Cmhp Journals

GiGi Katuala Callahan CMHP 117 December 2018 Journal 1 Things have been running pretty smoothly this semester. I feel that I have taken on my responsibilities as an RA pretty seamlessly. I think that’s mostly due to the fact that I have so much support from my staff, my friends, resources on campus, and my family. Also, the building I live in rarely has any incidents. I find myself lucky in this instance. Even though I haven’t dealt with a lot of issues, I have counseled one of my residents and have received counseling. I feel that I better understand how to deal with issues, whether they are my own or my residents’ now after having studied various methods of counseling and experiencing it firsthand. Before, the only experience I had with counseling was school counselors in high school and a therapy unit from a psychology course. I had never attended counseling and felt that I didn’t really have anything to gain from it. Now, having experienced counseling, I feel better equipped to not only recommend it, but carry it out. I counseled one of my residents a few weeks ago and I applied some of the methods in order to help her solve her problem. Basically, what she told me was that she was just feeling generally down in the dumps. A lot of people were either coming to her with issues or simply ranting, and she was already feeling overwhelmed with work. As she explained to me what was

going on with her, I did my best to keep my posture relaxed, make eye contact, and take in what she was saying and respond in such a way that reflected back what she said to me. I feel like I was really imitating the way my counselor talks to me whenever I bring up an issue in my life. My counselor is always relaxed which puts me at ease and when she makes eye contact, I feel like she is really listening to me. When she restates back to me what I’ve said, it makes it easier to work out exactly what I mean and make sense of it. Back to my resident, I used what I experienced as someone being counseled to help my resident make sense of her feelings. We came to the conclusion that she needed to take time for herself and make sure not to take on other people’s problems. Overall, I have really enjoyed counseling and being counseled.

Journal 2 As the weeks have gone by, I have not encountered anything too crazy. Duties are usually pretty tame and I have yet to encounter any incidents. I have a good balance between work, my studies, and still seeing my friends outside of my responsibilities. Even though things are running smoothly, I still get anxious from time to time. Something that I’ve noticed is that people talk a lot about their anxiety disorders and how that affects their work, whether they are an RA or just another resident. Personally, I don’t suffer from anxiety that often but it still happens. When I’m feeling anxious, I usually try to distract myself or find something productive to do that might ease some of that anxiety. Stress management, like exercise, really helps me to overcome my anxiety. When it comes to anxiety disorders, I know that it isn’t always as simple as that. Anxiety disorders can be varied and can cause panic attacks, which I have experienced. I know that many people have prescribed medications to help them deal with their anxiety. Other than medication, in order to combat anxiety disorders, people can try counseling. I have spoken to my counselor about my various anxieties regarding making friends with people and opening myself up to them. Counseling has helped me to start overcoming my anxieties in social situations. Something funny that I’ve noticed on campus is the Social Anxiety Disorder support group. It’s funny to me because I feel that if you suffer from social anxiety, a support group literally makes you have to do the things that cause you all this stress, like public speaking and being in a large group. Anxiety can be a real problem but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t overcome it. I have anxieties about the job, the people I surround myself with, and the future, but I try not to dwell too much on these things. Anxiety is just a part of life and there are many ways to deal with it in a healthy way. After having learned about anxiety and anxiety disorders, I feel

better equipped to lead my residents who suffer from anxiety towards the healthy methods of dealing with it. There are always ways to ease some of the stress and after having been counseled myself, I know that I can counsel others towards a less stressful way of living.