The goal for this paper is to identify a significant stress-generating problem or situation and to come up with several major “roadblocks” at both the LIFE SITUATION level and the COGNITIVE APPRAISAL level that will reduce the problem and/or the harmful stress associated with it. Clearly state the problem and be sure to clearly identify which of the two levels each strategy generates from. Then, give two examples of supportive “roadblocks” from each of the Emotional Arousal and the Physiological Arousal levels which will help to further reduce the stress associated with the problem.

Begin the paper with an overview of the harmful effects of chronic, prolonged stress and why this needs to be addressed more fully and in what ways. This section should be about one full page. Please research this and use at least two separate references (not me, not the course lectures, and not the Greenberg book).

Then, clearly define the problem or situation you wish to address, and how/why it is a source of stress to you (be as specific as you can). This can be a problem that pertains to you (or doesn’t), either past or present or even future.

Next, generate solution ideas, i.e. techniques (roadblocks) on both the Life Situation and Cognitive Appraisal levels that can be used to manage the stress associated with the problem. Follow through with supporting roadblocks on the Emotional Arousal and Physiological Arousal levels.

Your learning will be enhanced if you select a stressful situation that is of personal interest or directly pertains to you. This is preferable because it will be personally applicable (thus helpful) to you, but you are not restricted to a personal experience in order to complete this paper of creative stress management.

3.

Summary – After you have described the stressful situation (or event, or person, or behavior, or relationship, etc.) and clearly displayed various techniques along the Stress Model that could be used to reduce or eliminate the stress, summarize your thoughts and relate it to what you have learned from this course, and what you have learned about yourself through this course. Which of the stress-reducing techniques that you described would work best for you? If you are drawing from personal experience, use past or future tense to explain how you will (or have already) handled the stressor.

Remember, there are always various good ways to solve a problem that is causing stress. Usually all you need to do is spend some time working at it from different directions (and different levels along the stress model) until a number of viable solutions surface, and then choose the one(s) that works best for you, as well as some supportive ones for additional armor. Sometimes we have to try a number of different strategies in order to succeed (for instance, anyone who has successfully quit smoking has probably tried more than one method before successfully quitting).

The paper should be about 3 pages or so, size #11 font and space-and-a-half between lines (like this one). Small (no more than 1”) margins. Follow or at least closely match APA style format.

Be sure your written work has a clear and appropriate beginning, development, and conclusion. Paragraphing and transitions should also be clear and appropriate, to guide the reader (me) through the chain of reasoning or progression of ideas. The length of written work should be sufficient to cover the topic with no major errors in word selection and sentence structure. And – I’m a stickler for this – almost entirely free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors (remember… almost entirely free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors!!!!). Certainly, be sure you demonstrate knowledge of the Model of Stress continuum, and where along the continuum the stress-busting techniques you described are placed. Also demonstrate your increased self-knowledge gained through this course (ie, which levels along the stress model work best for you, in terms of solving a stressful problem).

Criteria for grading the paper:

Knowledge (5%)
Research (5%)
Communication Skills (flow; grammar and spelling; sentence structure, etc.) (5%)
Critical Thinking (5%)