Got Stress?
Dealing with the stressors in your life
By Rebecca Wagner
s we take this voyage, also
known as college, there are
bound to be small bumps in the
road. As if school weren’t bad
enough, these day-to-day has
sles can build up over time and leave us feeling
overwhelmed and exhausted. This is where I step
in to provide you with some encouragement about
handling stress. As a co-student and Peer Health
Educator, if anyone knows stress, it’s me!
The nature of stress isn’t always an unhealthy
one. What makes stress become unhealthy is
when people do not cope or deal with stressful re
occurrences, which then continue to compile over
time. Stress is an ingrained human reaction to dif
ferent stressors that life throws at us. Some deal
skillfully; others don’t. Two people can experience
the same stressors like a bad grade, an unexpected
car repair, or money issues. Some react as if there
is no problem, while others think their world is
going to end. Dealing with stressors head on is the
key ingredient to not letting stress get to you.
When people continue to let stress build up it
can cause many adverse reactions in the body.
These reactions can be mental, physical, or emo
tional, and after time can literally wear out the
body’s immune system. The relationship between
stress and disease is not a new concept to the med
ical profession. When stress hormones are released
they are responsible for many reactions in the body
like, elevated blood pressure, which has been
linked to coronary heart disease. Stress is also con
nected with the immune system and being able to
fight off infection. In addition, stress can also affect
school performance, sleeping habits, eating and di
gestion, daily energy, and overall mood. When it
comes to the connection between health and stress,
we would do well to pay close attention to the wear
and tear we place on our bodies.
...stress can also affect school perform
ance, sleeping habits, eating and diges
tion, dally energy, and overall mood.
I
There are four key strategies I can rec
ommend .
1. Identify and recognize the things that stressgou
out the most.
2. Understand what’s most important ingour life
and keep them in perspective.
3. Make a behavior change. Write out a list of
changesgou’re willing to make and take a step
toward correcting one practice.
4. Use creative problem solving skills to stick to a
final goal.
You can focus privately on all 4 steps or talk
them through with a close friend. Although these
four steps might help to reduce stress, you may
also want to also try a creative outlet. This can be
anything from a personal hobby, running, yoga,
meditation, or journal writing. The options are
endless. Finding an outlet can drastically decrease
your stress level and help to get you focused on
other areas of life.
If you constantly find yourself stressed check
out some of the UO resources available to enrolled
students.
• Student Recreation Center- offers recreational
sports, aerobic classes, and other special interest
activities, (346-4183)
• Universitg Counseling Center- located on the top
floor of the Health Center, bg appointment or
walk in, offers free support and counseling pro
grams (346-3227).
• Universitg Health Center- offers medical exami
nations and treatments, Peer Health Education,
Therapeutic Touch and massage (346-4441).
Stress happens. We simply need to determine
our own unique strategy of how to manage it. Our
stress can be helpful indicators of how we want to
live our lives.
Discovering the World of
By Cass Skinner
s a single mother of three young chil
dren, going back to school full time and
ring to juggle all of our crazy sched
ules, I realized that I needed an hour just for me
or I would end up in a padded room. It also hap
pened that I needed that one little credit hour to
bump me up to full time status. So, I looked into
Physical Education courses offered at the Student
Recreation Center and nailed down two possibili
ties that fit within my class schedule: Step Aero
bics or Hatha Yoga.
Now, as you may imag
ine, my everyday life is
not without its share of
aerobic activity: just
getting the kids woken
up, fed, dressed and
into the car is a two
hour process every
morning, so the idea of
doing more running in
place was not too ap
pealing. Hatha Yoga be
came the default choice
and I am ever grateful
that it did.
Little did I realize at
the time, however, that
I would end up in a
padded room anyway.
The Mat Room used
for this class had
padded walls and a
padded floor to make
Yoga, meditating, or
stretching much more
comfortable. As I
walked into the room for the first time, with soft
music playing and the lights out, I felt as though I
had entered my personal stress-free haven. Donna
O’Neil, the instructor for my class, indicated that
quiet introspection and a darkened room were
ideal to appreciate the benefits of Yoga fully. One
of the few dictates she had for the class was that
all superficial chatter be left at the door (along
with your shoes and socks) so that you could rely
on peacefulness and serenity in the room. I lis
tened, paid attention, and learned how to breathe.
Even after just one class, I could really tell the dif
ference between how flexible I was, how I han
dled stress, and how I felt about myself in general.
The overall sense of peace and tranquility that I
got by just slowing down and breathing was
amazing. Consider that it is done without drug
consumption, without exercising like mad, and
with virtually no equipment. I knew then and
there that Yoga would be a lifetime practice of
mine.
I asked Donna about long-term benefits she
has experienced from her practice of Yoga. She be
gan the discipline in the 1970’s and has been
teaching Hatha Yoga since 1995. Along with an
overall sense of peace, she has found Yoga to help
with “pain management, balance, posture, [and]
strengthening” and it has also given her “general
vitality to face the day”.
If you are among the many whose schedules
are already packed to the breaking point and are
not able to take a Yoga class, Donna suggested
checking out beginning Yoga videos or other
forms of media from the library. The Peer Health
Education Office in the Health Center also has
Yoga hooks available to you for check out. I
strongly urge you to consider signing up for a
class, even if you think you don’t have time for it.
Depending on the school term, there are between
ten and thirty-six Mind and Body (PEMB) classes
offered by Physical Activity & Recreation Ser
vices, so you should be able to find one that would
fit within your schedide. When it comes time to
register, do so quickly, as they are among the most
popular of PE classes and fill up quickly. You will
only have yourself (and me) to thank later on.
Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get to my
padded room and BREATHE.
Breathing
By Sarah Parrish
“Breathing may be
considei'ed the most
important of all the
functions of the body,
for, indeed, all the
other functions de
pend upon it. ”
—Ramacharaka:
Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath
Ramacharaka certainly knew
what he was talking about. Have
you ever considered how impor
tant breathing is? Breathing af
fects everything from our mood,
to thinking ability, to heart rate,
down to even posture. Condi
tions that compromise breathing
- pneumonia, emphysema, colds,
allergies- have a tremendous im
pact on our quality of life. Those
who meditate often use breath
ing exercises as a way of focusing
their attention. Breathing plays a
great role in Tai Chi, Yoga,
singing and all manner of activi
ty. Breath is considered by many
to he our primary life force. We
can all agree that it at least brings
needed oxygen to the brain. The
art of breathing properly is one of
the most overlooked aspects of
optimal health.
Dr. Andrew Weil, author of
the books Spontaneous Healing.
and Natural Health. Natural
Medicine, stresses the impor
tance of breathing clean air. He
describes how breathing does
more for a person than just ex
pand lungs and add oxygen to the
blood.
Try this simple
exercise:
• Stand in a well-ventilated area
with your feet hip-width apart
and parallel.
• Raise your arms in front of
you in a circle stretching up as
far as you can reach while trig
gering your yawning reflex.
• Repeat 5 times.
• Switch the direction of your
arms and repeat again 5 times.
This is a simple breathing ex
ercise that is designed to leave
you feeling more energetic.
Andrew Weil’s books are
available for free two week loan
from the Peer Health Education
Office in the University Health
Center. Check them out for other
ideas on improving this essential
aspect of your daily living.