Exorcise Your
Stress Demons
Trudging through the remaining days
of the fall semester, I feel like a teaspoon
of icing spread on a giant sheet cake
there just isn't enough of me to go around.
Balancing a full course load, a job and a
relationship is difficult. You probably
have similar feelings.
We all experience stress at some time,
but we don't always recognize the true
source of it. So, before throwing your
books against the wall or lighting up a
smoke while the pres
sure is on, stop to
consider the epicenter Capital Union
of your stress: your "IF 1 raiNK 1 Apf Building to lift
mind. weights. The physi-
According to GOING 7 - 0 FAiL cal demand of the
Beth Sonnenburg, a repetitions forces me
writer for Joe A r 6 -5 7 -, 1 to simply concentrate
Weiders' Muscle and on my breathing and
Fitness Magazine, p72013A5Ly WILL . " my form instead of
stress is a mental atti- dwelling on the Mad
tude that perceives equacies in my head.
dangers or threats in If I am at home,
situations or events. away from the con-
Some of you may remember
Tarnhelm's "Submit" advertisement last
semester that showed a woman from the
waist down, wearing a short skirt and
holding a coiled bullwhip. I thought the ad
was ingenious and humorous. Other stu
dents, however, found it so appalling they
scribbled all over it and shouted at the edi
tors in the hallways. The different reac
tions Penn State students had to the ad
was all in the way they looked at it.
There is an old saying that asserts, "so
you think, so shall you be." This is also
known in modern psychology as self-ful
filling prophecy. Thoughts affect our men
tal viewpoint on situations and how we
deal with them. If I think I am going to fail
a test, I probably will. I'll convince myself
that studying isn't worth my time since
I'm going to fail anyway. Have you
noticed this kind of thought pattern in
your head? Negative thoughts are most
dangerous when they are unconscious,
precisely because if we are unaware of
them, we can't challenge them.
When I notice I am experiencing
debilitating thoughts, I ask myself, "Why
am I avoiding this?" and "What's the
worst thing that can happen?" Changing
my perception of a situation frequently
reduces the amount of stress I experience.
A simple formula for how this works
might be [an event + my reaction = the
outcome].
Wayne Dixon, a researcher who
By Jena Laske
For The Capital Times
revealed the results of a case study on col
lege students and stress in the Journal of
Counseling and Development, says that
on a mental level, prolonged stress can
manifest as depression, irritability and a
negative outlook on life. Therefore, it's
essential to confront stress and try to cope
with it. Besides changing your attitude,
which may not be easy, another way to
deal with stress is to distract yourself by
doing something physical. If I am at
venience of the gym, I'll put on some of
my favorite music, turn up the volume
and dance. According to Sonnenburg,
exercise burns off adrenaline released by
stress and results in a better night's sleep
and additional ability to concentrate.
Also, exercise may alleviate physical ail
ments resulting from stress, including
shallow breathing, backaches or
migraines.
For those of you who don't like to
work out, there are other ways to relieve
stress. Playtime is my preferred way to
relieve pressure. I consider playtime any
activity that takes my mind off what's
bothering me and focuses it on something
constructive. Any number of possibilities
exist here, from cooking or reading juicy
books, to playing cards or musical instru
ments. I have several African drums in my
home that I bang on with utter abandon.
During the evening hours, when my
neighbors are sleeping, I choose a gentle
sounding wooden flute to play. After hav
ing a bit of fun, I can usually return to my
tasks feeling confident rather than daunt
ed.
Stress is unavoidable, but to manage it
effectively it's critical to notice the men
tal mind-set that is causing it and try to
change your thoughts to positive ones.
Think about ways you can effectively
manage stress, such as planning your time
wisely, working out and most importantly
. . . having a little fun!
school, I'll go over to
the gym in the
Marilyn Demey, Ruth Miller, Marianne Dimatteo, Valerie Duhig, Sharon Slouch
and Kim Jorich walk on Nov. 14 as a way to draw attention to breast cancer.
Two New Groups Focus on
Women's Issues
Two new campus organizations are
focusing attention on women's issues. The
Capital College Liaison Committee to the
University Commision for Women is an
arm of the larger PSU organization func
tioning at University Park since 1981. The
fledgling student club, Penn State
Organization for Women's Equality and
Rights, just received authorization from
the SGA.
The Capital College Liaison
Committee represents both PSH and
Schuylkill campuses with two officers
from each location. According to
CCLC/CFW Chair, Marylou Martz, coor
dinator of student health services, initial
funding to support the committee came
from University Park and PSH Provost
Dr. Madlyn Hanes' discretionary funds.
As its initial kickoff program,
CCLC/CFW sponsored a Breast Cancer
Awareness Walk on Nov. 14. According
to Martz, the then unofficial group
POWER, as well as the SGA, helped sup
port the breast cancer walk.
Both new groups focus on women's
issues and, according to POWER co-chair
Amanda Parsons, will work together
whenever possible. In fact, POWER lists
"promoting our affiliation with the
Commission for Women" as one of the
Shave-Off Ends Peacefully
By Kerry Monaco
Capital Times Staff Writer
The shave-off is finally over. Matt easy task, but he did it.
"Lapinski" Williams, one of five members Corey "Coach" Metz claimed victory
of Club 831 A who stopped shaving in Tuesday afternoon and said there would
early October, broke down on Nov. 28 be a symposium some time in the next
after almost two months of hairiness. It week discussing the entire competition.
seemed as though he was never going to Congratulations are extended to all partic
shave, but Lapinski could not take it any- ipants for their dedication and determina
more. He claimed the reason he shaved tion.
was that when he ate, he got hair in his
OPINION & NEWS
By Cathie McCormick Musser
Capital limes Editor In Chief
group's objectives.
CCLC/CFW began meeting monthly
early in the semester. POWER held an ini
tial meeting last week. Parsons expressed
disappointment at the meeting's turn out,
but acknowledged the difficulty of orga
nizing at the end of the semester. The
group will renew their efforts during the
spring semester.
women's group wasn't active at PSH.
"There's normally some type of organiza
tion like this on a campus," Parsons said.
Parson's co-chair is Jennifer Boger,
public policy graduate student, 'who
worked with several other students over
the summer to form the club's concept.
The group's faculty advisor is Dr. Carol
Nechemias.
According to Parsons, besides promot
ing the group's affiliation with
CCLC/CFW, POWER plans to support
"action-oriented research and programs,
promote awareness on campus of
women's issues and history."
According to Martz, CCLC/CFW's
second event, a Holiday Basket Bonanza
scheduled for Dec. 4 to 8, will raise funds
to support future programs, including
Bring Your Daughter to Work Day sched
uled for April 26.
mouth, but the hair was still attached to
his face. So he shaved, which was not an
Parsons recalls being surprised a