Tag: Edgar Gonzalez

Stop the Stress

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By Edgar Gonzalez, Staff Reporter

The clinical therapists for CNM Main Campus gets many students dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression, said Merry Guild, CNM clinical therapist.

Anxiety and depression are like the basic colds of mental health, she said.

They see a lot of students that are dealing with the pressures of school but when something else happens the whole house of cards threatens to come down, Guild said.

Learning how to manage your stress is a good thing, she said.

Exercise is super important and it does not have to be fancy gym workouts, she said.

“CNM has fitness classes and those are great,” she said.

There is also a gym that is free for students between 8 am and 5 pm, but even getting a 30-35 minute walk every day at a fast enough pace to get your heart going is enough, she said.

It is also necessary to have good sleep hygiene, which means going to sleep at a regular time, waking up at a regular time, not drinking a lot of caffeine late in the day, and not having a lot of electronics going in the bedroom, Guild said.

“Dealing with the deadlines from school, GPA, and a personal crisis can be real tough,” she said.

Stress breaks people down and it weakens the immune system so a person is more likely to get sick, Guild said.

“It is a vicious cycle where stress hurts your performance which stresses you out more, plus it takes a toll on your self-esteem, sleep, and it just spirals downward,” Guild said.

Stress can also lead to self-harm through violent acts or substance abuse, she said.

There are about 22 achievement coaches that send people in for counseling, they suggest and encourage the students to try it, Guild said.

If there is an academic issue she will send them to an advisor, she said.

She also sends students to the achievement coaches at the Connect office to get food bank and shelter information or to get health care information, she said.

Some of the coaches are like social workers and they have lots of resources in the community, Guild said.

What is available at the school is eight free counseling sessions a year and all students have to do is be enrolled in one class, she said.

There are also two master level interns that are working with Guild to provide counseling but the only counseling that is available in CNM is at Main Campus, she said.

They do some substance abuse counseling but cannot do any court ordered substance abuse counseling, Guild said.

If it is intense substance abuse they are connected with resources that will also do mandate counseling and court reports, she said.

If students need more counseling they will be referred to places that are sliding scale or take Medicare or affordable care so that is easier for students to get long term counseling, Guild said.

UNM psychology training clinic will also see students for individual counseling for $5 a session, she said.

It is pretty rare when someone does not benefit from counseling and when it does not it is because they drop out after one or two sessions, Guild said.

“You know what they say, it is not the counselor but the client or patient and if someone comes in and is looking and willing to do something different they are going to get better,” she said.

Everything is confidential, they do not talk to anybody unless the student signs a release of information, Guild said.

The Vet Success center has moved into the counseling health clinic so that veterans can get counseling as well, she said.

MORE INFORMATION:

For More Help Please Contact

Merry Guild CNM clinical therapist

(505)-224-3271

Student Services Center

Room SSC 207

900 University SE

Call for more information

Get Fit and Win

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By Edgar Gonzalez, Staff Reporter

HealthyWage is a program where people can compete for prices while losing weight at the same time in order to improve their long term decision making skills, said David Roddenberry co-founder of HealthyWage.

The program is set up to make weight loss fun and easy for staff and their families, he said.

All staff members and families are welcome to join this event, he said.

This includes staff from UNM, CNM, and APS, he said.

“Our goal is to help people with their long term healthy living”, Roddenberry said.

Daniel Tena, Chemistry major, said the price is $20 every month for a total of $60, but they ask for $75 during sign up, but people usually get much more than they initially invest.

The rules are that people must lose six percent of their bodyweight and form a team of three to five people in order to win, he said.

It is possible for each member with in a team to win a part of the prize, he said.

The prize is whatever money is put in by the participants after HealthyWise takes a 20 percent cut, he said.

The first step of the program is to weigh in and there are multiple options for that, said Tena.

One way is to make a thirty second video in your house and submit it in or you can make other arrangements, said Tena.

Roddenberry said, different resources are provided for those who choose to join the program,.

These include a nutritionists and a coach to help people on their progress to a healthier life, said Roddenberry.

The atmosphere is child friendly and people are welcome to bring their children, said Roddenberry.

The company is in its seventh year and has worked with more than 600 clients, said Roddenberry.

About 40 percent of clients have succeed the six percent weight loss goal, said Roddenberry.

The 12 week program consists of four weeks of nutrition, four weeks of physical activity, and four weeks of more focused weight loss, said Roddenberry.

Another resource that can be used are videos online that clients can watch in order to help them with their weight loss program, said Roddenberry.

There are other programs that assist with weight loss for individuals that do not qualify for this specific program, said Roddenberry.

“People who attend this program usually continue their weight loss journey thanks to the competition, the friendships established, and their pride”, said Roddenberry.

The team is the most important component to this program, said Roddenberry.

This is the same program for everyone and all weight classes have the same chance of achieving their goals, said Roddenberry.

The overall goal is to help people make better decisions and help people live healthier lives, said Roddenberry.

Tena said, after a team wins the price gets split up between the participants.

“There are a lot of fun workouts to do and everyone is so nice”, said Tena

If a person does not have a group to join with the program will provide you with a team to join, it is a very nice way to meet new people, said Tena.

 

MORE INFORMATION

Email   info@healthywage.com

Email us for the fastest response!

Use our Support system and log a request here.

Phone  (888) 636-3832

Wait times may apply – email is best!

Fax      (651) 964-3499

Call for more information

Finals week no more

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By Edgar Gonzalez, Staff Reporter

Finals week has been where all instructors would present the finals that students must take.

The change of this policy has had some effects on a few students, state the students of CNM.

No longer having a finals week might harm students in a variety of ways, said Liberal Arts major Jessica Morales.

Some students might already have things planned for the way it usually was and it might hurt them by preparing the wrong way, she said.

“Some negative sides to this is that some students might have conflicting schedules to the final exams,” said Architecture major Orlando Sparsa.

Some students might not be ready for some exams depending on when the instructors have them scheduled, he said.

On the other side, this would make it fairer for students, since people who do not show up to class will have a harder time passing, said Criminology major Soraida Soto.

“This could affect the way some students look at CNM and might make them go somewhere else for school,” she said.

This will actually harm students by contributing to test anxiety and stress making them have lower test scores than they would regularly have, said Biology major Daniel Morales.

Although it might affect the students, the school itself will not have a big change on its part, he said.

This is still an excellent decision by CNM because it might be less pressure on the student since there could be less problems, Morales said.

This would give more leniency toward everybody, Sparsa said.                                                            Other than this I believe that everything else will stay the same, he said.

“I believe this change is better, I remember last semester I had a conflicting schedule with another class at the Montoya campus and this change could help students that face the same situation that I had,” said Integrated Studies major Tatianna Perlinsky.

Other than affecting the students who do not study there is no way that this change can affect anyone else; the instructors still have to do everything the same way so there really is no change on their part, she said.

If students are prepared this change should cause little to no problems, she said.

It can be very helpful but maybe more confusing depending on the class and the instructor, said Jessica Morales.

“I only see this change making it easier on instructor so they can maintain their regular schedule and that is it,” said Morales.

As for the rest of the CNM staff there are not many things that will change for them with no more finals week, he said.

Working Together | How instructor office hours are viewed on campus

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By Edgar Gonzalez, Staff Reporter

Instructors can help students during offices hours, not only with school problems, but with other kinds of problems a student may face on a daily basis, said English major Todd Rodie.

The first time a student goes to get help from an instructor the process can be a little awkward but it gets easier as the student meets with the instructor more often, he said

“Once you are there they may talk about other random things, instructors are pretty cool,” he said.

All students would benefit from going to office hours which are offered by CNM instructors for students if they need extra help, said Nursing major Carlos Corona.

That is exactly why I think people should go to office hours, just to build a better relationship with their instructors, he said.

Although it can be very helpful to visit instructors it is also very intimidating, Rodie said.

People mostly go and do their own work and try to do things themselves, said Welding major Robert Quesada.

“There are a lot of reasons why students do not come, they are shy, or the office hours come in conflict with their schedules, said John Rogers, full-time instructor.

At first students seem a little shy but they tend to relax after a while, he said.

Some students do not attend office hours because they do not need the extra help, or they have other resources they can use to find what they are looking for, said Criminology major Danielle Romero.

“My instructors have told me about office hours but I think most instructors help people in the class better,” Quesada said.

Most of the material is covered in class, but most students would benefit from attending office hours for a little extra help, Rogers said.

Some students might email their instructors when they have questions, Romero said.

Rogers gets some emails from students but they are mostly for makeup exams not really for help on any particular subject, he said.

“There is another reason why I do not receive many students at office hours, most of the time it is because they catch me and ask questions before or after class,” he said.

Some students are just too lazy to go out of their way and go to the instructors’ office hours, Corona said.

Some students might be too scared to visit office hours as well and some instructors might even discourage students from getting help, he said.

Since office hours might interfere with some of the students’ schedules, they probably look for other help, like their friends, Quesada said.

Students do not take full advantage of office hours, Rogers said.

There are some things that can be changed in order to increase student attendance in office hours but it is still up to the student to go, Romero said.

Most students who decide to attend office hours will gain something from the experience, Rodie said.