College Stress

Sometimes college life can make you seriously freak out.


With all the exams, late night studying, hard-to-understand lecturers, management of online and real life status, less-than courteous roommates, it’s enough to turn the most intrepid scholar into a quivering and unholy puddle of green jelly.


But hey, it doesn’t have to be this way.


With a few simple techniques and adjustments you can go back to being your own bad-self on campus.  So here’s the scoop...


Stress is defined as an increase in the arousal of the autonomic nervous system, or an emotional and physical reaction that increases the rate of “wear and tear” on the body.


Here’s the thing: You can’t stop stress from occurring.  It is a part of life.  However, you can influence the rate of wear and tear on your body and mind. More to come on this subject later.


A stressor is any positive or negative event that causes such a reaction.  Successful life events such as graduation, marriage and getting a new job can cause as much stress as a break-up, failing grades, or being fired.  So this means we are almost always under some sort of stress.  It may be small or it may be big, but it’s always there.  Kind of like the dishes in your sink.  Just as we wake and put clothes on (most of us anyway), we can prepare to encounter and address stress every day.


Some signs of stress include: fatigue, agitation, feeling jittery or shaky, muscle tension, headaches, feeling drained or overwhelmed, restlessness and poor concentration.


Sound familiar?


Common sources of college stress include: exams and papers, increased freedoms and responsibilities, family and relationship problems, poor diet and sleep habits, alcohol and drug abuse, and the inability to set appropriate limits for yourself and others.


This last one is the most important.  Many stressful events are relational in nature; they arise in the context of our relationships with professors, family members, friends and lovers.  If you learn the skills of setting and keeping limits, you will have most stress management owned.


Here are some secrets to successful stress management:


First, you must be aware of your boundaries, or in other words, your own set of personal limits for yourself and others.  How far are you willing to go yourself before you become uncomfortable, or worse, hurt, with anything?  How far are you willing to let others go?  Figure this out, as much as possible, ahead of time.  Then establish and stick to your boundaries, which you do through good communication.


So second, once you know your boundaries, be assertive about them! Communicate clearly, directly and honestly about your preferences.  Others won’t know what to do or not to do unless you tell them!  After all, no one stops driving unless they see a stop sign.  So throw up that stop sign when you need to.


Third, other tips to deal with stress involve minimizing its effects.  Again, stress cannot be eliminated but its effects can be reduced.  You can accomplish this by doing the following:


1. Notice that you are stressed as early as possible.  If you listen carefully your body will tell you.
2. Identify what is stressing you.  This may not be as easy as it sounds, so think about it deliberately.
3. Learn to be appropriately assertive and say “No” to yourself and others.
4. Develop realistic goals.  A resume packed full of activities you really don’t care about won’t help you.
5. Change the negatives if you can, and change your attitude about them if you can’t.  You will feel better when you resign from being manager of the universe.
6. Learn not to panic or over-react when things don’t go well.  Find one thing that you can do to feel better or move you toward your goals.
7. Take time out to relax daily and exercise at least three times a week.  This is a no-brainer.
8. Eat and sleep well, and limit alcohol and tobacco use.  Have fun without hurting yourself.
9. Take care of academic, medical or other personal problems as soon as you notice them.  Procrastinating makes everything worse.


If you need help with stress, you don’t have to go it alone.  Call your campus counseling service for an appointment to learn other simple techniques to reduce and manage stress.  Most times it only takes a few visits to learn great stress management skills.


Remember, burnout is real.  Success is enduring and doing something well for a long, long time.

CRITQUE ANALYSE OF A MENTAL HEALTH/MEANINGFUL OCCUPATION STUDY

In order to support what I have said about the use of meaningful occupation and mental health, I am going to analyse and critique an article that supports and relates to the topic.

Goldberg, B., Brintnell, S., & Goldberg, J. (2008). The relationship between engagement in meaningful activities and quality of life in persons disabled by mental illness. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 18(2), 17-44.

Critique Analyses: From Evidence Based Practice Class, I thought I would bring my skills in ensuring this article is reliable and appropriate. In regards to the authors, they have involvement in either mental health or occupational therapy practice. The title and information within the article relates to the use of meaningful occupation and benefits this has on mental health individuals. The article was published in 2008; therefore it is a current and up to date resource. Within the method, they use test-retest reliability and Cronbach Alpha to analyse results. Use a range of theorist to support opinions and findings.

Aim: The aim of the study was to identify the relationship between engagement in meaningful activities and quality of life.

Participants: The participants were individuals with a mental illness living in the community and attending programs at a private, non profit mental health agency in a large western Canadian city. Sixty three individuals were selected at random from approximately 235 who met the criteria for being severely and persistently mentally ill. They were also required to be between the ages of 18 and 65 and diagnosed for at least two years.

Method: All individuals chosen at random were sent a letter describing the project and requesting that they consider participating. The research assistant made a follow up call to these individuals using a standardised script for guidance with answering questions. Those who agreed to participate were scheduled a time at their choice of location either at home or the agency. Participants signed informed consent. Three measures were administered including: the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey (EMAS); the Quality of Life Interview; and the symptom Checklist-90. The interviews lasted on average 79 minutes. Following a two to 10 week interval, 15 participants repeated the EMAS in order to obtain data on its test-retest reliability.

Results: The results from the data analysis clearly showed that there is a relationship between engagement in meaningful activities and quality of life demonstrating a significant correlation of (p < .05).

Conclusion: Occupational therapists working in community mental health should ensure that it is the client who must determine what is meaningful for them, and include activities that increase feelings of control and that provide the right amount of challenge to be encouraged.

ACTIVITY: Go onto the research databases such as google scholar, Cinahl, OT seeker etc and find articles that support the use of meaningful occupation in mental health. This will help with your clinical reasoning in present and future practices and enable you to become an  evidence based occupational therapist. Let me know how you get on!

YOU TUBE VIDEO: OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, OCCUPATION AND MENTAL HEALTH

THE USE OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND MEANINGFUL OCCUPATION IN MENTAL HEALTH

Now let's learn about the use of meaningful occupation in mental health and how an occupational therapists implements this into practice to enhance the recovery on mental health individuals.

Mee and Sumsion (2001) state that “the closure of long stay institutions has resulted in mental health services being organised within the community providing opportunities for occupational therapists to reassess the value and meaning of occupation from their clients own perspectives” (p.121). Now occupational therapists can use their skills, knowledge and experience to enable mental health individuals to engage in their meaningful occupations within their specific environments.

The profession of occupational therapy supports the assumptions about the relationship between occupation and health as follows;

-          People are occupational beings

-          Engagement in occupation is healthy

-          People need a healthy balance of occupation

-          There are links with purpose and meaning

-          Occupation is a tool for healthy participation in life

(Creek and Lougher, 2008, p.26)

The value of meaningful and purposeful occupation is fundamental in occupational therapy. In regards to mental health, occupational therapists can engage clients in occupation that is meaningful and purposeful in order to improve the health and well being of a client throughout their progress in recovery by enabling them to overcome their effects of their difficulties. It is central for individuals to experience living a balanced and contented lifestyle (Mee, Sumsion and Craik, 2004). “Through doing, people are confronted with the evidence of their ability to function competently and take control of their lives as far as they are able” (Creek and Lougher, 2008, p.26). As a result of participating in occupation, clients “personal dignity and beliefs are enhanced and a sense of sense worth is developed” (Creek and Lougher, 2008, p.26) as through the use of occupation individuals can demonstrate and identify their potential. Therefore by developing a sense of self, individuals are influencing in controlling and mastering the environment that surrounds them (Mee, Sumsion and Craik, 2004).

(Picture from google images)

Individuals are more motivated in engaging in occupations in which they find meaningful. Therefore by using meaningful occupations in treatment intervention will initiate and motivate clients to participate and therefore enable them to enhance their physical health and well being. As a result, this increases the clients progress in their recovery (Goldberg, Brintnell, and Goldberg, 2008).

For example; I use exercise such as walking, dancing to music or zumba to release feelings of stress and anxiety especially around exam time. These are all occupations that are meaningful to me and that help me to maintain my mental and physical well being. I know that I can do these occupations so there is a sense of self satisfaction, worth and achievement when completing these occupations throughout the week.

Here is a link that shows the use of netball as a meaningful occupation with people experiencing mental health difficulties.

In using meaningful occupations in a client’s intervention, this will develop their abilities and skills to their possible highest level. Within doing this, it has the potential to enhance a client’s quality of life and sense of well being, increase satisfaction within their daily living, and improve their involvement and opportunities to be engaged in their daily/weekly occupations. Therefore the outcome of intervention is to aim for the client to be participating in their daily meaningful occupations that will “support recovery, health, well-being, satisfaction and sense of achievement” (Creek and Lougher, 2008, p.37).

ACTIVITY: Have a think when your feeling not yourself, what occupations do you use to help to improve your mental well being? What is it about the occupations that makes you have this effect?

MENTAL HEALTH DIFFICULTIES IN MEANINGFUL OCCUPATION

It was from participating in the humanities course in first year of studying occupational therapy that I learnt being occupied is the essence of being human. However, people who experience mental health difficulties are limited in their ability to engage in their meaningful occupations and which in itself can deteriorate an individual’s mental and physical well being.

They may experience an inability to “occupy themselves in a productive and self-filling manner” (Rebeiro, 1998, p.15). This includes being able to structure and organise their day as well as finding and maintaining their occupations in regards to work self-cares and leisure. Therefore this also demonstrates their lack of occupational balance within their lives (Westhorp, 2003).

Their mental health difficulties can have a negative impact on an individual’s motivation and self-esteem. This can lead to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness and their ability to initiate themselves to participate in their meaningful occupation. Law (1998) states that “withdrawal or changes in occupation for a person have a significant impact on a person’s self-perceived health and wellbeing” (p.89). Stress also has a negative impact on an individual’s health and well being as experiencing feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious can limited an individual’s participating in occupation.

They can also experience difficulty with developing and maintaining relationships with others, and gaining that sense of belonging, therefore may decide not to participate in occupation where a group situation may occur. “Despite the basic human need to feel a sense of belonging, a person with an enduring mental illness can often find it very difficult to form satisfactory relationships and integrate successfully with groups” (Mee and Sumsion, 2001, p.122). For example, in one of my mental health placements, one of my client’s meaningful occupations was rugby. We would go outside on warm days and kick the rugby ball around, and see who could get it over the goal post. However, since he had difficulties being around people, especially a group of people, this limited him in joining a team.

(Picture from google images)

Overall, this means people who experience mental health difficulties also experience occupational deprivation within their lives and therefore significantly impacting on their independence, safety and of courses their quality of life.

A MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE

Last night, a few of my fellow occupational therapy friends were over at my house making truffles for the OT Ball tonight. I have to say what a drama that was; however it was very entertaining to watch! This was a meaningful experience for them not only because they enjoy baking but what they were doing served a purpose in regards to providing food for the individuals attending the ball. As they completed all the truffles, they demonstrated high self efficacy as they mastered the truffles, and I as say so myself, they were very yummy. Well done girls, great effort!

MEANINGFUL OCCUPATION

Since we have learnt what occupation is, we can now understand the true meaning of meaningful occupation. It is the fundamental component in occupational therapy.

Doing as such is an important aspect of being human. With meaning, occupation has the impact of enhancing an individual’s quality of life. Mee and Sumsion (2001) states that meaningful occupation can “improve the quality of an individual’s life through doing, not just through thinking” (p.122).

Meaningful occupations are which fulfil a goal or a purpose that is personally meaningful and culturally important. As stated in my previous post, occupations can be categorised as self cares, leisure and productivity, therefore meaning that everyone will have a numerous amount of meaningful occupations within their daily and weekly routines. However as occupational therapists and occupational therapy students, we need to understand that everyone will have different reasons as to why their occupations are meaningful to them.

For example; playing sport such as hockey is meaningful to me because it provides me with enjoyment, social interaction and a challenge, however to another person, they may believe hockey is meaningful to them because it keeps them fit and healthy, makes them feel good, or a way of releasing stress/steam etc. 

(Picture from google images)

There are many benefits people endure through the use of participating in occupations that are meaningful and purposeful to them. Some examples include an increased perceived self efficacy of one’s self such as the sense of mastery and self worth, quality of life and satisfaction, competence in our ability to perform and complete the activity, social interaction, sense of belonging and a way of relating to others etc.

Participation in meaningful occupation “provides opportunities to discover new information, to use capacity, and to create promoting a sense of mastery and self worth” (Goldberg, Brintell and Goldberg, 2008, p.18).

It also provides individuals with routine, control, choice and balance within an individual’s lifestyle.

“People who are engaged in occupation tend to be exhibit a general rhythm to their daily routine, a balance to work, rest, play and sleep activities and display more organised thoughts and actions” (Rebeiro,1998, p.15).

ACTIVITY: Have a think and discuss with a friend: What occupations would you miss if you were told you were never able to do them again? Why would you miss them? What impacts do these occupations have on your life?

WHAT IS OCCUPATION???

I thought in order to understand what meaningful occupation is, let's first have a look at what is occupation?

When people think what occupation is, they automatically think work; what they are employed to do. However, this is not entirely true. In an occupational therapists view, occupation is everything people do to occupy their time including looking after themselves (self cares), enjoying life (leisure) and contributing to the social and economic fabric of their communities (productivity) (Law, Steinwender, and Leclair, 1998).

Have a think regarding your weekly occupations and decide which of your occupations are self cares, leisure or productivity.

For Example:  My weekly occupations

(images are from google images)

Self Cares	Leisure	Productivity
-        Showering -        Toileting -       Grooming -       Dressing	-          Playing sport -          Singing -          Dancing -          Hanging with  friends -          Playing guitar	-          Occupational Therapy Student -          Working in the shearing sheds in the weekends and summer holidays

ACTIVITY: Have a think regarding your weekly occupations and decide which of your occupations are self cares, leisure or productivity.

INTRODUCTION TO MY BLOG

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog about the use of meaningful occupation in mental health. I chose to research and learn more about this topic as I am passionate about mental health and how we as occupational therapy students and occupational therapists can use our skills and knowledge to increase the health and well being of mental health individuals. Join me in learning about the use of meaningful occupation in mental health!


Feel free to ask questions or post comments. The more feedback the better!