Assingments % - Addressing Mental Health and Well-Being as an Environmental Issue: A Personal Approach to Stress and Burnout

Choose one personal, preventative environmental practice/behavior that impacts you. This can be the behavior you discussed in DQ1. This is a personal choice, but challenge yourself. Make this a behavioral practice, something that you think is important for you as well as the rest of America to change. Explain 1) the importance of this practice, 2) the waste/pollution/disease impact created or potentially created from the practice, 3) your goal and 4) what personal steps you will do to change the practice. You will need to use information from at least two peer reviewed journal articles.
In subsequent weeks you will write reflections on your progress and thoughts of implementing the practice. In total there will be three behaviors that you will personally modify. Each behavior corresponds to a specific topic presented. One example is using private transportation less. Waking to the store or biking to class is better for our health and better for the pollutants that vehicles create. This change would also include not idling the vehicle (especially as the vehicle manual probably indicates that you do not need to even when it is cold outdoors).
MY TOPIC – An environmental issue that is weighing in my personal life is my well-being. The issues that I am dealing with are stress, feeling burnout and balance between personal and professional life. In my opinion, I believe this all started after COVID, it felt like I lost a connection with the world which influenced my anxiety to increase as well as depression.I also didn’t know how to illustrated my thoughts correctly and my vocabulary seemed to decreased. I believe that this issues is very important because not only did depression increased but also suicidal rates as well.
THIS PAPER SHOULD RELFECT ON MY TOPIC.

Struggling with where to start this assignment? Follow this guide to tackle your assignment easily!

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Paper

1. Understanding the Assignment

Your task is to identify a personal environmental behavior that impacts you. You’ll then reflect on why this behavior is important, how it leads to waste/pollution, and outline your plan for personal change. To support your argument, you’ll need to draw from at least two peer-reviewed journal articles.
In your case, your personal environmental behavior revolves around your well-being, mental health issues, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will require you to connect environmental stressors, mental health, and behavior change, and reflect on how these factors tie into the broader environmental context.

2. Choose Your Personal Environmental Practice

Your Practice: The behavior you will focus on is the impact of stress, burnout, and mental health issues on your well-being. You’re reflecting on how your post-COVID life created a sense of isolation, anxiety, and depression, and how this has influenced your personal environmental practice of self-care and balance.
Challenge Yourself: Consider how these mental health struggles may affect both you personally and those around you. The importance of improving mental health and well-being as part of environmental sustainability can be linked to how a healthier, happier society creates less waste in terms of energy, stress, and ultimately pollution.

3. Introduction

Start by introducing your chosen behavior and explain briefly how stress, burnout, and balancing personal and professional life have become pressing concerns for you, especially post-COVID.
You can provide a bit of background about the connection between mental health issues and overall well-being.

Example Introduction: “In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, my personal environmental issue revolves around stress, burnout, and a lack of work-life balance. These issues have had a significant impact on my mental health, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, and disconnection from the world. I believe this is an important issue not only for me but for society as a whole, as mental health struggles have been linked to rising rates of depression and even suicide.”

4. Importance of the Practice

Here, discuss why it’s important to address the behavior you’re focusing on—why does it matter that you address stress and burnout?
Explain the larger societal relevance: Mental health problems affect millions of people, and by addressing these personal struggles, you’re contributing to broader health and environmental benefits.
Mention the long-term effects of mental health issues on society (i.e., more healthcare costs, loss of productivity, etc.).

Example: “Addressing stress and burnout is crucial not only for my personal health but also for the health of those around me. The rise in mental health struggles, including anxiety and depression, is not just a personal issue—it is a societal issue with profound consequences. Poor mental health leads to reduced productivity, higher healthcare costs, and a decline in overall well-being for individuals and communities.”

5. Impact Created by the Practice

Here’s where you connect your personal environmental practice (stress, burnout, and mental health issues) to the broader environmental or societal impacts.
Explain how mental health struggles (e.g., stress and burnout) can indirectly contribute to pollution or waste. For example, high stress and burnout may lead people to engage in behaviors that negatively impact their environment (i.e., overconsumption of resources, unhealthy food choices, lack of exercise, etc.).
Reference the peer-reviewed articles to support your claims.

Example: “Chronic stress and burnout often lead individuals to neglect their health, which can indirectly contribute to environmental waste. For example, high levels of stress can result in unhealthy eating habits, increased consumption of processed foods (which generate more plastic waste), and a lack of physical activity. This, in turn, can exacerbate environmental challenges related to overconsumption and pollution.”

6. Your Goal

Clearly define your personal goal for addressing the environmental issue. Your goal could be to reduce the impact of stress and burnout on your life by implementing healthier coping strategies and work-life balance practices.

Example: “My goal is to reduce the negative impact of stress and burnout by adopting healthier coping mechanisms, such as practicing mindfulness, setting boundaries between work and personal life, and incorporating physical activity into my daily routine.”

7. Steps to Change

Provide a detailed list of personal steps you will take to change this behavior. Make these steps actionable and measurable.
- Step 1: Practice mindfulness meditation every morning to reduce stress.
- Step 2: Set clear work-life boundaries (e.g., no emails after 7 PM).
- Step 3: Schedule regular physical activity to manage stress and improve mood.
Make sure to connect each step with how it will directly help reduce the stress and burnout you’re experiencing.

Example: “To begin changing my practice, I will start by practicing mindfulness meditation for 10 minutes every morning. This will help me reduce stress and center my thoughts. I will also commit to setting boundaries between work and personal life, ensuring that I don’t check work emails after 7 PM. Finally, I will incorporate regular physical activity into my daily routine, such as walking or cycling to improve both my physical and mental health.”

8. Conclusion

Wrap up your paper by reflecting on how these steps will not only improve your mental health but also have a broader impact on reducing societal stress levels and environmental waste.
Make sure to connect back to the importance of your behavior and the personal and societal benefits of making these changes.

Example Conclusion: “By addressing my personal struggles with stress and burnout, I aim to improve my mental well-being, reduce environmental waste through better habits, and contribute to a healthier, more balanced lifestyle. These changes will help me not only personally but also serve as an example of how we can all make small but significant changes to reduce stress and improve our collective well-being.”