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As we begin the new semester, the campus is buzzing with energy.  There is also stress as you adjust to new people, new places/routines, and new class schedules, etc.  Stress is unavoidable.

What will you do to manage this stress?

Many college students reported feeling highly stressed (61 percent), and more students failed to do much about it (72 percent) reported low use of stress management techniques according to a recent study1 of college students performed by King and colleagues.

Here are 10 effective stress management techniques:

1. Pause for a moment and take
2. a deep breath. Relax those tense muscles.  When you’re stressed, proper breathing techniques can be powerful.
3. See the bigger picture.Ask yourself, “How big a deal is this? How does this fit in the grand scheme of things?”
4. Don’t let it build up.Reach out to a friend or a counselor and talk it out so you do not hold on to painful feelings.  Seek out a professional: osu.edu
5. Daily “me time.” Just afew minutes of leisure activity can be quite relaxing.
6. Plan it out: Take a few moments each day to plan out the rest of the day. It can bring a calm sense of control.
7. Listen to relaxing music.
8. Physical activity.Go for a relaxing walk, take a yoga meditation class or spend a few minutes at the RPAC.
9. Remember the basics:Get 7-9 hours of sleep.
10. Avoid alcohol/tobacco/drugs and avoid excessive caffeine. These unhealthy coping methods only worsen your stress.
11. Eat nutritious food.

King KA, et al. The Journal of Happiness & Well-Being, 2014, 2(2), 132-144

1. A study of stress, social support, and perceived happiness among college students.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes.  With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

What habits could help you be a successful student?

People want to succeed in school, and in life.  But what are some key elements that lead to success?  What steps can you take this semester to be highly successful?

Stephen R. Covey(1), the author of the classic bestseller, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People ® , states that there are, you guessed it, 7 important habits that can make you successful (each step is a chapter):

1. Be Proactive

Your choices are the most important factor in achieving your desired outcomes/goals.  With every choice, try to ask yourself if you are making decisions that move you closer or away from your desired goals. (Example, how does choosing to unhealthy food fit with your goal of better health? Or how does choosing to not get enough sleep fit with your goal of doing well in school? What can you do differently?)

2. Begin with the End in Mind

Successful people think about goals (Examples: better grades, better health, friendships, etc.) and write them down. They keep them in a place where they can see them regularly (1 or more times per day). This helps your mind stay focused on step 1.

3. Put First Things First

Successful people do activities each day that are aligned with their goals. (e.g., are you studying effectively, are you eating healthy and exercising regularly? Did you reach out to a friend today? etc.).  This habit involves action steps towards your goal.

4. Think Win-Win

Successful people think in terms of “win-win” solutions to their own problems and the problems of others.  (In the case above, you could study regularly with a friend or eat healthy/exercise regularly with a friend who also seeks to improve their health).

5. Seek First to understand, Then to be Understood

Successful people do not jump to their own conclusions without first without first trying to understand others in a non-judgmental way.  When approaching something upsetting or interpersonal problems, a good question to ask might be “Can you help me understand your thought process regarding that decision?” “What are other possible reasons for this situation?”.

6. Synergize

Effective teams can be more powerful than individuals working alone. For example, studies show that people who exercise with other people tend to have better outcomes than those who do not(2).

7. Sharpen the Saw

You are your greatest asset.

Regular maintenance and proper fuel with help your car to work efficiently and reliably, even avoid some problems.

Successful people take care of their mind and body, so that they are more likely to achieve success. This means proper stress/emotional management, adequate sleep, healthy eating habits, exercise/yoga/meditation, and avoidance of alcohol/drugs/excessive caffeine, spending time with others.  See previous blog posts regarding proper self-care and maintenance. Other examples include, exercise/nutrition/wellness coaching, study skills coaching, emotional management through counseling, etc.

These are only some of the habits. It may help to start thinking of achieving results as a process, and look for resources that can help you continuously improve.

Reference:

1. Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.
2. Plante TG, et al. International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2001 Does Exercising with Another Enhance the Stress-Reducing Benefits of Exercise?

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

For many college students, it is important to maintain their best academic performance for a variety of reasons. After all, who doesn’t want good grades?  Good grades will lead to good opportunities, internships, good jobs, etc.

Even a small amount of alcohol can impact your grades.

First, a definition: Binge drinking (high risk for alcohol related problems) is defined as 4 or more drinks in one drinking occasion for women and 5 or more drinks for men; where a standard drink is 12 oz 5% beer, 5 oz wine, or 1.5 oz (1 shot of 80 proof liquor)   (1).

It has been shown that, compared to those who did NOT drink alcohol, binge drinking  2 or more times in a typical 2-week period was linked to significantly lower semester grades for both the  1st year and senior level students (2 ).  Translation: binge drinking lowers grades.

Another study shows that even drinking alcohol to the point of getting drunk has a negative predictive impact on your GPA (3).  Translation: even smaller amounts of alcohol could hurt your grades.

According to some evidence based guidelines, moderate drinking (low risk for alcohol problems) is defined as (a maximum) <1 drink per day for women and <2 drinks per day for men; with the gender difference being related to biology (4).

However, it is important to note that there is low risk use, there is no risk free amount of alcohol use.

Additionally, there are people who should not drink alcohol at all (4):

• If you cannot limit drinking to low level or are recovering from alcoholism.
• Women who may become pregnant or who are pregnant.
• Individuals who plan to drive, operate machinery, or take part in other activities that require attention, skill, or coordination.
• If you have certain medical conditions, sensitivity to alcohol, or are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, you should check with your prescriber before drinking any alcohol.

Additionally, you are at high risk for addiction if you have a personal or family history of alcohol use disorders, and thus should not drink alcohol (5).

Having a healthy brain will help you be in the best position for success. Is alcohol impacting your grades? Is alcohol trying to control you? Are you unable to drink safely? At ccs.osu.edu, we have resources that can help.  Also consider the National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service available at 1-800-662-HELP (6).

1. NIAAA council approves definition of binge drinking [PDF-1.6MB]. NIAAA Newsletter 2004;3:3.
2. Journal of College Student Development, 48(6), 715-727.
3. Wolaver, A. (2002). Effect of Heavy Drinking in College on Student Effort, Grade Point Average, and Major Choice. Contemporary Economic Policy, 20(4), 415-428.
4. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Chapter 3 – Foods and Food Components to Reduce [PDF-967KB]. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2010, p. 30–32
5. United States Department of Agriculture. Dietary guidelines for Americans 2005. Available at: www.health.gov/DIETARYGUIDELINES/dga2005/document/html/chapter9.htm
6. http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm#standDrink. Accessed September, 2014.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes.  With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

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Posted by R. Ryan Patel DO, FAPA OSU CCS Psychiatrist at 12:00pmPosted in Academic Performance, Alcohol Tagged academic success, Alcohol

Many students have smartphones. Cellphones may have a benefit of allowing you to stay in touch with family, friends, even help you stay organized, useful in emergency situations, etc.

One can often see students walking, talking, sitting while using smartphones. Some students are almost constantly using their phones. Is this a good thing? Is this impacting your anxiety, grades, and your sense of well-being?

A study (1) published in 2014 of more than 500 college students, looked at cellphone usage and found that increasing cellphone usage was related increased anxiety and lower grades. They also found that anxiety and lower grades worsened the students sense of well-being.

Are constant interruptions, multi-tasking provoking your anxiety? How do you know? One way to know might be to consider periodically turning off your cellphone (or setting it to silent mode) when studying, in class, meetings; and see how this feels. Fewer interruptions might also allow you to be more productive and thus feel more satisfied and less anxious.

1. Andrew Lepp, Jacob E. Barkley, Aryn C. Karpinski. The relationship between cell phone use, academic performance, anxiety, and Satisfaction with Life in college students. Computers in Human Behavior 31 (2014) 343–350.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes.  With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

“Opportunity cost: Something a person sacrifices when they choose 1 option over another” (1).

For students, the health impact of marijuana use may be understated, and its harms can be sneaky. Beyond the cost of purchase, what is marijuana use costing you?

Hidden cost #1: Your total time in school
If you use marijuanna 2 or more times per month, you may be 66% more likely to miss 1 or more semesters of class (2): This was shown in a study of 1,133 students over a 4 year time period, starting freshman year, even after adjusting for variables such as demographic characteristics, high school GPA, fraternity/sorority involvement, personality/temperament characteristics, nicotine dependence, and alcohol use disorder (2).

Hidden cost #2: Your future income
6 years after graduation, students who used marijuanna infrequently during college were 3.7 x more likely to be unemployed than non-users (3).

Hidden cost #3: Your ability to study
The use of Marijuanna 4 or more times per month may impair brain functioning.
In this study, students demonstrated poorer verbal learning (p<.01), verbal working memory (p<.05), and attention accuracy (p<.01) compared to non users (4).
This might translate to more time studying or less information learned, mistakes, more frustration and angst with school work; and poor academic performance.

Hidden cost #4: Your emotional health
The cost of missing/prolonging school, poor grades due to marijuanna use, reduction in future and current income (money spent on marijuanna could be used for other things), fear of getting caught, and potential legal consequences are all stressful consequences beyond the biological impact of marijuanna use. Is it worth the extra stress?
Biologically, marijuanna can impact depression; while depression can impact marijuanna use (5).
If you can relate to any of this, you may want to ask yourself… Are these costs worth it?
How much better would your life be if you instead addressed your depression, anxiety, stress/time management skills, in healthier ways like counseling, exercise, meditation, improving medical health, etc?

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References
1. Arria, A. M., Caldeira, K. M., Bugbee, B. A., Vincent, K. B., & O’Grady, K. E. (2013). The academic opportunity costs of substance use during college. College Park, MD: Center on Young Adult Health and Development. Available at www.cls.umd.edu/docs/AcadOppCosts.pdf.
2. Arria AM, Garnier-Dykstra LM, Caldeira KM, Vincent KB, Winick ER, O’Grady KE. Drug use patterns and continuous enrollment in college: Results from a longitudinal study. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2013;74(1):71-83.
3. Arria AM, Garnier-Dykstra LM, Cook ET, Caldeira KM, Vincent KB, Baron RA, O’Grady KE. Drug use patterns in young adulthood and post-college employment. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013;127(1-3):23–30.
4. Hanson KL, et al. Longitudinal study of cognition among adolescent marijuana users over three weeks of abstinence. Addict Behav. 2010 November ; 35(11): 970–976. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.06.012.
5. Pacek, LR, et al. The Bidirectional Relationships Between Alcohol, Cannabis, Cooccurring Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorders with Major Depressive Disorder: Results From a National SampleJ Affect Disord. 2013 June ; 148(0): 188–195. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2012.11.059.

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Posted by R. Ryan Patel DO, FAPA OSU CCS Psychiatrist at 10:06pmPosted in Academic Performance, Cannabis, Cannabis and mental health, Depression, Productivity, Uncategorized Tagged academic success, brain changes, cannabis mental health, depression college students, marijuana brain function, marijuana grades, mental health college student

With the the most recent semester in rear view and next semester coming up, it may be a time to reflect on ways to improve yourself for a better semester and a better you.

Have you considered the many benefits of meditation and/or yoga?

Studies show that mindfulness-based meditation can be helpful for anxiety (1), depression (2), substance abuse (3), eating disorders (4), and improve your sense of well-being and quality of life (5).

College students might have another reason to meditate: it could grow your brain.

In 2 different studies, meditation increased the size of brain regions called the hippocampus (6-7) and the insula (6) (8). This might help with academic performance since these regions are involved in learning (9), memory (9), emotional control (10), for the insula, the process of awareness (11).

In another study (12), participants who practiced an average 27 minutes of mindfulness meditation (MBSR) daily over 8 weeks, had increased concentration of grey matter in brain regions involved in learning, memory processes, emotional regulation, and other processes.

With all these benefits, is it time for you to give meditation a try? Can it help you feel better, or make you a better student? How do you know?

On-campus resources:

• The RPACoffers a number of Yoga classes each week throughout the semester.  Check their group fitness schedule for the latest.
• CCSoffers a weekly meditation workshop, called KORU specifically designed for college students.  Workshops will resume at the start of the semester.
• Meditation groups and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programs happen all over campus- look for them in the new semester!

Online resources for meditation:

• Mindfulness at Ohio State
• Mindfulness Practices from the Wexner Medical Center
• Tools from the OSU Health Plan

Acknowledgements:

A special thanks to my colleagues Jennifer Lang, MA, LSW, MSW, for suggesting a study and Abbey Carter-Logan, MA, PACC-S, for the edits.

Disclaimer:

This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes.  With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References

1. Roemer, L., Orsillo, S.M., Salters-Pedneault, K., 2008. Efficacy of an acceptance-based behavior therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: evaluation in a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 76, 1083–1089.
2. Teasdale, J.D., et. al, 2000. Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 68, 615–623.
3. Bowen, S., et.al , 2006. Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 20, 343–347.
4. Tapper, K., et. al. 2009. Exploratory randomised controlled trial of a mindfulness-based weight loss intervention for women. Appetite 52, 396–404.
5. Carmody, J., Baer, R.A., 2008. Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 31, 23–33.
6. Hölzel, B.K.,  et. al. 2008. Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 3, 55–61.
7. Luders, E., Toga, A.W., Lepore, N., Gaser, C., 2009. The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter. Neuroimage 45, 672–678.
8. Lazar, S.W., Kerr, C.E., Wasserman, R.H., Gray, J.R., Greve, D.N., Treadway, M.T., McGarvey, M., Quinn, B.T., Dusek, J.A., Benson, H., Rauch, S.L., Moore, C.I., Fischl, B., 2005. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport 16, 1893–1897.
9. Squire, L.R., 1992. Memory and the hippocampus: a synthesis from findings with rats,monkeys, and humans. Psychological Review 99, 195–231.
10. Corcoran, K.A., Desmond, T.J., Frey, K.A., Maren, S., 2005. Hippocampal inactivation disrupts the acquisition and contextual encoding of fear extinction. Journal of Neuroscience 25, 8978–8987.
11. Craig, A.D., 2009. How do you feel — now? The anterior insula and human awareness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 59–70.
12. Holzel BK, et al. Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 191 (2011) 36–43.

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Posted by R. Ryan Patel DO, FAPA OSU CCS Psychiatrist at 2:49pmPosted in Academic Performance, Exercise and mental health, Uncategorized Tagged academic success, Meditation, Meditation for mental health, Mindfulness, practices that reduce stress, reduce stress, stress, stress management