Healthy UNH Blogger: Sarah Shaw
Improving Quality of Life through Preventive Care Since the start of the pandemic in March, many people across the United States have reported delaying or even cancelling appointments for routine care, and even not seeking emergency care when it was needed out of fear of contracting COVID-19 at the medical facility they attend. In September, the CDC released survey data that was collected in June on delay or avoidance of medical care because of COVID-19. The survey was administered to adults... Read More
An Update from Pfizer Inc. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, pharmaceutical companies all around the world have answered the call to action for creating a vaccine for the virus (Sars-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19. As of Monday, November 9th, Pfizer Inc. released results from their latest COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. Pfizer Inc. is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and is based out of New York City, Ny. In the third phase of testing,... Read More
Using Light Therapy to Treat SAD As we are past daylight savings times, the days are getting shorter every single day. Our time with precious sunlight gets shorter and shorter every day. Not to mention the classic New England weather that we can soon expect; the regular cold air and darkness takes a serious toll on our emotional wellbeing year after year. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that is very common. Up to 3 million people will experience some degree of SAD... Read More
Virtual Fitness at UNH This semester, the Hamel Rec. Center (HRC) here at UNH was able to create an environment where UNH community members can continue to engage in physical activity throughout the pandemic. There are many new policies in place, but they are in efforts to help patrons feel safe and relaxed in the gym and in group fitness classes. Unfortunately, UNH community members who have not been participating in the COVID-19 testing were unable to go to their favorite gym and group... Read More
Doing Our Best to Stay Healthy As we are still amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and may even be approaching a third wave of outbreaks; we are also coming up on the annual flu season. Many health experts are predicting that a potential third wave of COVID-19 cases in addition to the flu could completely cripple our healthcare system resulting in a surge of deaths from COVID-19, the flu, and other health conditions. Additionally, as hospitals become overrun, people seeking emergency care for things... Read More
Living Well Services Through Health and Wellness Health can be defined as the absence or presence of disease or illness. Wellness is oftentimes defined as being more than an absence of disease or illness. It fully encompasses and includes mental, emotional, and social wellbeing (to name a few). Although a person may be technically “free of disease” if they are not intune with and maintaining their emotional or social wellbeing, they may notice that their quality of life has taken a down turn.... Read More
Box Breathing If you’ve ever looked into stress management techniques or exercises; I’m sure you have come across some pretty involved things. Things such as restorative yoga, coloring and listening to music, going for a walk in nature, the list could go on. And not that there is anything particularly “wrong” with these things. They can just be a little bit time consuming - especially for those with busy or constantly changing schedules. Additionally, these are all activities that involve... Read More
How Healthcare is Changing in New Hampshire Since the start of the pandemic, healthcare in the United States has seen many new changes. One of these changes includes the actual delivery of healthcare. When shutdowns first began, many “nonessential” services (such as routine physicals) were halted. This sparked a major push towards implementing telehealth services for the continuation of these “nonessential” services. Telehealth services are defined by the Mayo Clinic as “the use of digital... Read More
Elevating Your Emotional Wellbeing with Positive Affirmations The power of positive affirmations is something that has been widely discussed (and even researched) in the field of psychology. In fact, there is even a theory for it; self-affirmation theory. The theory states that “when people’s self-image has been threatened they are motivated to affirm the integrity of the self. Moreover, people have a desire to restore their general self-image, not simply to resolve the specific threat”.... Read More
What Are You Really Looking For? Recently, I wrote a blog on Doomscrolling and how endlessly scrolling through social media reading news headlines can wreak more havoc on our mental health than we think. The point of this blog was to draw attention to how damaging some of the current headlines can be to our emotional wellbeing; and ultimately, our spirits. Since writing this blog, I have heard a lot of things about “hopequesting”. After doing some investigating, I learned that hopequesting is... Read More
Name: Sarah Shaw
Hometown: Springvale, ME
Major: Nutrition and Wellness
Graduation Year: 2021
What do you do to make a healthy UNH: I am involved in a lot of different orgs on campus! In these orgs, I always try to connect with as many people as I can and remind them about the importance of self-care!
Favorite food: This is something that always changes for me, but as of right now, I'm going to say tacos!
Favorite movie: Captain America
Favorite book: The Power of Kindness by Piero Ferrucci
What place in the world do you most want to visit: I would love to go to Colombia! The food looks amazing, it is a country rich in culture, and they have the best coffee in the world.
Favorite dining hall: Stillings all the way. The variety is amazing, and the vegan bar is phenomenal!
What do you love about UNH: I really love the energy of campus. It always feels so energentic and happy all of the time!
As a Healthy UNH intern, what are you most excited about: I am most excited to share my passion for all dimensions of wellness with other students!
