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Introduction

This week you will begin keeping your reflective journal. Each week you will submit your reflective journal for instructor feedback, make the corrections or updates and submit all the previous weeks’ journal entries.

Activity Instructions

Complete the section, Assess Yourself – How Healthy Are You, on pp. 20-22 of the textbook.

1. Total your scores and compare them to what would be considered optimal scores.
2. Now pick an area in which you are either doing well or need improvement and write a reflection. Use the questions below to guide your reflection.

• What are some patterns and specific things you are doing to make you successful in this health area?
• What are some patterns and specific things you are doing to make you unsuccessful in this health area?
• What or who has helped or hindered your success in this area? If it has been difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle in this area, why? What can you do differently to help you achieve success in this area?

Complete the section Assess Yourself – How Psychologically Healthy are you on pp. 57-58.

Add and interpret your scores. As you evaluate your results, identify patterns and specific things you are doing that positively or negatively affect your psychological health.

• Have a friend or family member complete the assessment and have him/her evaluate their results and identify patterns and specific things he/she does positively or negatively to affect his/her psychological health.
• Compare your scores with the scores of your friend or family member and discuss the differences and similarities.
• After that review the Cultivating Your Spiritual Health on p. 61. In addition, to the textbook, you can also review the website from the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) on Mental Health for more tools and resources on mental health.
• In your journal discuss the conversation you had with your friend or family member (you do not need to add names). In addition, discuss if spirituality has helped you maintain your psychological health or how it can be used to improve your psychological health.

Writing and Submission Requirements

• A minimum of 2 pages in length, not including title page or references page (if necessary).
• For grading, refer to the Reflective Journal Grading Rubric.

Weekly Learning Goal(s): 3, 4

• Identify your knowledge of health topics by completing an assessment and interpreting your scores. (CLO 4, 5)
• Discuss personal health and psychological health in a reflective journal. (CLO 2, 5)