life to better handle stress
in the future?
2. Identify someone you know who manages stress well:______________________________
Observe this person over 2 weeks and list 7 things they do to cope with stress:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Choose 3 of the 7 which you are willing to try:
1. 2. 3.
Use 1 of these techniques this week and another the next and the 3rd the last week. At the end of each week whether the techniques helped you manage stress. Which of these 3 will you incorporate to your daily life?
3. Finally, take the same 3 stress tests you took earlier at http://dev.triothinkquest.org/TTQ02178/test_links.htm and compare the scores and the reasons for the scores with your group.
Assignments - for 4 credits
You will review and specifically identify how you can use 15 of the Useful sites to help you do your presentation - - in looking over these sites identify how you can use this information to improve your stress coping skills in your own personal daily life. You will also over the next 5 weeks do 8 of the of 10 of the 10 ways to help yourself found in ten ways to help yourself..
Assignments - for 5 credits
You will read When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden by Maher and The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman. Upon reading write a 500 word essay on the thoughts provoked by reading this book.
You will also be a group facilitator and do both final exams in addition to doing
the assignment for 4 credits.
