Welcome to Wellness

Fun in the sun

SUN AND FUN go hand in hand with SPRING BREAK. Your medical team here at SHU SHS wants to keep you safe and pain free while enjoying fun in the sun. Therefore, we are offering you a short list of references for safety in the sun and to ensure you a pain free much-needed Spring Break. Keep in mind while a tan may look great, one acquired over a short period, with unprotected exposure to strong UV rays will also yield premature aging and wrinkling of the skin. This exposure to the UV rays of the sun causes skin cancer. UVB rays penetrate the skin’s top layer and are the principal cause of sunburn they are at their strongest and most damaging between 10a.m. and 3p.m. UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply into the connective tissues and unlike UVB are strong all day long. Our advice is to use a broad-spectrum sun block product all day long. Tip#1 Avoid this midday sun exposure. (“YEAH RIGHT THAT’S WHY I DROPPED A BOAT LOAD OF MONEY TO FLY TO THIS SUNNY PARADISE”) I know this is what you are thinking however, you can achieve skin protection if you apply a liberal amount of sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher and keep your favorite hoodie nearby to throw on before you feel the burn. I promise you will not regret these choices and they will not prevent you from having fun. Tip#2 Re-applying sunscreen does not increase the original SPF. While I am not saying don’t reapply sunscreen I am telling you the best way to achieve effectiveness with any sunscreen is to apply it to dry skin 15 to 30 minutes before exposure, allowing your skin to absorb the product. You should reapply after swimming, towel drying and/or heavy exercise to maintain the original amount of protection achieved during your fist application. Additional sun protection information can be located at the website of the American Academy of Dermatology. Have fun, Stay Well, Enjoy your Spring Break!

Getting ready for Spring Break?

Notice the Pitt Center recently?  Packed, right?  What is that about?  Getting ready for Spring Break, of course.  The stress of knowing you will be in a bathing suit in a few short weeks. 

 Everyone wants to look good on the beach, guys and girls alike.  But do we obsess about food and exercise to an unhealthy degree to prep for Spring Break?  Probably.  What if we looked at it a different way?  What if we asked ourselves, “Is my body working well?”  “Do I huff and puff when I’m going up the hill to the Pitt Center?”  “Am I able to do everything I want to do or do physical limitations with my body hold me back?”  And we don’t just ask ourselves that question a week before Spring Break, but ALL the time.  Being healthy is about healthy routines and habits all year round, not just for the 2 weeks before break.

 

 

Great Expectations for Valentine's Day?

It’s that time of year again. Just walk in to ANY store and there is a display that reminds you Valentine’s Day is February 14. Great! The expectation is that everyone is in love and will be having the most wonderful experience on that day but what about the people who are single on Valentine’s Day-are they nothing but a bunch of losers?

Well, if you are believer in the mythology of true love you might think this is the case and begin to feel lonely. But if you know this isn’t completely true, what can you do to enjoy the day in spite of the lack of a partner?

Plan in advance to do something that will not place you in the path of couples who are in the throes of love and get together with people who do love you-friends and family, the ones who have a relationship with you. Maybe you could have an “un-Valentine’s Day” party.

Do something for someone else. Helping others always helps us feel better and what better way to raise your own spirits than to raise the spirits of someone else.

Think positively about yourself instead of focusing on the negative idea that you aren’t in a relationship and maybe next year you will find yourself in a different place either in a relationship but happy just the way you are.

To be blunt...

Let's talk about marijuana...

Despite what many college students believe, research indicates that marijuana affects the brain in areas that have a direct impact on academic, social, physical and psychological success. Marijuana is also addictive.   The main active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC for short.

How Does Marijuana Affect the Brain?

Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. THC acts upon specific sites in the brain called cannabinoid receptors, kicking off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the "high" that users experience when they smoke marijuana. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentrating, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.^{(NIDA, 2010)}

Marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that, in chronic users, marijuana's adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. The presence of MJ in the brain has also been shown to affect the brain's ability to retain new information. In other words, if you get “high” on Saturday night and got to class on Monday, your ability to retain new information is impaired (even if you are not “high”). Someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction; that is, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite the known harmful effects upon functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities. Estimates from research suggest that about 9 percent of users become addicted to marijuana; this number increases among those who start young (to about 17 percent) and among daily users (25-50 percent).

Some people report withdrawal symptoms including: irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which can make it difficult to remain abstinent.

Marijuana and Mental Health

A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.  Also many MJ users have an underlying mental health issue (anxiety, ADD, etc.) that they medicate with marijuana.  This keeps them from being appropriately medicated with much more effective drugs.

Effects on Health

Numerous studies have shown marijuana smoke to contain carcinogens and to be an irritant to the lungs. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50-70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke.  Marijuana increases heart rate by 20-100 percent shortly after smoking; this effect can last up to 3 hours

Help and information at SHU; If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s use of marijuana or other substances, you can contact Janice Kessler, the Alcohol and Other Drug Intervention and Prevention Specialist. Janice is located in the Counseling Center and can be reached at 203-371-7955. All appointments are free and confidential.