Of the
many possibilities from the Public Health Wheel, I found counseling as one of
the many interventions that could be applied to our teaching-learning project
of “Stress Management”. According
to the text, “counseling establishes an interpersonal relationship with a
community, system, family, or individual intended to increase or enhance their
capacity for self-care and coping” (Nies & McEwen, 2011). This intervention
interacts with someone on an emotional level and usually is used in alongside
of health teaching.
There are
many things that are needed to implement counseling such as the ability to
establish a relationship with an individual(s), assisting to identify
priorities in their life and exploring them in an emotional context,
identifying alternative choices, and providing support in decisions or changes.
Stress is
an issue that can effect an individual or group of people their entire lives.
Whether it is a teenager trying to find out where to fit in or and 80 year old
who lost their spouse, learning to handle these situations
is critical for our health and well being. Our targeted audience
for our teaching-learning project was aimed specifically at the elderly
population living within an assisted living community. Although one
might believe that after retirement things would become less
stressful, however counseling could be beneficial as our lives will and
continue to change. According to an article published in Harvard Health, as we
age things such as retirement, loss of a spouse, decline health
status and physical ability, and even isolation from seeing loved
ones, puts this population at great risk for stress (Benson & Casey,
2011). During our time, we emphasized the systemic effects stress
can have on the body, along with identifying stressful situations, successful
means of alleviating stress, asking individuals to volunteer personal stories,
and how they have learned to manage stress currently. Although we did use a lot
of health teaching during our time presenting, there were many opportunities
people of the community were more than willing to share with us some of their
life experiences. In by no means we are experts or medically qualified to give
psychological help, but through our presentation many people enjoyed the
alternative stress alleviation we promoted and individualized to
their needs, and our ability relating to them on a personal level. Stress is a
situation that everyone deals with differently. Stress can negatively affect
the body’s immunity, mental clarity, and cardiovascular system (Benson &
Casey, 2011). For people who are open to the use of counseling, one is
able to share feelings rather than keeping their stress and anxieties bottled
up inside. Different perspectives are brought to light on experiences and one
can learn how to cope and handle situations successfully.
Jillian
References
Benson, H., & Casey, A.
(2011). Stress management: Approaches for preventing & reducing stress. Harvard Medical School Special Health Report, 2-45. Retrieved from Harvard Health Publications & Harvard Medical School
website: www.health.harvard.edu
*( Article was a health report and therefore had no volume number)
Nies, M.S. & McEwen, M.
(2011). Community/public health nursing: promotion the health of populations (5th ed.) St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier.
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ReplyDeleteJillian, I really enjoyed your post on stress management. Also, I agree that counseling is an excellent intervention to apply to your project. I think sometimes people have misconceptions about what counseling actually is. Many may have predispositions that it is only for people who are crazy or those that need extreme help. Taking the elderly into consideration, I think they first need to be educated on what it means to be counseled and from there adhere to a type of counseling regimen if necessary. The way I see it, counseling doesn’t have to be in a certain room with comfortable chairs, it can be at a patient’s bedside or on a walk with somebody. Establishing an inner peace in someone who is suffering from either acute or chronic stress greatly improve one’s health. Especially in the elderly are likely to suffer from decreased immune function, maintaining a stress-free environment greatly impacts their physical health such as blood pressure or mental health such as depression. Overall, it is important for a population such as the elderly to be aware of what counseling is and why it is critical to find their own way to cope with the ups and downs of life.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of stress, I think of homework, school, jobs, paying for rent, etc. Usually the last thing to cross my mind is the elderly and that is the ignorance of a young, busy, and healthy generation. I think that it is great that the participants during your project were so willing to share stories and experiences. Social interaction for the elderly seems to work wonders; I have learned this first-hand when working with them. A lot of the time they just like to talk about their families that they miss or fears that they have. As future nurses caring for the aging baby boomers, it is our responsibility to recognize signs of stress, depression, and if patients have effective ways of coping. You’re right, we are not licensed psychiatrists, but we can talk with patients when we can and if necessary suggest outside means of counseling. Overall, I think counseling and stress management go hand and hand. I will continue to look at all populations and understand that each generation has a different focus that brings population-specific stressors into their lives.
Jillian,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your insight and ideas on stress management, especially among the older population. I have been a CNA for several years, and I could think of several stories that relate to what you are talking about. I agree with Amber, our generation has a lot of stress in our fast-paced lifestyles, but because I have worked with the elderly so long, I tend to compare and realize how different our stressors are. Even though the types of stressors we have in our lives may be drastically different, stress affects everyone in a negative way.
According to the Mayo Clinic website, stress causes our “fight-or-flight” reaction to be constantly on (2010). Even though the stress we encounter daily is generally not life or death, our body still copes with it in the same way. This constant activation can cause disruption of all of our body’s processes which puts us at a greater risk for obesity, depression, and heart disease, to name a few (Mayo, 2010). So, I believe it is safe to conclude that counseling for stress management would be very beneficial to the elderly and young alike.
Mayo clinic staff. (September 11, 2010). Stress: constant stress puts your health at risk. Stress management. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00001