JL
THE STUDENT HEALTH CENTER NEWSLETTER
The Artist Within
I see your lines both simple and intricate, elegant and
distorted. Sometimes your colors are deep and shallow,
bright and dim Sometimes you shine, sometimes you're
numb Your nuances blend in and blend out sharply con
trasting each other and sometimes the colors are ob
scure I teel your textures both polished and coarse,
sometimes invincible but vulnerable, rhythmic yet inter
mittent.
There are no imitations or substitutes for you You. are
your own sculptured piece of art —individual and umgue
But something is amiss Your best friend/ your worst en
emy beckons to you and you partake But in the taking
you're losing you and gaming an obsession with your
friend All those lines, all those colors, all those textures
covered by a blob of clay
Who are you now9 I know you re inside that blob of clay
somewhere I know you're not formless I've seen those
lines, colors and textures that make you up. I won
der can you give up your "friend and become an artist
again?
In being the artist of ourselves, taking control of de
structive habits or addictions of any kind (alcohol, drugs,
food abuse, sex. exercise-addiction) reguires a deeper
knowledge of all the little payoffs that keep us hanging
on to those seemingly helpful yet destructive behaviors
For example, an alcoholic might use alcohol as a way of
avoiding responsibility. Poor time managers might thrive
on the chaos they create in their lives and the lack of
time may be a mechanism to avoid failure It's easier to
blame than to take responsibility to change Certain ad
dictions are also a way of asking for help. The payoffs are
numerous, complex and often unknown or unacknowl
edged In changing addictions or habits, a person may be
struggling to let go of something s/he has grown comfort
able with Change is filled with uncertainty and to move
past the inertia of remaining stuck is risky There are
no guarantees. There are reasons there for remaining
stuck in behaviors that simultaneously help us cope and
hold us back
For those artists who have chosen to give up their
pseudo friend, there are some tools to facilitate that
change
1) Self talk Be aware of the tapes you are playing and re
playing in your brain. Evaluate those words and ask are
they realistic? Supportive9 Destructive9' Chip away
those negative words and replace them with positive
words because it's here you create your own internal en
vironment that guides or belittles you
2) Keep a private journal or record of your actions, feel
mgs and thoughts Review your writings for patterns in
what you do and how you feel Choose what you'd like to
change accordingly This helps to decode the payoffs
you may get from remaining stuck
3) Practice relaxation or meditation techniques to relieve
stress and pressure Improve your self concept, increase
openness to new behaviors and enhance your awareness
of your strengths and past victories Paint in the varied
colors that new awareness brings Allow yourself to de
velop m new directions and let go of your past down
falls these are gone and this moment, now, is new
4) Open yourself to awareness Expand your experiences
Choose to obtain an interest in the large and small things
of life For example, take a few minutes to marvel at a
sunset without thinking of anything else—ergoy the es
sence of the moment
Part of being an artist includes being open to new ex
periences even vulnerable to new experiences New ex
periences entail a willingness to feel both good and nega
tive feelings and knowing it is okay to feel successful
it's okay to feel lonely —it s okay to feel1 Society doesn't
allow people to have negative feelings, yet negative feel
mgs are as much a part of life as the good feelings The
more we shove them away and ignore them, the longer
they have to fester Stating how we feel gives both our
selves and the people around us a clearer picture of our
identities —taking off the blobs of clay we hide behind
By permitting that blob of clay to remain we think it helps
us to handle life better (e g. the alcohol user who drinks
to socialize) but in reality, the means we choose to got
there'' may actually stop us from getting there
To a greater degree you can create your reality through
the filter of your perceptions and values. You are the art
ist within
Melanie Sited
THE HIP
L-^ |-1
1INSIDE 1
ADDICT IN
THE HOUSE
HELPING
A FRIEND
OPINION
AND MUCH
MUCH MORE...
Start off the new
decade on a
healthy loot!
Stop by the Health Ed
ucation Library and
check out our new
books on a variety ot
health related issues
Books are available to
check out tor all regis
tered students tor 2
weeks Topics cover tit
ness to eating disorders
to substance issues and
much, much more1
j
Sticking to those
new year resolutions
is easier said
than done!
II you d like to see a
health counselor regard
mg a low fat diet get
ting in shape, losing
weight, quitting smok
mg or managing stress,
stop by the Health Edu
cation Center and make
an appointment or call
686 4456
Love your Heart
in the 1990s!
I The Student Health Cen
[I ter can assist you in
I] checking your blood
H pressure and total cho
n lesterol tor tree Stop by
the Health Education
Center on Tuesday
mornings trom 9 30 to 11
a m Space is limited to
the first 25 each week
Need help with a term
project or paper
or speech?
The Health Education Li
brary has free pare
phlets. handouts and
current articles on a van
ety of health topics A
peer health adviser can
help you fill in the gaps
of your health knowl
edge and direct you
towards more resources
on campus and in Lane
County