Unit 9

Unit 9 Project: Health Plan

Modern medicine has advanced by leaps and bounds over the last century, even the last few years. What was the miracle treatment or drug a year ago might be obsolete today. But even with the advancement of technology the whole person is not being treated. Western Medicine looks at the person in two parts, psychological and physical, but forgets there is a third part, spiritual. Spiritual does not have to mean that the person is religious, all people have spirits, it is our inner core, what makes us-US. To be a completely healed person you need to take care of the spiritual part, or the person is only two-thirds treated.

The spiritual side is what I have to work on. I was found that I was effectively treating the psychological and physical self with doctors’ help, but was not caring for the third, spiritual. I did not feel complete and did not understand why so I went on a search for answers and found out there are “no answers only the search” (Grandma Ivy in Pure Country, 1992). If we stop searching we stop learning, therefore there are no answers.

When I first scored myself in unit three I was a 3. After some of the issues that I have been dealing with and lessons learned in this class I would have to score myself as: spiritually-6. I am still a work in process. I have learned on this journey that I was two people living in the same body. There was the outer shell that I used to protect the true me. Once I connected with the inner me, I was able to start growing spiritually. Physically I am a 5. I still have chronic pain relating to my brain surgery, but with the mediation and deep breathing techniques I am learning how to deal with the pain better and not need over-the-counter pain medicine as much. Psychologically is a tougher one to answer-I would have to score myself between 4 and 6. I am currently in intensive outpatient treatment for psychological scars that I have been caring around from my childhood, again this is a work in process. Going from a 3 to a 6 is a tremendous achievement in such a little time, but it has taken some extreme measures to get me here.

I have set goals for myself in each of the three categories, however I am trying not to eat an elephant all at once (Unknown, n.d.) so the goals are starting small and building as I achieve them. The first goal is regarding physical. I am overweight and lack exercise. My goal is to everyday move more and sit less, once I get my movement in gear I can than concentrate on an exercise program. I plan to purchase the Zumba for the Wii. I believe this to be an attainable goal because I love to dance, there is a variety, and being able to exercise in the comfort of my home I can exercise anytime I want and do not have to feel self-conscious. My next goal is for psychological. This one has more of elephant goals. I have made a commitment to see a therapist once a week indifferently and participate in extensive outpatient group therapy for eight weeks, plus I plan to attend additional support groups that meet twice a month. This is a huge undertaking due to the time requirements and the emotional toll it will take on me; nonetheless I am confident that once the eight weeks are over I will be a more self-assured person with a better understanding of my mental health. Once I have completed this therapy it is my goal to become a mental health counselor. My final goal is in regards to spiritual. My first step is to mediate more and stay attached to my inner self or my core. The larger goal I have is to return to church. This is a harder undertaking than I thought. I have to reconcile with GOD while getting used to the way in church the pastor preaches. Stepping out of my comfort and embracing a new way of worshiping is something I need to work on.

Goals success can only be assessed by having a plan and reassessing it after a certain length of time. Six months is the suggestion from the unit, but I believe it should be a monthly assessment. To determine if I have achieved any success on the subject of physical health, I weight myself and I will again in a month to determine if any weight has been lost, also if my clothes fit better I know I am losing inches. Right now my energy level is low, if I am able to do more and not get tired more often I know I am succeeding in that goal.

To assess the progress in spiritual health, I believe this should be done even more often than once a month; I assess myself on a daily basis. When I feel the evil hand of darkness trying to grab me, I fight harder to get the positive side of my inner self than the negative.

For psychological accomplishment I will assess this at the mid-point (four weeks) of the therapy and see how I am feeling, if I have a better insight on how I feel and think. I will also utilize the people closes to me, my husband and daughter, and have the honestly tell me if they have noticed any changes and what they are.

At six months I will look back over this time as if I was reviewing a movie and I know I will find a better me.