Oregon daily emerald., April 16, 1998, Page 7, Image 7

Now is the time for rest and relaxation
Stress Awareness Week is
a chance for students to
learn to manage time
and responsibilities
By Michael Hines
Student Activities Heporter
Check your pulse because
there are only seven weeks left
until finals.
For those students who aren’t
aware of their stress level, today
is National Stress Awareness
Day.
Students grapple with a dis
tinctive kind of stress. If it’s not
midterms, it’s finals. If not a pa
per, then a class project. The list
goes on. Stress is often com
pounded until it reaches an un
bearable level, said Jarrett Horib
ata, a counselor at the University
Health Center.
“It’s definitely a cumulative
thing,” he said. “Stress levels do
increase based on the time of
year and the time of the term.”
In addition to the rigors of
school-related stress, students
deal with relationships, friend
ships, time away from the fami
ly and, in some cases, culture
shock.
To combat the feeling of being
overwhelmed, Tomoko Naka
mura, a health center peer edu
cator, recommends that people
change their perspectives.
“Some people feel lots of
stress, some people don’t,” she
said. “It depends on perception.”
Nakamura is a Japanese ex
change student who has been at
the University for a year and a
half. She has often felt the stress
of being a student compounded
by cultural and language differ
ences.
"Just believe that you can find
something else,” she said. “You
have another way.”
As a basic stress reliever,
Nakamura and Horibata suggest
using a calendar to prepare days
in advance. Writing schedules
down gives people a chance to
prioritize.
“It feels like piling a moun
tain,” Horibata said. “Break it
down into sections of a moun
tain.”
Using drugs, alcohol or tobac
co as a way to deal with stress is
dangerous and can worsen prob
lems, Nakamura said.
“It leads to another problem,”
she said. Chemical dependence
adds more psychological — and
even financial — stresses.
Students should use exercise,
friends and campus activities to
create social networks and deal
with stress. Nakamura said she
used the international student
organizations to acclimate her
self. Students should avoid
“wallowing,” Jarrett said.
When stress does become un
bearable, students have options
to help deal with it. The health
center’s peer health education
and the counseling center are
available to students.
Jarrett is one of more than 20
counselors at the health center,
and he sees about eight students
each week.
"Everybody at some point in
their life needs help,” he said.
"We’re here to help. Don’t feel
like you need to do it by your
self.”
In addition to counseling, Jar
rett said some students work on
breathing exercises and muscle
relaxation techniques in their
sessions. These are techniques
students will be able to use
throughout their lives, he said.
The University also offers a re
laxation class taught by Eliza
beth Glover every fall, winter
and spring.
Glover’s class concentrates on
neuromuscular relaxation,
which is a method of locating
muscle tension and specifically
relaxing that area of the body.
People can use this technique
before especially stressful situa
tions to relax their muscles, she
said.
“You can release that tension,
and it helps you respond,”
Glover said.
The University has a crisis
phone line available 24 hours
every day. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on weekdays, the line is forward
ed to the counseling center. Dur
ing all other hours, calls are rout
ed directly to the crisis line.
The crisis line is 346-4488,
and the counseling center's
phone number is 346-3227.
Signs of stress
■ Problems eating or sleeping
■ Increased use of alcohol or
other drugs
■ Increased boredom and fa
tigue; a general sense of "the
blahs”
■ Problems making decisions;
increased procrastination
■ Becoming anxious and con
fused over unimportant events
■ Inability to concentrate or
pay attention
■ Inability to get organized
■ Weakness, dizziness and
shortness of breath; “anxiety
attacks”
■ Persistent hostile or angry
feelings; increased frustration
with minor annoyances
■ Nightmares
■ Overpowering urges to cry
or run and hide
■ Changes in your exercise
habits
■ Frequent headaches, back
aches, muscle aches ortight
ness in the stomach
■ Frequent indigestion, diar
rhea, or urination
■Frequent colds and infections
■ Frequent accidents and mi
nor injuries
SOURCE: American College
Health Association pamphlet,
“Stress in College: Stretching
the Rubber Band?"
Safety:
Ordinance
would ban
violators
■ Continued from Page 1
however.
"I think it would be prudent to
go slow with this to see what other
problems arise,” said Polly Nel
son of the ACLU. "Unfortunately,
summer is coming up and it is a
greater concern.”
Nelson continued that the cita
tions would immediately outlaw the
violator from the mall, thereby pun
ishing the person without a trial.
Police said the ordinance isn’t a
violation of the person’s rights,
however, and that it is a necessary
step to maintain safety at the mall.
Officer Scott Fellman said he saw
a definite need for the ordinance. “I
cited a guy this Tuesday and again
on Thursday,” Fellman said. “He
was a drug user, thief ... and has
been convicted of all of these things.
If the council enacts the ordi
nance, anyone who violates the
mall regulations repeatedly
would be excluded from the area.
The people cited would then have
an option to appeal.
Laue said he doesn’t think the
ordinance is a solution to all mall
problems but that it would be im
portant to further discussion at the
council level.
“1 support the move forward on
with this,” Laue said. “This is one
piece of what has to happen. ”
003121
Dare
Mandatory Informational Meeting
Wednesday, April 22 • 6:30 p.m.
Casanova Athletic Center at Autzen Stadium
Applications available at this meeting
Duck Mascot Tryout
Wednesday, May 6 • 6:00 p.m.
McArthur Court
For more information, call Laraine Raish at 346-5485
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