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Jake Becker

Instructor Kimberly Meyers

Psychology 1010

July 19, 2017

Semester Stress Project

This summer has been the busiest of my life. Between taking two classes, a 35 hour a

week internship at the U, and working two nights a week at my other job, I have a minuscule

amount of time to relax and unwind. Usually, when I am busy, I more prone to anxiety and stress

because I have less time or energy to stay organized or engage in tasks that I enjoy. Thankfully, I

feel as though this summer has been manageable, despite the intense workload, because of my

innate passion for the things I am doing: school and work; coupled with the fact of this project

making me more conscious of my stress and anxiety. This awareness began to elucidate the

benefits of engaging in tasks that I enjoy, which subsequently alleviates my stress, while giving

me the energy and ability to complete my workload and feel great during the process. The

methods which I chose for accomplishing this feat involve practices that stimulate the mind.

body, and soul: Meditation, Ecstatic Dance, and Hiking.

Meditation

Meditation is a practice that I have been engaged with for the past two years. However, as

of late I have been lenient with meditating, so I was excited because this assignment gave me the

necessary incentive to restart my practice. The reason why I love meditation is that meditating

allows for my mind to slow down and become more receptive. This receptiveness gives me the

ability to consciously control my actions and thoughts, which in turn alleviates the anxiety and
stress that can come with feeling overwhelmed or not in control. Given the current context of

my workload for the summer, I had been feeling as though I was constantly going from point A

to point B, without stopping, without thinking, and this process of constant movement began to

wear on my mental fortitude. This corrosive pattern started to elevate my stress and anxiety,

which then made it apparent that I needed to use meditation as one of my stress relieving

strategies. I am happy that I chose to include this strategy because I immediately felt the

alleviation of my stress and anxiety after the first session.

The overall experience of restarting my meditation practice in relation to the context of

my summer was incredible; it felt as though my mind was able to gain conscious control over my

reality. This newfound power was due in part to what meditation contributes to my mind and

body. My mind is able to relax and remove the trivial and corrosive what-if and whats-next,

and my body was able to relax and recalibrate to a rhythm incited by deep breathing.

Before I started meditating again, I would have this constant transition from task to task, and

eventually this would be met with some anxious indecisiveness between my internship, school,

and work. Usually in this situation, I would aimlessly pace or walk around, waiting for the next

event, and this would eventually spark anxiety and stress within me because I began to think too

much about the future and time, and how I was going to get everything done. By incorporating

mediation back into my routine, I was able to thwart this anxiety and stress. Whenever I felt the

anxiously imbued situation of stress about what to do next, instead of pacing and thinking, I

closed my eyes and deeply breathed. This pause on life acted as an incubator for my thoughts.

After 10 minutes of breathing, I opened my eyes, and everything changed. The colors of my

vision were more vibrant and my mind felt at ease about my day and my life. This newly found
disposition of clarity and relief gave me the ability to move to my next task, whether it was

homework, my internship, or work, with ease and security. Overall, this stress relief strategy was

incredible, and I will continue to practice it as I move forward in my life and face new challenges

and triumphs.

Ecstatic Dance

I have always loved to dance. Whether alone in my room or at a music festival with

thousands of people, dancing has always been a vital way for me express and decompress. While

I have been dancing ever since I can remember, I was not familiar with the concept of Ecstatic

Dance. Ecstatic Dance is something that I coincidently found out this summer while at a music

festival, and upon going I had the experience on just how therapeutic dancing can be. The

rules of Ecstatic Dance are no talking, no substances, and no shoes. These factors cultivate a

space where the mind and the body are completely present with reality. In all my years of

dancing in a variety of environments, I had never had an experience that was so transcendental

and powerful. By interacting with hundreds of people that Ive never met before, no talking, just

dancing and feeling, I was elevated to a state of mind that went beyond the semiotic nature of

communication. This experience cathartically engaged my body and soul, leaving me with a

sense of wonder and awe.

This experience of ecstatic dancing was extremely crucial for my success this summer

because of how it helped me maintain an equilibrium. This summer, I have been extremely

cerebral because of my school work and my internship. This cognitive disposition has also come

with the physiological factors of sitting at a desk for 40+ hours a week, underneath fluorescent

light. By going to Ecstatic Dance at least once a week for the past 2 months, I've been able to
spend 3 hours moving my body underneath natural light, while also removing the semiotic and

cerebral factors of communication. This has been beneficial because each Sunday I feel as

though I am taking a cathartic shower, which scrubs down my mind and body, thus, leaving me

feeling optimistic and positive for the coming week. This experience makes it so that I can

handle the sedentary monotony that my workweek holds, because I am able to maintain a mental

and physical balance.

Overall, this strategy was immensely helpful for reducing my stress and anxiety over the

summer because it gave me the ability to experience a state of mind that was free from the

rigidity of structure and identity. Instead, I was able to fully experience the present moment,

while simultaneously cultivating friendships and experiences that didn't require any semiotic

methods. I will continue to go to Ecstatic Dance because the experience of dancing in that setting

evokes an effect on me which stabilizes and cultivates my mind, body, and soul.

Hiking

Hiking is something that I have always done since I lived in Utah. Given the immense

array of geographical wonder, I always find myself inspired each time I go on a hike. I hiked

roughly 15 times over the course of this semester, usually on Saturdays, and what I noticed is

that our world is a lot more bigger and mystical than the confines of our civilization leave us to

believe. Being able to immerse myself within nature for 3 hours, removing the constant buzzing

of technological stimulation, gave me thoughts of wonder while also making me hyper-aware of

my physical relation to space. This resonance between myself and my environment was

comforting, because I began to realize the innate ecological connection that we have with our

world. This knowledge was one of the most beneficial aspects of going on hikes this summer,
because it subsequently alleviated my stress and anxiety. I think that this was accomplished

because I was able to go beyond my corporeal notions of myself and into a vast ecological and

metaphysical conception of my being.

This strategy of hiking was beneficial because it gave me the ability to go beyond my

linear and angular routine, which was facilitated by sitting at a desk or in my car. Instead, I was

able to walk on unpaved paths and experience natural terrain, which fostered a sense of gratitude

and appreciation for ability to experience the wonders of nature. This exercise was helpful

because it gave me the time to deviate from my weekday routine, and this deviation was

restorative, which in turn made it so that I could continue to engage in my routine and not feel

overwhelmed or placated.

Overall, I believe that this strategy of immersing myself in nature to reduce anxiety and

stress was successful. I was able to garner perspective on my relation to the world, which

provided a sense of belonging and comfort with my reality. I will continue to use this strategy as

much as possible, because the sense of wonder and security that I get from being in nature for

long periods of time is vital for my well-being.

Strategies and Psychology

This semester has been a series of holistic connections between psychology and my

reality, whether its seeing how psychology operates on a personal level for me or on a macro

level for society, seeing the connection between my stress reduction strategies: meditation,

ecstatic dance, and hiking, and psychology was apparent and integrative.

Meditation has been a practice that is deeply embedded in our psychological First being

documented in 600 BCE, by the Hindu Vedas of India, meditation has been used in eastern
religious practices for thousands of years. The technique has been used to cultivate mindfulness,

relaxation, and life force. The relation that it has with the content discussed this semester is vast.

Whether its meditation being able to increase cognitive function and blood flow in patients who

suffer from memory loss(1), or helping relief symptoms of depression in caregivers of family

members with dementia(2), meditation has the ability to alleviate a wide array of emotional and

cognitive issues. What makes meditation invaluable to me in relation to psychology and

therapeutic benefits is that it requires no material resources, which means that the ability to make

its practice widely accessible is plausible.

Ecstatic Dance, much like meditation, has a strong link to ancient religious ceremonies

on sacred dance. The goal of its technique is to attune the mind and body to their environment.

In relation to psychology, dance has powerful effects on physical and mental health. Dance

Movement Therapy(DMT) has been a valuable therapeutic practice for helping those who suffer

from mental health issues. Successful studies have been done that show the positive effect that

DMT has on patients who suffer from neurological disorders such as Alzheimers and Dementia

(3). The reason for this success is because DMT makes it so that patients use multiple areas of

their brain while participating, rather than just stimulating one area at a time. DMT and exercise

in general also affects our neurological make-up by releasing crucial neurotransmitters such as

endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, which all help regulate mood.

Hiking as stress relief strategy is beneficial because of how it facilitates a connection

between humans and nature. The psychology benefits of being immersed in nature are expansive,

for they encompass both physical and mental health. A study that measured recovery rates of

patients who underwent gallbladder surgery concluded that who were exposed to natural
environments recovered faster and used less pain killers(4). The physiological data from this

study indicated that the exposure to natural stimuli elicited a response from the parasympathetic

nervous system associated with the restoration of physical energy.

Overall, I think that all 3 of my stress relieving strategies are salient and pertinent within

the field of psychology, because they have all been clinically proven to help with psychological

disorders, from depression to schizophrenia. However, unlike most of the methodology used in

western medicine, such as medication or hospitalization, they do not require invasive tactics.

Instead, they are used to help foster sustainable mental health within each individual. I think that

this point is crucial because it gives those who suffer from mental diseases autonomy over their

disposition, instead of empowering the medication or the hospital. This sense of power becomes

internalized instead of externalized, which to me is vital for overall well-being. However, I do

acknowledge the use of medication or hospitalization may be necessary at times, but I believe

that through providing people with holistic methods that enrich their lives we can truly help

those who suffer from stress, anxiety, and other mental health problems.

Works Cited

(1) Newberg, Andrew B., et al. "Meditation effects on cognitive function and cerebral blood
flow in subjects with memory loss: a preliminary study." Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 20.2
(2010): 517-526.

(2) Lavretsky, H., et al. "A pilot study of yogic meditation for family dementia caregivers with
depressive symptoms: effects on mental health, cognition, and telomerase activity." International
journal of geriatric psychiatry 28.1 (2013): 57-65.

(3)Ritter, Meredith, and Kathryn Graff Low. "Effects of dance/movement therapy: A meta-
analysis." The Arts in Psychotherapy 23.3 (1996): 249-260.

(4)Ulrich, Roger. "View through a window may influence recovery." Science 224.4647 (1984):
224-225.

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