Health Education
offerings
Wednesdays 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Oct 50"-NO* 13“
University Health center, Cafeteria
call 346-2794 to sign up.
Learn basic skills to prepare quick, nutri
tious & delicious meals! If you feel you
have no time, money or creativity, then
this is the workshop for you. Class is limit
ed to seven students, cost Is $15.
Quitting tobacco is the healthiest move you
can make! Pick up a “quit ktr from a Health
Center practitioner or from the Health Ed
Office.
Tuesday, Nov.4
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
university Health center Medical Library
Gather information & resources to help
you quit for good. Aids such as the patch,
zyband, gum and behavior strategies will
be discussed.
A Breast Cancer Awareness Fashion Show
Mon. Oct 28
7pm EMU Ballroom
Tuesdays, Oct 22, Nov. 5
5:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Hearth center Cafeteria
American Heart Association Course.
Register at 546-2770.
Every Tuesday 9:30 -11:30 a.n.
UO Health Center, Health Education Office
Simply drop by, no appointment uecessaryTo
register for or to learn more about
these workshops, check out the Uni
versity Health Center's Web site at
http://healthed.uoregon.edu. You
can also call or stop by
the Peer Health Education Office on
the first floor of the University
Health Center.
Fall 2002
Wednesdays
3:00-5:00 P.M.
OCt 9: Vegie cooldng/cliolestrol
Oct 23: Breast Cancer
NOV 6: Diabetes
NOV 20: Tobacco
Diabetes
What to know, What to do
By Emily Garling
If you were on the show “Who
Wants to be a Millionaire?” and you
made it to the million dollar question,
could you answer this: What exactly
is diabetes? Just in case that opportu
nity ever comes up, or you simply
want to understand this increasingly
common disorder, read on.
There are two types of diabetes, re
ferred to as Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1
diabetes is most commonly diagnosed
in children or young adults and occurs
when the cells in the pancreas either
no longer produce insulin or do not
make enough insulin. According to
Maiyjean Jacobson, registered nurse
and diabetes educator at the UO
Health Center, here at the UO, 85 % of
the students with diabetes have this
form of the disease. Type 2 diabetes,
on the other hand, generally develops
later in life and occurs when the pan
creas doesn’t make enough insulin
and/or the cells in the body cannot use
the insulin properly. Whereas Type 1
diabetes is usually a result of genetic ir
regularity, Type 2 diabetes can be a re
sult of outside risk factors, such as obe
sity, and not getting enough exercise.
College life can be stressful and
compromise your health. Maintain
ing positive habits now can keep you
healthy today and help prevent dis
eases in the future. Here are some tips
for staying healthy during college and
preventing development of type 2 dia
betes.
1. Follow a meal plan. Even with
classes scattered throughout the day
and being at the library all night, it is
still important to eat at regular inter
vals to keep your blood glucose level
steady and insulin production in a de
sirable range. This will also help you
maintain an ideal body weight. Kris
ten Olmos, the Registered Dietitian at
the UO Health Center, can help you
to develop a meal plan that fits into
your lifestyle. She can be reached at
346-2794
2. Exercise regularly. Aerobic and
strength building exercises are great
for anyone. In addition to helping you
maintain a healthy weight, exercise
will give you more energy for those
late night study sessions.
3. Limit your alcohol intake.
Drinking too much alcohol can result
in hypoglycemia (lowblood glucose
levels) and be veiy harmful to every
organ in the body.
4. Take a snack. Packing a nutri
ent dense snack like an apple and
some cheese to class or the library can
often help prevent large fluctuations
in blood sugar levels.
5. Visit the Health Center. You
can have your blood glucose level
checked for free on Tuesday morn
ings from 9:30 to 11:30 in the Health
Education Office. Also, the Health
Center has a diabetes education team
consisting of a registered dietitian, a
pharmacist, and several doctors and
nurses who can provide diabetic stu
dents with the best possible care
while here at school.
6. Don’t stress the small stuff, re
lax and enjoy college while you’re
here! You’ll want to look back at all
the good times that you had.
Wondering about Nursing?
Talk to the experts at your Health Center
By Claudia Le
Are you curious about the field of
nursing? Have you ever wondered
what the differences are between a
Physician Assistant and a Nurse
Practitioner? Like many other Pre
Nursing students at UO, I am still on
the quest to find out if Nursing Practi
tioner (NP) is the right profession for
me. To help me gain more insights
about this profession, I interviewed
Wendy Lang and Anne Mattson, two
of the 5 NPs that work at the Univer
sity Health Center.
I asked Anne what she thought was
the most important thing to look for
when searching for the right nursing
school. In her opinion, “students
should look at the school and see if their
standards reflect your standard and ex
pectations ofyourself.” She recom
mended that students get a lot of clinical
time while in nursing school because it
will prepare you for the working world.
I asked Wendy how she knew that
she wanted to become a nurse. She
stated, “It is hard to know until you get
some experience working with peo
ple- either volunteering or working in
clinics or hospitals. It helps if you real
ly enjoy people and medicine and are
not just economically motivated. ”
The common question most pre
nursing students are faced with is
whether to pursue physician’s assis
tant (PA) school or become a NP.
Both Wendy and Anne agreed that
being a NP gives you more autonomy.
A NP has their own license to prac
tice independently, whereas a PA is
connected to a medical doctor.
Wendy added that a NP can inde
pendently operate their own clinic,
do their own hilling and receive reim
bursements.
Nursing can he a rewarding experi
ence if you like to help people and
there are many different areas in mus
ing to focus on. Students interested in
the musing fields can contact any of
the musing staff at the UO Health
Center and ask to set up an informa
tional interview. Call Sharon Har
bert, Assistant Director of Nursing at
346-2760 for more information.
Anxious About
Anxiety?
by Erica Tucker
A man finds it difficult to attend
a party because he’s self-conscious
and feels that people are watching
from every direction. Another per
son sits infront of the telephone and
agonizes because she’s afraid to pick
up the receiver and make a call to
someone she doesn’t know.
Many of us can remember
times when we felt uncomfortable
being hie center of attention, but
this brief shyness is not a psyco
logical disorder. Social Anxiety
(previously termed Social Phobia)
exceeds normal shyness when it
leads to excessive social avoid
ance, occupational/academic im
pairment, and/ or significant dis
tress. So why do people have this
disorder, how common is it, and
can it be cured?
Following are a list of common
questions and answers about So
cial Anxiety chosen from a book
called The Anxiety & Phobia
Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne,
Ph.D. You can find this book and
others on anxiety in the Peer
Health Library located in the Uni
versity Health Center.
What exactly is social anxiety?
Social anxiety is a persistent
and unrealistic fear ofbeing ob
served and evaluated by others.
These feared situations are avoid
ed or endured with intense dis
tress.
What are the symptoms?
Behavioral symptoms include:
gaze aversion, avoidance of social
situations, and slumping of the
shoulders. Cognitive symptoms
include: fear of evaluation, humil
iation, and embarrassment. Physi
cal symptoms include: blushing,
sweating, nausea, dry mouth,
tremor, panicky feelings, in
creased heart rate, andblocked
speech.
How is it diagnosed?
Unlike some other psychologi
cal disorders, social anxiety is not
well understoodby the general
public or some medical profes
sionals. In fact, people with social
anxiety are misdiagnosed almost
90 % of the time. Because few so
cially anxious people have heard
of their own problem, they think
they are the only ones in the world
who have these terrible symptoms
and fail to seek help. When the
idea is brought up, doctors use a
set of questions focusing on fears
and anxieties surrounding social
situations to help determine the
diagnosis.
I’ve never heard of social anxi
ety, so it must not be very com
mon.
Social anxiety disorder is a lot
more common than you think. It
is actually the most prevalent of
any anxiety disorder and is the
third most common psychiatric
disorder following depression and
alcohol abuse. Social anxiety af
fects 15 million Americans in any
given year and occurs in women
twice as often as men.
What causes social anxiety?
Some research implicates a
small structure in the brain called
the amygdala in the symptoms of
social anxiety. It is believed that
this structure is a central site in
the brain that controls fear re
sponses. Others have evidence to
suggest that social anxiety can be
inherited. And of course there is
research investigating the envi
ronment’s influence on the devel
opment of social anxiety. This dis
order typically begins in
childhood or early adolescence
and rarely develops after age 25.
Can social anxiety be treated?
Yes! Medications include anti
depressants such as selective sero
tonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
and monoamine oxidase in
hibitors (MAOIs). Psychotherapy
involves helping patients gradual
ly become more comfortable with
situations that frighten them.
Social anxiety is serious and
has debilitating effects on those
who suffer from it every day. If
you feel you have symptoms of so
cial anxiety or would like any fur
ther information about diagno
sis/or treatment, there are
resources available for you on
campus. Check out the Peer
Health Education Office in the
Health Center for articles, pam
phlets and books like Women &
Anxiety. You can also call the UO
Health Center at 346-2770 to set
up an appointment with a psychi
atrist or other medical practition
er. The UO Counseling Center,
346- 3227, offers free drop in con
sultations and counseling.
Other Resources:
http://www.socialanxietyinsti
tute.org/examples.html
http://degnanco.com/anxiety/wh
o.html
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/fcl
22.htm
Fall 2002
Contributing Writers and Peer Health Educators
Peer Health Educators and Contributing Writers: Katie Collins Jessica Hougen, Emily Garling, Sariantra Kali, Claudia Le, Sarah Parrish, Cass
Skinner, Erica Tucker, Rebecca Wagner, Carrie Zogoros.
Editor & Photographer: Annie Dochnahl
WcllNow is published each term, except summer, for UO students by the Health Education Department of the Health Center, 13th and Agate Streets, University of Oregon, http://healthcenter.uoregon.edu
Best Dressed Breast
Breast Cancer Awareness
Fashion Show
Monday, oct 28th 7 pm
EMU Ballroom
Free and open to the public
Learn about breast cancer risk
and prevention thru beautiful
and funky fashion.