Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This show is not a substitute for professional counseling and no relationship is created between the show host or guests and any listener. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, we encourage you to contact the UA Counseling center at 348-3863. If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective counties crisis service hotline or their local mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Bama balance for episode 10. This is real stories about college men's mental health. Today we're down one co host and Johnny, but Dr. Perez and Ari are here and excited. So.
[00:00:56] Speaker C: Yeah, no, it's good to be here and we're missing Johnny today. Hopefully he'll be back on the men soon. Johnny, I know you're going to be listening to this, so we're wishing you well and I'm sure you'll be better by the time you listen to this.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Yeah, hopefully he's listening to this.
[00:01:12] Speaker C: I know it's really. It's something to be kind of laid up and sick when you're looking forward to something.
I know when I tend to get sick and it takes me a while to not come into work when I'm sick. I don't know if it's same thing with you, but when I get sick, I just tend to stay home and do nothing.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm the same way. I am super dramatic about it. You could ask my girlfriend, but I act like I'm dying every time I get a cold.
[00:01:46] Speaker C: When was the last time you were sick?
[00:01:49] Speaker B: I guess I was feeling under the weather last week. Which is last week, right? Yeah, but I. I went to class and did all my things. But last time I was really sick was probably like four weeks ago when I got back from dc.
[00:02:04] Speaker C: Oh, wow. Okay.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
But people heard about it. Yeah.
[00:02:09] Speaker C: They knew you were sick.
[00:02:10] Speaker B: I made sure people knew how I was feeling because I'm quite a pain.
[00:02:16] Speaker C: They know you're sick? We talked about, you know, we talked about things we do when it's a snow day. You know, you watch Harry Potter movies, right? Like that. Do you do anything differently when you're sick?
[00:02:28] Speaker B: Oh, gosh, I am usually.
So I get kind of stressed when I'm sick when I'm like not in class. So I try to get ahead on work to like compensate for the fact that I'm not spending time in class.
[00:02:42] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: But other so it's like I have like two Hours when I'm sick, like maxed out that I can do stuff. And then the rest of the day it's usually laying on the couch watching tv.
[00:02:55] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:02:55] Speaker B: I am a big fan of Psych. Do you know Psych?
[00:02:58] Speaker C: No.
[00:02:58] Speaker B: It's a TV show.
[00:03:00] Speaker C: What's that? On what network?
[00:03:02] Speaker B: I watch on Peacock.
[00:03:03] Speaker C: On Peacock. Okay.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Yeah. It's about like a psychic. Psychic detective.
[00:03:07] Speaker C: No.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. But it's like a comedy.
[00:03:10] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: But also like solving cases.
[00:03:13] Speaker C: Who's in it?
[00:03:16] Speaker B: Shouldn't ask me. I don't know. I don't know any of the actors.
[00:03:19] Speaker C: There are so many shows that are. And they're quality shows that are non network, I should say.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Well, it was on tv. It's older. Yeah.
[00:03:29] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Not like.
Not like old old, but like early 2000.
[00:03:34] Speaker C: Right. I'm still trying to catch up. There's so many great shows. I started watching Severance.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: Oh, really?
[00:03:41] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Do you like it?
[00:03:43] Speaker C: I kind of do. It's really. I'm kind of caught up in it. It's hard to. It's hard to follow.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Everybody's recommended to me.
[00:03:51] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: I usually have to, like, wait till season two before I hop on to, like, really popular shows like Squid Games.
[00:03:59] Speaker C: I never saw it.
[00:04:01] Speaker B: It's a lot.
It's a lot. Yeah.
[00:04:05] Speaker C: Gosh, I think so. Before. Before I started Severance, the last show or series I remember watching was Succession.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:04:15] Speaker C: I loved it.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: Yeah. Good show.
[00:04:17] Speaker C: It's a fantastic show. It's. I guess it's loosely based off of Rudolph Murdoch and his family.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:25] Speaker C: I just can't remember. I just can't imagine the drama that goes on there. Yeah, well, yeah, I was gonna say, if you're sick, it serves you well to take care of yourself the best as you can.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. Well, Johnny, hope you're watching some tv, getting some relaxation in, and you'll be back with us in two weeks from now because we got spring break coming up, but we're excited for this episode. We're going to be talking about diets, so please stay with us in our next segment. This is the Bama Balance.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa. This show is not a substitute for professional counseling. And no relationship is created between the show host or guests and any listener. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, we encourage you to contact the UA Counseling Center center at 348-3863. If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective counties. Crisis Service, Hotline or their local mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
[00:05:57] Speaker C: Welcome back, everybody, to the Bama Balance. And on today's episode, we'll be talking about college men and how diet plays a part of their mental health. And we're happy today to welcome Sheena Gregg. Sheena is the director of our health promotion and wellness department. So, Sheena, thank you for being here today.
[00:06:18] Speaker D: Absolutely. I can't tell you how much I have been looking forward to this. And also getting to a guest of a podcast. This is really nice.
[00:06:29] Speaker C: Sheena was one of the first persons that Nick and Johnny and I turned to to help us out and consult on what do we need to do to start a podcast? How do we need to structure it? What do we talk about? And you were so generous and really so kind with your feedback and willingness to help. So thank you. It's nice to have you on.
[00:06:48] Speaker D: Absolutely. No, I, you know, if you were to have told me seven years ago when I started a podcast with some other folks on campus that I would be a resource to other people, I would not have believed you. But it's nice to kind of see the evolution of the show that I am on. A fit to be tied. And so to get to be on the Bama Balance, which I am still so jealous of. How clever this show name is. Nick, I was telling Dr. Perez in one of our one on one meetings that the Bama Balance is a true testament to. There are still wonderful ideas are out there because you would think something like the Bama Balance would already be taken up by something else, but here we are and it's a fabulous name for this podcast.
[00:07:36] Speaker C: Well, we've had a lot of fun with it.
[00:07:38] Speaker B: Yeah, super exciting. Johnny's the one to credit for the name.
[00:07:41] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:07:42] Speaker B: Creative genius over there, but.
[00:07:44] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Yeah. No, what Dr. Perez was saying, Ms. Greg really helped us out when we're getting our foot in the door. So we're super appreciative and not quite a full circle, but it's great to have you on as one of our guests and we're super excited.
[00:07:59] Speaker D: Oh, absolutely. I feel like seeing it come to fruition. And your mics are quite fancy. I love it. I've got my headset on, so I'm just, just grateful to be a guest today.
[00:08:10] Speaker C: So we'll, we'll need to expand this into a video podcast, I'm sure, so that everybody can see what, what they're missing on audio and it's, it's, it's, it's quite a gig over here.
[00:08:19] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:08:20] Speaker C: Sheena, tell us a little bit about your role at Health Promotions as director.
Some of your background also in dietetics and nutrition.
[00:08:28] Speaker D: Absolutely. So I always like to tout that I am a proud alum of the capstone, getting both my undergraduate and graduate degree here at ua. I think a lot of my involvement was really laced by my time working with Bama Bound as an Avanti orientation leader. I was also a resident advisor, paid for grad school as a hall director for Tutwiler. But I also really cherish a of my involvement opportunities, getting to be in some of the various senior honoraries like Anderson Society, Mortar Board, Blue Key. Still have a lot of really great friendships through those experiences. And then also the professional organization within my academic major when I was in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. But I have been in the department of Health Promotion and Wellness for going on over 15 years now, which is so crazy. And I have told our student workers in the department that my fun fact is that I also was a student worker in the office at one point in time. I had initially been placed at the department when it was under the student Health center for one of my practicum rotations with the dietetic program. And while I was there, they had let me know that there was going to be a student worker opportunity the next semester that a student needed to release themselves from.
It was from those experiences that they ended up calling me several years later asking if I'd be interested in applying to be the dietitian in the department because they had such a positive experience with me as a student. So I always tell students, never burn bridges with preceptors or with those that you've met through your student worker experience. So really full circle moment.
[00:10:22] Speaker C: Those are great tips.
[00:10:23] Speaker B: I think as somebody who's a senior, I wish I had heard that a little bit early, but maybe for the younger listeners, maybe take that one to heart.
[00:10:33] Speaker D: Absolutely. Yes.
[00:10:35] Speaker C: Right. Don't burn any bridges.
[00:10:36] Speaker D: No. Yes. Yeah. So, yeah, first and foremost, let's not get in the business of that in general. So.
[00:10:43] Speaker C: So you've seen like a lot of, I'm sure, full circle moments in your role at Health Promotions. And certainly now can you tell us just a little, a little bit of. Give us a little bit of update in terms of some of the new things, Health Promotions and Wallace's.
[00:10:56] Speaker D: Yes, absolutely. So you always like to talk about how dynamic our department is and especially how it aligns with the initiative and the foundations of the Alabama model, when we think about all of the different ways that we care about students health and well being. And so we, we offer programming related to alcohol and other drug education for our students, also mental health, interfacing a lot with the counseling center, doing a lot of things related to healthy relationships and sexual health, nutrition, eating disorders. One of the things that we're getting online is our peer financial coaching initiatives and working with some of our external partners there to provide those financial literacy resources for students. And then also one of our largest initiatives is Project Health, which is our student organization where we utilize peer health educators. We have them trained in evidence based information on different health topics. And honestly, we are seen as one of the leading programs in peer education for, for college students. So it's really nice to be seen as a benchmark for a lot of comparable institutions. And again, thinking about my time as a student worker in the department several years ago in the early 2000s, Project Health at that point in time was an organization of 11 students.
[00:12:21] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:12:21] Speaker D: And right now we have over 170 peer health educators and they're all on their way to med school or on their way to other really great graduate opportunities. And so to get to be part of their footprint at the capstone is really nice.
[00:12:40] Speaker C: That's fantastic. It's remarkable.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: As a student perspective, I definitely know how impactful Project Health is on campus, so definitely appreciate your efforts there. I've had a bunch of friends get involved in that, so. Very cool. Very cool.
[00:12:55] Speaker C: It's hard not to bump into a Project Health or a peer health coordinator when you're walking around on campus. There's so many of them and the health HUD really is sort of the signature piece for.
[00:13:09] Speaker D: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. I would like to say that, you know, most visually people think of our Health Hut because of its iconic design, but with a lot of our other branches, the way that they engage with students, we try to be innovative. One thing I will say is that our Project Health advocates, which do more of your guerrilla tactic programmin, they are so effective and they get the best engagement numbers because they're going to go up to somebody while they're waiting in line at Starbucks and they'll just, they're bold and they'll engage in that conversation with you. Whereas with the help hut, you know, you're kind of, wait, you kind of have to approach the structure. So I really applaud our advocates. I love all of our Project Health branches. But I'm always really impressed by the way that our advocates are so bold in having those conversations because they know it's important for students to be educated.
[00:14:04] Speaker C: I've got caught, I guess, by the Project Health Advocates as well. And they're effective and, you know, they're a lot of fun to be around in working with, in working in health promotion and wellness. And particularly within your background in dietetics, can you talk a little bit about the role that diet has on a person's mental health in general?
[00:14:31] Speaker D: Yes, absolutely. I think that, gosh, we could certainly spend the entire episode talking about that because I think it is multi layered, you know, when we think, for one, about the specific nutrients that can come into play when we think about mental health, brain health, but then also too, just what students, and particularly our male students, what their attitudes and perceptions are about food, and then how they may be, you know, pretty controlling or intentional about their diet. And then the level of intentionality they have can also have this domino effect of affecting their mental health because they are so preoccupied with the quality of their diet. And so I'd love for us to kind of go into more conversation about that.
[00:15:18] Speaker C: Sure. What would you say in general is the level of awareness that our college men have on nutrition and their mental health?
[00:15:28] Speaker D: Anecdotally through, you know, what I've observed, even just working with students clinically and even in casual conversations, I don't think that it is a natural correlation that most male students have. I think that they are primarily thinking about nutrition as a vehicle for their physical health as it relates to whatever kind of physical activity endeavors they have. But I don't know if there is that specific correlation that they see between how what they're eating or how they eat is affecting their stress or their depression or maybe even navigating the medications that they're using to help with those issues or other mental health issues.
[00:16:14] Speaker C: Right. And I know as a registered nutritionist and dietetic nutritionist, you've also worked individually as well. And so can you share just like a preview of the themes that come up in your work with, with college men?
[00:16:32] Speaker D: Yes, absolutely. So I would say, especially during my time getting the opportunity to work as our dietitian at the student health center and working with students one on one. I would say most of my male patients would come in for nutrition counseling as it relates to their diet quality and their weight. So they're thinking about, you know, weight loss or whatever else. But then as I start having those conversations with them about overall quality of life, there's also those reports of them talking about low energy levels, maybe having issues of depression or having poor stress management skills. And it's nice in those appointments that while they were initially coming for weight management issues, I can draw that connection between the quality of their diet and how it is affecting their mental health.
[00:17:25] Speaker C: That's, that's pretty amazing. And again, we're glad you're here because it's pretty evident that nutrition, diet, mental health are so inextricably woven together. And so we hope to get into more of the experiences and your work with college men and their nutrition and health in the next segment. This is the BAMA Balance.
[00:17:59] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa. This show is not a substitute for professional counseling and no relationship is created between the show host or guests and any listener. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, we encourage you to contact the UA Counseling center at 348-3863. If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective counties crisis service hotline or their local mental health agency, agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
[00:18:44] Speaker B: Everybody, welcome back to the BAMA Balance.
We kind of went over some topics that we're going to get into with Ms. Greg. I kind of wanted to give her the floor to talk about how mental health kind of relates to diet. So, Ms. Greg, if you want to give any insight on that.
[00:19:01] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I think one thing that I actually failed to mention earlier in terms of just clinical expertise, you know, for a long time I worked with clients one on one. And so probably one of the biggest areas that I have my clinical expertise in is eating disorders, disordered eating, and it's, you know, working in eating disorders. It's actually interesting because unless you're in the field, most people aren't going to make the correlation that an eating disorder is technically a mental health disorder. And so when I did work with our college students and working with our students one on one, especially our male clients, getting to educate family members that while, yes, we're considering this an eating or exercise issue, at the heart of this, this is a mental health disorder. And so I think our conversation today is so timely because we don't always make that correlation. And I think that the Internet is a wonderful place for resource information, but it can be so overwhelming. And so I really feel for our generation now that gets so much of their information from the Internet because there's a lot that's out and there's a lot of what I Just call hashtag diet culture that's out there. And so I think that even from that end, that is affecting men's mental health, because there's just overwhelming information. So there's a lot of expectation. And I think that as a society in general, and I could generalize this for a lot of the male clientele that I worked with, there seems to be a lot more emphasis in the expense and quality of these different supplements that they're taking versus actual foods. And, you know, it's funny because I think that for any type of client, we often are constantly thinking like, oh, how do I eat, you know, this kind of quality of food? Or how do I buy this vitamin or mineral supplement? And I have to tell people, if we're not even eating enough in general, the quality of your diet or the quality of this supplement is not really going to do you any favors. And so sometimes I have to use that analogy of if you have a really nice vehicle and you're giving it the best windshield washer fluid or the best oil or whatever else, that car is not going to do what you want it to do if you're not even putting enough gas in the tank. So I think first and foremost, I try to make sure that students are eating enough, because that's also going to correlate with their mental health, too. So sorry for going on that rabbit hole with the analogy, but I think that's just a different way to think about nutrition and mental health.
[00:21:56] Speaker C: No, that's right.
[00:21:57] Speaker B: I had a. I had a question. You said disordered eating and eating disorders are. Is there like, a delineation between those two things?
[00:22:05] Speaker D: There is. So I would say, you know, honestly, most Americans, most individuals will go through some form of disordered eating at some point. And, you know, in a nutshell, I usually tell students, you know, we might do something wonky with our eating. You know, maybe we're casually restricting from time to time, maybe, you know, dabbling in use of, like, a diet supplement or just inconsistency in our eating in general. However, for an actual clinically diagnosed eating disorder, the DSM 5 guidelines will state some clinical criteria that will help a clinician actually indicate that it is a true eating disorder. And a lot of times that's diagnosed by the frequency of behaviors, maybe some anthropometrics, as far as the person's weight being at. At a certain stage, or making maybe frequency of binging behavior, things of that nature, just so that, that we can get that diagnosis. And what's been interesting over the past few years is that there have been a lot of changes to the clinical criteria, so it's easier for people to get that diagnosis, which then leads actually getting the true diagnosis so that insurance will cover it, and then they can get the true level of treatment that they need. Because what we found with some of the different eating disorders that are out there is that, you know, a student may hit three out of the five clinical criteria, but they need X amount to get that true diagnosis. And because they didn't get that diagnosis, but they're still struggling, they don't have that insurance coverage to get that higher level of care that they need.
[00:23:53] Speaker B: Very interesting. That was really informative.
[00:23:55] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. And that delineation helps to know the difference between disordered eating or I guess sort of very casual example is binging on a bag of Doritos versus something that is a health risk and mental health condition.
[00:24:12] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:24:13] Speaker C: Sheena, can you talk a little bit about when you've worked with college men, the issues that they present to you related to diet, nutrition, and how mental health is a part?
[00:24:24] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. So a lot of them will come in with concern about the quality of their diet in general.
So I think that, as many college students, you know, the way that they want to eat doesn't necessarily match what's in their wallet as far as, like, the quality of their diet. So really talking to them about the perceptions there and then. And then one of the things that I often notice with a lot of our college men is just the imbalance in their diet. You know, not getting enough fruits and vegetables, maybe they're not getting enough lean proteins. And so when I can provide some education about how those micronutrients, those vitamins and minerals within, getting that fresh produce or getting some quality protein in their diet actually helps with cognitive and brain performance, serotonin production, it gives them an additional incentive for wanting to change the quality of their diet. Aside from, oh, this will help me in the gym. So when we start talking about, no, I'm not just telling you to eat fruits and vegetables because I'm a dietitian, and that's what I should say. But, you know, I want you to get that folate, that B12, all of these things that it's clinically shown, if you're deficient in these, that can actually contribute to exacerbating depressive episodes, if you are prone to that or anxiety or anything else. So it's always nice to kind of drop that science in there, and especially if I can tell from a patient that those are the things that would motivate them to change the quality of.
[00:26:05] Speaker C: Their diet and how readily or how open are.
Have your clients or patients been to receiving that information and making some change based on it?
[00:26:17] Speaker D: So one of the things that I will often do with my clients, you know, and again, kind of using some clinical discernment there, is that I will often choose to disclose to students that during my time in undergrad and grad school, I experienced disordered eating and eating disorders. And so I kind of set the stage for letting them know that I am not here to judge the quality of their diet. I'm truly here to really help find opportunities to enhance their diet. And that's going to look different for everyone. So I think the big thing that we have issue with with our college students is that they're constantly comparing themselves to their peers. Right? So I like to say comparison is the thief of joy, you know, and your. Your past family health history is going to be completely different from your fraternity brother. Like, I think it's going to be unfair to assume that you both have to eat the exact same way. Your metabolisms are different, your. Your genetics are different.
So that is probably a blanket statement that I just mentioned to anyone. So. So, yeah, I'm often telling students, let's not play the comparison game.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: It's.
[00:27:31] Speaker D: It's easy to do that. But.
[00:27:32] Speaker C: And in working with. With some college. With college men, how. How difficult has it been? Or what are some of the challenges that come up for you in addressing these issues? And how readily do college men sort of take that advice to heart?
[00:27:52] Speaker D: So I think that some of the challenges that I experience would be if the student maybe is having some limitations in their budget, where maybe they are at the mercy of what's being served in the dining hall because that's what's paid for. Or maybe they're at the mercy of only getting to eat what's being served in their fraternity house because their parents have said, hey, we're not giving you any extra funds. You got to eat what's at the house. And then if that's not necessarily matching with some of the recommendations that I'm making to them, that can be difficult also, too, talking to them about their.
What's currently in their tool belt for managing stress. If food is the only tool in their tool belt for managing stress, then that's going to be a red flag to me. I like to give people permission to know that emotional eating can be an appropriate way to cope with our emotions only if it's one of the Many tools that we have. If it's the exclusive tool that we have to navigate difficult emotions and deal with our mental health, that's a problem. So that's where we also make sure that they're connected to other resources, sources too.
[00:29:02] Speaker B: What do you think you would say to somebody who thinks that stress might be getting in the way of, you know, a balanced diet? Like, I know for me sometimes it's, you know, I opt for student center Panda Express when I really should be having a salad or something like that, when I'm just like crunch for time and, you know, that happens a lot. My office is right next to Panda Express.
[00:29:27] Speaker D: So yeah, absolutely. So there's a lot that I would say there. So first I would say, and what I tell a lot of my patients is that whenever we are thinking about health behaviors like our diet or even making time to move our body or to sleep, we need to recognize how important it is for our health, especially our mental health. So if we can prioritize having those things in our life in the same way that we're prioritizing showing up for class or studying for a test, that would be such a game changer. And I think in that when we see the symbiotic relationship between diet, sleep and movement, you know, if one of those things is off balance, that's going to be a domino effect to affect the other areas. So if, you know, if we've had a lack of sleep the night before, then that's probably going to induce stress levels that's going to get us to make more impulsive food choices than when we're choosing a low quality food, which then in turn isn't going to motivate us to want to physically move our body and then we're not getting good sleep. So it's kind of this, you know, it's definitely a cyclical effect for sure.
[00:30:38] Speaker C: So very much is connected, right, with diet and our physical health and mental health that to pay attention to all of that can seem overwhelming. And so it's really nice to have, have resources on campus to have nutritionists, dietitians and our health promotion and wellness office to, to work with our students.
[00:31:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, sorry, came in a little hot to the mic there.
Yeah, thank you so much, Ms. Greg. We're going to kind of wrap it up in our last segment. This has been the Bama Bal.
[00:31:29] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa. This show is not a substitute for professional counseling and no relationship is created between the show hosts or guests and any listener. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student. We encourage you to contact, contact the UA Counseling center at 348-3863. If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective counties crisis service hotline or their local mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
[00:32:13] Speaker C: Welcome back, everybody, to the Bama Balance. And with Machina Greg, our host. And before we end this episode today and our time with Sheena, which has been great, Nick and I have learned so much just from listening to you. Sheena, what are some of the tips and takeaways that you might offer for our students?
[00:32:30] Speaker D: Yes, absolutely. Well, I always, you know, anytime that I can be in front of a class and, and we're talking about just the expected busyness of an academic semester, I like to ask students, okay, when you think about one of those very busy weeks that you have academically, which of these three tend to be on the back burner? And I give the option of quality of diet, sleep or movement. And, you know, and students will have, you know, some varying responses or they might say it's a combination of all three. And I always like to make the point that all three of those are going to be so important for academic performance. Performance, also mental health. And so whenever we are grossly putting one of those on the back burner, the other two are also going to be affected in the quality too. So, you know, I think while it can be very, very easy to allegedly to put sleep on the back burner because we think that if we put sleep on the back burner, it will give us more time in the day, that lack of sleep is going to affect the quality of. Of our diet. I've been doing a lot more lectures lately for both our students and faculty, the correlation between nutrition and sleep and in turn how it is affecting our mental health. So I think that that's something that we, pun intended, don't want to sleep on.
[00:33:51] Speaker C: Sure. No, that's great. That's great. And if you were, if you could imagine yourself sort of doing a presentation or talking with a group of our college men, is there anything specifically that you might want to offer them as a tip or take away knowing how much college men have. Have a difficult time just seeking help in general, what are some of those things?
[00:34:10] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. So what I would say to our college men is that when you're thinking about making dietary changes and especially those related to enhancing your mental health and all forms of our health Is that I want you to think of making dietary goals that think about what you can add to your diet versus takeaway. I think that when we are in a mindset of thinking, oh, I'm not going to eat fried food anymore, I'm not going to eat eat XYZ anymore, those are very what, for lack of better words, I would call punitive goals. They're going to be hard to. To sustain. But if we're thinking, okay, I want to hydrate more, I remember the dietitian saying that if I'm on top of my hydration, that actually enhances cognitive function. Oh, I want to get in more fresh produce from time to time. Maybe I can take this opportunity to plug it into one of my dinners at the house. So when we're thinking about what do we add to our diet that can more sustainable, attainable, and so that makes it more realistic because certainly when we're in our busy undergrad season, that's a season of life that just. We don't have as much control over our diet as we would like to. But if we can think about what are the opportunities where we can make these little changes to enhance things over time, it feel, it feels less daunting.
[00:35:31] Speaker C: That's really good. It doesn't happen. It doesn't have to happen all at once.
[00:35:34] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:35:34] Speaker C: But over time, and being intentional about.
[00:35:36] Speaker D: It absolutely makes a big difference.
[00:35:38] Speaker C: Nick. I've learned a lot.
[00:35:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I have too. Even that, that last piece of advice. I've like, you know, in the past thought about how I can improve my diet and things like that, but it oftentimes like fizzles out because I think of, you know, taking away or like having this mass reformative effect on my diet. But no, this is something I'm a carry through for hopefully the rest of my life. But no, this has been great. And as a student, I really appreciated hearing this information. I found it extremely valuable.
[00:36:13] Speaker C: It's been really great to have you as our guest today, Sheena. And if our student groups or any faculty or staff or student organization want more information or want you to present to them, what's the best way for them to get in touch with you?
[00:36:29] Speaker D: Yes, absolutely. So I always like to send individuals over to our Instagram account. Our handle is Elnessa. We have a link tree within that account that has a link to all the different program offerings that we have. In particular to my expertise area. I do a lot of requested presentations on mindful eating, intuitive eating. So with intuitive eating, having that healthy relationship with food, there's also a presentation that I do for a lot of our friends, Freshman compass courses. That's called Brain Foods. So we talk about how different nutrients affect us cognitively, including our mental health. So we'll give a shameless plug for that.
[00:37:09] Speaker C: That's been great. It's been. It's been wonderful to have you today. Thank you so much for visiting with us.
[00:37:15] Speaker D: Absolutely. I hope I get invited again in the future.
[00:37:17] Speaker C: Oh, anytime. Anytime now. This has been. This has been wonderful. And also, not to. Not to forget, fit to be tied 90.7 the capstone. And that airs on Sundays.
[00:37:29] Speaker D: It does, yes. And then also along as a podcast with the Mamma Balance on the Capstone Voices website.
[00:37:35] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:37:36] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:37:37] Speaker B: Y'all go make sure to check that out.
[00:37:39] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:37:39] Speaker B: They make great content. And they're veterans at this.
[00:37:42] Speaker C: They are.
[00:37:42] Speaker B: They are.
[00:37:43] Speaker C: They are. You know, we always look to the best to figure out how we can always do better. So, Gina, thank you for being here.
[00:37:50] Speaker D: Absolutely. You're kind. And with that, I'm just gonna say Roll Tide. Thank you.
[00:37:53] Speaker C: Roll Tide. Roll Ty side. Nick, this has been great. Again, I think we've learned a lot.
[00:37:57] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. For sure. I feel a lot smarter than when I walked in, so that's always a good room to be in.
[00:38:03] Speaker C: It really is. It really is. So. So with that, I want to thank Sheena Greg again. And we're missing Johnny, but, Johnny, we are hoping that you'll be on the men soon. I'm Dr. Tony Perez.
[00:38:14] Speaker B: I'm Nick Smith.
[00:38:15] Speaker C: And this has been the Bama Balance. Real stories about college men's mental health. See you next time.
[00:38:35] Speaker A: Wvuafm, Tuscaloosa. This show was not intended as a substitute for professional counseling. Further, the views, opinions and conclusions expressed by the show host or their guests are their own and not necessarily those of the University of Alabama, its officers or trustees. Any views, opinions, or conclusions shared on the show, do not create a relationship between the host or any guest and any listener, and such a relationship should never be inferred. If you feel you're in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, please contact the UA Counseling center at 348-3863. If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective county's crisis service hotline or their local mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emerg.
