Final Blog II

My initial scores for my physical, spirituality, and psychologically were a 7, 8, and 3. How would I rate myself now? Well lets see, my physical I would have to downplay to a 5-6 range. I am not doing as much as I should for my physical health. I know that its the holidays and I have been eating excessively, so afterwards I plan on changing my habits. My spirituality I would rank at a high 6- lower end 7. I say this because I feel that I fluctuate because of different ideas and discoveries I come across. Its an uphill battle, and I am gunning for the top when it comes to my spirituality. My psychological state of mind I would say is at an 6-7 range. I have finding that I am having more good days than bad. This is a great thing for me. I will have days that will knock me down, but I can only go up from there.

  My goal for physical was to have one day where I can eat whatever I want. I have not yet made it to this goal. I feel that I can accomplish this, and it will be coming soon. My spirituality? Absolutely, I have done lots of reading and opened myself up to learning about new religions and spirituality. Psychologically, I still give into the darkness sometimes. I think there will always be days like this, but in the future hopefully not as many.

My physical was to try new exercising routines, I have not gone yet, but I am signed up for belly dancing classes at the start of the year. I am super excited and nervous at the same time. But I think that this will give me a confidence boost for sure. My spirituality was to be increased by more meditation. I now meditate twice a day, and I can really see the difference in my overall feelings. Psychologically, I have started a journal. I do not write in it everyday, but when I do have thoughts I try my best to jot them down.

I have learned a lot from my professor and my classmates. I know that there are going to be dark days, and I know that there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. I am controlling my PTSD and not letting it control me. I feel that this is a big step in the right direction. I am improving my well-being everyday, and this is by implementing the new exercises and therapies I have read about. The most rewarding thing from this class was getting through it, and though it challenged me and my thoughts. I am happy that I am gaining and taking it with me from this class. The most difficult thing was facing my feelings, it brought up feelings that I did not want to think about. But I think that it will help me get to where I need to be. I think that this entire experience will help me relate to my clients more. I feel it is easier if you possess knowledge that can help you get on the same level as your client helps in the long run.

I hope that you have enjoyed my blogs and I am not just spitting out mindless chatter. I hope that my classmates have gained the same knowledge I have from this class.

--Sophie Crabbe (Creel)

Final Blog

Part I Introduction:

                It is very important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically. We need psychological because we need to have clear and open minds. This will help aid the clients we are trying to help. We need to be able to deal with our own issues and problems that may arise from work or from home. Clearing our minds offers us a way to be open to anyone’s situation. Spiritually, I find this important because it fosters a certain sense of openness when it comes to dealing with others. Physically, well that is a no brainer. We need our physical health to be up to par because we need our bodies as well as our minds to be healthy.

                I would say I need to develop myself in all three areas. No one is perfect, and I agree with the Navajos on their view of integral health is something to always strive for, and is not achieved by a certain point in time. I know where I need to be, and what I need to do. I want to incorporate more mind calming exercises to help my psychological development. I want to try and find my way in spirituality, I want to find a reason to be spiritual. Physically, I want to eat better and exercise more.

Part II Assessment:

                I have assessed myself in each of the domains by looking at what my daily life entails. I know that I incorporate some meditation. I know that my spirituality is coming into its own, and I am still trying to figure out what it is I want to do with it or where I want to go. My physical assessment, I know that I NEED to do, but the hard part is actually getting the strength and energy to do it.

                My score on psychological would be a high 6 maybe a 7. I find this very good for me because of where I used to be vs where I want myself to be. It’s an everyday struggle, but I know that I can do it. My spirituality would be on the lower end 2-3 range. It’s not necessarily that I do not believe, I am just trying to find my way and where I fit in. My physical would be a definitely low, 1-2 range. I know that I do not take care of my physical body as much as I should. I want to change that, I need to change it.

Part III Goal Development:

                Psychological goal- I know that I want to foster more mind/body practices. I want to be able to incorporate more meditation. What is good for the mind, in turn is good for the body.

                Spirituality goal- I want to experience more, and I want to do a lot more reading on certain religions and the whole spiritual concept. I want to be able to find out where I fit in best.

                Physical Goal- I want to start off slow, something that I know I can keep up with every week. I want to start walking again. I want to walk 2 miles about three times a week. Then as I progress, I want to be able to lessen the amount of certain foods in my diet.

Part IV Practices for personal health:

                Physical- As I previously stated, I want to start walking 2 miles three times a week again. I also want to incorporate something fun like Belly dancing into my regiment. I think doing something different will help motivate me to keep going on the path I need to follow.

                Psychological- I want to add the subtle mind and the loving kindness exercises into my personal regiment. The subtle mind relaxes me completely and I think will help on my “bad days”. I want to incorporate the loving kindness exercise only because it takes me to places where I do not want to be. It allows me to face certain fears that I never wanted to face before.

                Spirituality- I have a friend who is a Reiki master, and I would love to incorporate that into my life. I feel that negative energies can have an impact on all aspects of your life. I feel that the cleansing may help me find my way. I have made arrangements to visit the local coven here where I live. I am interested in learning about the Wiccan culture.

Part V Commitment:

                My husband has made comments about how different I seem lately, and not in the bad way. He suggested that maybe the blog was helping me express myself without having to say anything. I want to try and keep up my blog and also keep a personal journal about my progress. I want it to be very positive to help me on the days where I am struggling to keep up the fight.

                I know that I cannot do this alone, but I have a wonderful husband and a great best friend who will help me on my journey. They have always been there to support me and push me to achieve my goals. My son is great at pushing me to where I need to be as well, even though he is only 6. He knows when mommy is sad and knows what to do to push me to get right back up and get what I need done. 

Over the course of this class, I have had the privilege to learn and participate in different relaxation techniques. If I needed to choose two of these I would meditation and Visualization, these are the most beneficial for myself.

Meditation has been a part of my life for a while now. I had an incident in college, that has forever changed the person that I am or the person that I was. After that I was diagnosed with PTSD. Its an everyday struggle, and I have come a long way from where I used to be. I try and implement it as much as possible, and the other exercises I have learned from this course has helped me open myself to incorporating more into my life.

Visualization is not a new concept to me, but it is new in a sense that I am starting to use it now. I know what my goals are and I know where I want and need to be. It helps to have a picture of where I want my life and how I need to get myself there. I compare this to walking up a hill. Its hard and I may struggle, but the end result will be pushing myself to get to the top. 

I know I have come a long way from the person I used to be, compared to who I am now. I have learned a lot from this class about different aspects of healing, along with new things about myself. I hope to learn more along the way, and be able to keep incorporating new ideas and new concepts. This in the long run, will help me get to where I want to be.

--Sophie