Doctor Crossman read a series of different questions that students wanted to ask about wellness.
One student asked about how to stay healthy when your roommate is sick. Teresa Dadez, the Director of the Health and Wellness Center was able to give advice on this question and said the number one thing to do to avoid getting sick is washing your hands.
“We are here to help you get well,” said Dadez.
Another question that came up was about being stressed out or overwhelmed and how you can overcome stress. Krista Jones, the Assistant Director of Counseling Services, said that counseling is always on campus to help even if you are just stressed and overwhelmed over schoolwork. Counseling is there to help you find balance.
The other five panelists were Darin Graves who is a Structural Energetic Therapist, Matthew Luckie who is a Personal Trainer/Health and Fitness Specialist, Wade Morris who is the President/ CEO of AHOY Integrative Health, Stephen Okey who is the Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Theology and Religion, and Randall Woodard who is the Associate Professor of Theology and Religion.
Wade Morris made a comment saying that exercise and staying hydrated is very important in staying healthy, which also helps anxiety and stress.
“What will constitute living a happy life? Even though you do not feel like doing something, do it, because you will feel a lot better in the end,” said Randall Woodard
Matthew Luckie who is a Personal Trainer, had a lot of good advice on exercise. He said there are people who are afraid to go to the gym because they are intimidated by those who go all the time and know what they are doing. If you do not want to go to the gym, there are plenty of other resources you can find in order to exercise at home on your own. Everyone has their own starting point in terms of getting in shape. He also mentioned that there are activities you can do that are not necessarily exercise activity. This could include parking far away and walking further or taking the stairs.
Professor Woodard had a really interesting topic to talk about during the discussion. He brought up the trip he made to Spain for a challenge known as the “Camino Santiago.” He went on this journey for six weeks where he walked five hundred miles across Spain. He got up every morning and walked six to eight hours and was able to lose thirty pounds. Woodard said he did this because he wanted to have an intense physical and spiritual experience that challenged him. He was able to meet many people from all over the world, gained more appreciation for life, and began to notice what was going on around him more often.
The rest of the discussion was about getting a flu shot and all the other vaccinations you should be getting every year. The flu virus spreads around every once in a while and there are thousands of other viruses that you can get as well. Ebola was brought up at the very end since this respiratory virus has hit the United States. This virus can be received from the contact of blood or saliva. It is important to wash your hands all the time and be careful around those who are sick or getting sick.
Dr. Crossman was the one who came up with doing the panel discussion. She thought this discussion was a great opportunity for students to learn the different dimensions of wellness. Crossman said that the main purpose of the discussion was for students to have the chance to learn and ask questions about wellness in a non-academic setting. She thought it was a good idea to ask the school nurse to talk and for the school counselor to talk about staying healthy and not getting overwhelmed. She also asked professors who teach Choosing Wellness to talk about health and professors who teach Religion or Theology to talk about spiritual wellness. Her main goal was to get students to come in and be able to ask questions they would not normally ask during a class.
