Peer Health helps beat spring blues

Peer Health: Peer Health lays your lingering Spring Break concerns to rest

Welcome back! First let me begin by welcoming you all back to the final stretch of this marathon known as the school year. Spring break is probably my favorite break, but if any of you are like me, you come back for these last six or so weeks pretty run down and unprepared to resume the march. I am mixing metaphors. I blame the break. But here we all are once again, meaning here I am ready to answer your post-spring break health questions. Q: I heard that some STDs take a while to register on an STD test, meaning anything

Peer Health: Ivies wisdom for hard alcohol, mixed drinks

In my last installment of the year, I'm going to talk about something I am sure none of you were expecting: Ivies. Surprised? I think not. But there may be a bit of health confusion on the topic. We are all receiving mixed messages about our health, safety and school rules at this time. Ivies can be a lot of fun, but it can also end up not being that fun if you are having trouble navigating the surreal quality of the event and walking the line of how much is too much.

Peer Health

Peer Health helps beat spring blues

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

Carolyn Levin

Columnist

April 15, 2011

This point in the semester is always the hardest. We have about two weeks until Ivies, and professors are giving work reminiscent of the portions of stuffing your Uncle Sal ate at Thanksgiving. For those of you fortunate enough not to have a Sal across the table, that's a lot.

Over the course of the entire academic year, this stretch is one of the toughest we face. I am going to try to answer your stress questions and also take the chance to talk about some mental health questions you all may have.

All of my friends are having fun and enjoying the sun, but I feel more stressed than I have all semester. I keep having visions of throwing my computer through the library window. Any thoughts?

It's always stressful when you seem to have 10 times the work load as the people around you, but for some reason it seems significantly worse when the weather is nice. It is an unfortunate and unavoidable circumstance when you find that you have more work than your friends on some of the first nice weeks following months of winter weather. These factors join forces to make stress in the spring awful, but on the bright side, stress relief in the spring is also awesome.

One of the most important aspects of dealing with stress in the spring is time management. We all know this, but when it comes down to it, passing up a few spring outings in these upcoming weeks so that you don't spend the Sunday after Ivies trying to be insightful and articulate for that 20-page paper is a fair exchange.

Basically do your best to plan ahead if you know that you want to have a fun and relaxed spring weekend in the future. That is not to say that impromptu outdoor trips are unacceptable, in fact they can be extremely helpful in releasing a bit of stress and getting invigorated for your work, but staying ahead of deadlines helps give you a little leeway for spring's unexpected adventures.

Though it may be making you more upset while sitting in the library, the sunny weather can often be a great way to cope with your stress. If you use exercise to help you calm down or release tension, try running outdoors and getting some vitamin D. The trails behind the field house are becoming usable, giving you the option of exercise with a dash of scenery.

Also, just relaxing in the sun can be a therapeutic and relaxing way to take a break and collect your thoughts to continue your work and stay healthy.

So, although you may be resentful of spring weather in the face of growing workloads, it can be a great source of relaxation and stress relief when you manage your time well and wear enough sunscreen.

My best friend has been struggling with depression. I thought it may get better as the weather got better, but it's not. I am really beginning to get fed up and have trouble being around her anymore. I feel really bad about it, but don't know how to approach the situation.

I could and should write a whole article on the topic of depression; there are extensive studies on the subject. Dealing with a friend who is struggling with a mental health issue can be extremely challenging.

Often, we feel as though we should be able to help to relieve some of the pain that those we love are experiencing—it is human nature to feel this way. On the other hand, we can become overwhelmed by this need and want to be able to enjoy our own lives without feeling guilty.

It is a really tough line to walk, but the best advice I can give to anyone who may be struggling with the concept of being a good friend while still helping yourself is to check out the counseling center. They will help give you ideas about how to help your friend, but they will also be able to help you.

A person's depression or other mental health issue does affect the people around them, and recognizing how to help yourself is an important step in remaining healthy and happy. Take care of yourself as much as you can, and then you can better help your friend.

If you have any further questions about these or any other health issues please feel free to contact me at clevin@bowdoin.edu, drop one in SU 456, or contact anyone on Peer Health.

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