Health

Does stress have you down?

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

Stress can be a terrible thing. It can rob you of sleep, make you lash out at those you love, and it can make you physically ill. Like I said, it’s not nice.

I know a gal who holds many things inside. She now has ulcers in her mouth- the doctor says that they are totally stress-related. The ulcers make eating difficult and painful. They make sleeping uncomfortable. They make life pretty darn miserable.

What can you do about stress? Some folks find exercise helpful. Others drink (I don’t recommend this!) Others go to the movies, watch tv, or listen to their favorite music.

If you are stressed  from college, I recommend going and talking to your teachers. Tell them what you are going through. If you go to a Christian college, you can ask them to pray for you. (I have had students ask me to pray for them at the two secular colleges where I teach. I am happy to do it.)

What do you do to relieve stress? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Like the old saying goes: you don’t get ulcers from what you eat. You get ulcers from what is eating you. Literally, food for thought.

Best,

Dr. Sheri

 

Avoiding the Freshman Fifteen

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

Today’s blog is on avoiding gaining the weight that you might otherwise pick up in college. They traditionally call it the “freshman fifteen” but I didn’t find it until graduate school.

You know how it goes- you are busy working and studying; shopping and preparing nutritionally-sound food seems out of reach for your hectic schedule. Or perhaps you are busy studying and trying to stay awake, so you reach for the goldfish or Twinkies. Stop right there, my friend! Hold it!

When you go to the store, please buy apples or oranges or something that will give you the immediate gratification of eating, without the calories. Yes, the local food store on campus has shelves and shelves of candy and chips and ice cream treats and a myriad of other delectable goodies, but what will eating them do to your shape?

Instead of indulging while studying and adding on the pounds, take the time to get healthier snacks. It would be ideal to not eat in between meals at all but I know that, when you are reading a particularly dull chapter in a textbook that bores the daylights out of you as you study this lower level core class that you never wanted to take, it can be soothing to eat something, but try to not eat excessive calories. After all, reading is not an active sport! Reading one chapter does not immediately equate to burning the bazillion calories that the treat you are looking at in the school vending machine will add to your diet.

In other blogs, I have talked about using note cards to study. If you have some prepared, take them and go out for a walk rather than reaching for the gummy bears or pizza. I prepared for my qualifying exams for months. During that time, I printed out a 16 point font copy of my notes and taped it to the wall in front of my treadmill. That allowed me to study, stay awake, and burn calories rather than consume them. Food for thought, my friends.

I would love to hear from you as you share your ideas on this topic. Please use my name in your comments, so that I will know you aren’t spam and can pass your wisdom along to others.

Best,

Dr. Sheri

Learning to say “no”

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

One of the hardest things for a people-pleaser to do is to say “no” when someone makes a request. If you are serious about your future, sometimes you have to turn down a request to do something.

When starting college or a new job, this is something you need to be able to say pretty quickly, or you will miss deadlines. I used to be very active in my church, but taking on home schooling and a double major in college made it so I could no longer be at church every time the doors opened.  The amazing thing is that they replaced me pretty quickly. Ladies’ banquets still got planned and thrown, missionaries still got treated to a home cooked meal when they arrived, and children still got babysat in the nursery. And this happened all without my showing up to open up and set up and staying to lock up the church at the end of the event. What an eye-opener!

While I did enjoy continuing my involvement with the adult choir and Passion Plays, everything else could wait until I finished college. It took 14 years for me to complete my education, but the church is still running. The good thing about saying “no” is that you give someone else the opportunity to serve. You can still support the ministries through prayer; you can still support any causes you believe in through donations or encouragement. The bottom line is: You don’t have to do it all yourself! I have found that, if the cause is worthwhile, 100% of the time someone else steps up and does the job you felt you absolutely had to do.

What have you learned about saying “no?” How did you get over your feelings of being the only one who could do or run something? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Best,

Dr. Sheri

What constitutes beauty?

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

What do you think makes someone beautiful? Is it the inner glow or a well-turned makeup and hair job? Do you think it is the combination of these internal and external things?

Recently, I attended a conference where a friend of mine was going to give a presentation. Someone else had the room right before she did, so we entered and sat in the back, waiting for her turn. As it happened, the previous speaker was a radical feminist who was sharing her view of the world.

When the workshop was over, my friend and I headed for the front of the room, to get things ready for her presentation. The feminist cornered me and said, “I just want you to know that you don’t need to dye your hair anymore. You can stop curling your hair and you should dump that silly flower. You can stop wearing makeup and you don’t need jewelry or fancy clothes anymore. Wear jeans and T-shirts and be comfortable.”

Before I could respond, she went on her way. Now folks, your author is someone whose theme song as a child was “I Enjoy Being a Girl.” If you have ever seen me, you know that I do not go out of the house without my hair done, my makeup on, and my “silly flower” firmly planted in my hair. I wear jewelry, though not to excess, and try to always look my best. Why? Because I feel better about myself when I do it.

What do you think about the feminist’s comments to me? How would you have responded? I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Best,

Dr. Sheri

P.S. Yes, I dye my hair. My former pastor always said, “If the barn needs painting, paint it.” I chose to use brown paint.

The importance of watching out for drug interaction

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

Today’s blog may seem a bit unusual for Christmas Day but I wanted to share with you a recent experience with an elderly relative. He lives alone, following the death of his beloved wife two + years ago. He was put on Flomax three months ago, but unknown to his other relatives, he did not tell them that he also started taking a “vitamin” for sleeplessness at the same time.

Sadly, the “vitamin’s” side effects mimicked the side effects for Flomax and he ended up catatonic. Fortunately, his daughter was with him when his problem emerged and she was able to call 911. He recovered completely, after almost two days in the hospital.

The lesson here is: let your family members and your doctors know everything that you take. We wasted valuable diagnostic time by not knowing until day two that he was taking a sleep aid. He could have died, but we are very thankful that, once we realized what the problem was, he could be treated.

Best,

Dr. Sheri

Sending notes to the ill

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

This might be an unexpected blog posting for this time of year, but have you thought about sending notes to folks who are ill?  Your thoughtful comments would mean so much to someone who is hurting.

Here are some tips on how to approach this:

You do not need a fancy, pre-printed card. Food stores (like Safeway, in my neck of the woods) carry blank greeting cards that are available by the packet. I buy some pretty cards in bulk and then send them out as the need arises (it always arises).

Do not tell the other person “I know exactly how you feel.” Obviously, you don’t, but you can share your own personal experience that is similar to what they are facing. Do not make this all about yourself, however.

Mention what the person is experiencing (“I heard that you recently lost your (mother, sister, husband, whoever) and wanted you to know that you are in my thoughts and prayers”). You can then tell the individual about your own connection to their grief (“I remember when John walked out, and understand what that feels like….”). Offer assistance, if you wish (“I would love to come over and cook dinner for you on Tuesday night….”) or just let the friend know that you are available (“I am here if you would like to talk about this or if you just want to have a cup of coffee sometime”). Close the note with assurances (“This is a difficult time but …”). Do not tell the person that he or she will laugh about it some day. There might not be any laughing about this for years, especially if John wiped her out financially when he left to go live with that hussy.

This is not something that takes a lot of time, but it can really be an encouragement to the other person. It can also be a blessing in your own life, as you reach out to someone who is going through difficult circumstances right now.

Best,

Dr. Sheri