THE STUDENT HEALTH CENTER NEWSLETTER
Saying YES to Who
You Really Are!
What is it al about? Why do we starve ourselves and exercise turiousiyv wny oo we ma*e
ourselves feel so guilty? Why do we stand in front of mirrors to become critical of that stom
ach bulge that is genetically endowed to be there?
Our society and its expectations fostered by advertising with its drive for profits continues
to do us all a great injustice. Are we really that superficial that we must all have tight butts,
firm, full breasts, well-defined muscles, thighs so firm that they deny their natural capacity to
spread when we sit down, have soft, supple skin, silent bowels, be 6'2", mold perfectly into
every pair of jeans or swim suit, perform incredibly every time, and have fresh breath? What
quality of life is this fostering? In the face of plenty, so many are down right miserable. Sta
tistics show that generally only 50% of the people we meet like us, so why do we still be
come upset and critical when not everyone we meet likes us? Until society matures and
grows out of these crazy and very harmful ideals, we must overcome these "norms" on an
individual basis. It is incredibly hard to go against such a wave of popular beliefs, but a leap
into that vast unknown called self-love is essential for our mental health.
Self-love cannot be conquered in one shot. As Scott Peck put it, self-love involves the “will
to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one's own spiritual growth". It is an ongoing
process with use of certain principles that help us accept ourselves. Alan Loy McGinnis, au
thor of Confidence gives some basic principles:
1. Determine to know the truth about yourself. Remember when we came rushing into
the house as small children exploding with excitement and suddenly someone says. "Be
quiet! What's wrong with you?’’. We learned quickly to button our lips. Unfortunately, to
some degree, socialization has taught us to reject our inner selves. This is especially true if
we were surrounded by people who infected us with the notion that our thoughts and emo
tions were “terrible". We concluded that feelings should be controlled and eliminated if pos
sible. Some ways to get back in touch with ourselves would be to keep a journal, spend
some time alone, and look for someone you can confide in.
2. Focus on your potential instead of your limitations. How many times after we gave a
presentation or speech did we say to ourselves, “I didn’t speak loud enough." or “I didn’t
communicate well." and so on with out looking at any of our positive points? Get yourself
away from comparisons!
1 Distinguish between who you are and what you do. Somewhere along the line we
learned it wasn’t good enough to be a person we also had to do a lot to be accepted. The
problem with this is that many of us go overboard. This can be seen in the Superwoman
Syndrome or Workaholic Syndrome. Some ways to avoid these syndromes would be to leave
time for play, become flexible in your schedule, take time out for honest appraisal of your
work patterns, and examine your ethical and spiritual priorities.
Other ways we can develop self-love would include:
— Goal setting. Set realistic goals that encourage finding out what we are actually capa
ble of.
— Risk taking helps us attain goals. An important risk would be to open up to other
people.
— Patience with ourselves is a virtue. Like the flower that blooms, we too need time to
bloom and that can only be decided by our own time frame.
Life is not a quest to become another "beautiful" and “perfect" cardboard cutout!
By Kaima Wimck
£§om the hip
INSIDE
* DEPRESSION
* CREATIVITY
* STRESS
HEY ALL YOU
HEALTH NUT
WANNABES...
Drop by the health
Education Center to
see our selection of
health books You'll
find everything from
eating nature s way t<
meditation We re
open 9:00 a m. to 2.3C
p m Mondays thru
Fridays
IS STRESS
SCARING AWAY
YOUR
SENSES?????
Bring them
back Go to the
Health Education
Center where we hav
Peer Health Advisors
who specialize in
Stress Management
Make an appomtmen
by calling 346 4456
anytime during M-F,
9:00 to 2:30
IS IT A
DELUSION??? OR IS
THAT HEALTH PAPER
REALLY DUE
TOMORROW?????
We have all kinds <
up to date into on Ni
trition. Stress Man
agement Slit)'.tame
Abuse and
more Peer Health
Advisors can advise
you on those burnmr
questions you've
been wondering ;
about all these years
There's also all kind:
ot pamphlets and
handouts for FREE1
TESTED LATELY
FOR THAT BIQ
“C" WORD?????
Come find out what
your cholesterol level
is on Tuesday morn
ings from 9:00 to
11:00 You can also
find out how to lower
it by making an ap
pointment with a Peer
Health Advisor who
specializes in Nutri
tion It's FREE with a
student ID Your
health is worth it1!!