Emotional Wellbeing Reflection

Question #1. Have you ever been in a situation where your perception has been affected by possible low brain function caused by stress? Describe how you felt during this situation and what steps you took to destress.
I have been in a situation where my perception has been affected by possible low brain function caused by stress. This occurred during finals season during my Undergraduate years. I had received a minimal amount of sleep for a period of time because I had been working three jobs at the time while attending school full time. During this period of time, my perception of eating and sleeping were no longer parts of my day that I looked forward to nor enjoyed. Due to the amount of stress I endured, I felt as though eating and sleeping were a waste of time. During this time, I felt overwhelmingly negative and depleted of energy and joy. After an extended amount of time feeling this way, I realized that something needed to change either about my schedule or about my approach to the tasks I had to complete for the week. I was more intentional about my breaks and wrote all of my deadlines and chunked the work I needed to complete on a Calendar reasonably. To destress, I found a time during the day to work out or go on a walk and even cooked myself dinner multiple nights in the week.

Question #2. How have you overcome negative thoughts or pessimism?
I overcame negative thoughts or pessimism by journaling and writing my thoughts and feelings on paper. After doing so, I would reflect on how I am feeling and would then write all I have to be thankful for and all that I have to look forward to. I also enjoy the quiet time of reflection and prayer to center myself and remind me of how I can think of others. After doing this practice I notice I feel less negative and pessimistic.

Question #3. How can you be more present and intentional in your everyday decision-making and activities?
I can be more present and intentional in my everyday decision-making and activities by constantly reminding myself all to be thankful for at the moment. I can also be more present and intentional by learning how to say no when I feel as though there is too much on my plate. An area of growth for me is saying no when I need to for the sake of my emotional well-being. As a result, I should really make lists of what takes priority during the week and decide whether or not to participate in what is not a priority based on my work-load for the week, making sure to work moments of rest and relaxation throughout.