Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015

T U E S DA Y, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 015

ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN DORROUGH

“I didn’t have any issue with food. I had an issue with myself.”

— Alexis Penny, chemical engineering freshman

Spectrum of suffering Eating disorders cause many issues for women MARY SMITH

news reporter @marysmitty21

Eating disorders are some of the biggest issues that young women face today, especially on college campuses, with approximately 10-15 percent of the adolescent and young adult population reporting having a disorder, according to the article “College Women Eating Disorder Diagnostic Profile and DSM-5.”

There are three kinds of eating disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Binge eating disorder consists of eating large amounts of food and feeling a lack of control or self-disgust afterward. It is associated with physical and psychological problems. Bulimia nervosa,

according to the DSM-5, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and followed by self-induced vomiting. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a distorted body image along with extreme dieting and a fear of gaining weight.

An additional disorder is called an ‘eating disorder not otherwise specified.’ It has become a more common diagnosis for young women whose eating disorders fall somewhere in between the other diagnoses, according to the article.

At the start of her second semester of her junior year of high school, international business and economics freshman Amy Freeman began experiencing symptoms of bulimia. She had moved away from her parents to attend a residential early college high school program, so the stress of being apart from her family, along with recent weight gain, triggered the eating

disorder, Freeman said.

Freeman had grown up in a household where food was low-calorie and served in small portions, and the freedom to eat more and a variety of foods resulted in her gaining 10 pounds her first year at the new school.

“It was terrifying. Even though it was probably weight that I needed, it was still terrifying,” Freeman said.

O n her bad days, she found herself avoiding food or having difficulty choosing food; and when she did, it would be plain food, such as lettuce, and she would just pick at it or take small bites.

Later in the day, however, she would feel so stressed that she would binge, Freeman said.

“To resolve (binging) you have to throw up,” Freeman said. “The binging would be a response to sadness or anxiety, and the only way to resolve that would be to throw up. I knew that if I

threw up that I would feel better mentally … but that I would feel sick physically. It was always a choice between that.”

People who have eating disorders often suffer from some other mental illness, which was the case with Freeman.

After binging and purging regularly for six months, she spent a month at summer camp after her junior year and had quit cold turkey.

She was isolated from everyday stresses and was constantly with other people, including close friends.

“It was incredibly helpful because … I realized that I was really unwell,” she said.

Her time there gave her body a chance to heal and return to normal, which made it harder to completely return to her bulimic behaviors, she said.

SEE DISORDER PAGE 4

Editor’s note: The Mental Health Issue

President authorizes hiring of new mental health psychiatrist

This week, we’ve dedicating our coverage to mental health awareness. We know OU students struggle with mental illness. We know that mental illness is prevalent on college campuses, and that our campus could be better equipped to handle students’ difficulties.

We also know that students struggling with mental illness often keep it to themselves, for fear of being dismissed or misunderstood.

With this issue and tomorrow’s, we hope to shed light on mental health issues at OU and beyond and to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Keep the conversation on mental health going: tweet using the hashtag

DAISY CREAGER

WEATHER Claer skys with a high of 63, low of 39.

#yOUrmentalhealth to share your experiences with mental illness or to show support for those suffering with mental health issues.

Monday’s stories: A lack of mental health resources on campus A look at the most prevalent mental illnesses on campus Concerns about concussions in football players Student veterans lack resources on campus for PTSD

OUDaily.com For all of our stories on mental health, visit bitly. com/yOUrmentalhealth

FIND US ONLINE

Boren rallies for increased mental health resources news editor @daisycreager

OU President David Boren and university health services officials will begin taking steps to address mental health issues across campus, according to a statement Monday.

Boren said in the statement that he has asked Will Wayne, the associate vice president for health services at OU, and Scott Miller, the director of the University Counseling Center, to report to him directly with recommendations on additional resources to address mental health on campus.

He released the statement in response to The Daily’s mental health coverage and student group OUr Mental Health’s addressing of the university’s lack of mental health resources.

Boren also held a conference call at about 2:30 p.m.

Monday with JD Baker, the president and organizer of OUr Mental Health, and other students concerned with OU’s lack of mental health resources. Baker said Boren told them about a conversation he had with Wayne and Miller regarding mental health and that Boren spoke with conviction about the need for resources to be made more available for OU students.

“To me, it’s pretty humbling that the university has administration who cares so much about its students, especially in a time where we’re looking at

OU DAILY OUDaily.com

the University of Missouri, where officials resigned because they don’t know how to listen to students,” Baker said.

Baker said Boren’s call makes him excited for the future of OUr Mental Health and the administration’s support.

“We’re going to do what we can do to help out the u n i ve r s i t y , a n d I k n ow they’re going to help us out.

It’s apparent now that they really care,” Baker said.

Read Boren’s statement addressing mental health resources at OU below: “I commend the OU Daily and OUr Mental Health for focusing on the problem of mental health in our society and on our campus.

When we look at problems across our society it is clear that they cannot be solved without a greater investment in mental health. Our

campus is not immune from these issues. I have asked Will Wayne, Associate (Vice) President for Health Services, and Scott Miller, D i re c t o r o f U n i v e r s i t y Counseling Center, to report back to me directly on recommendations for additional resources.

“Unfortunately, because of large expected state budget cuts an ideal solution will not be easy, but I feel strongly that we must make our best effort and make measurable progress. As of today I have authorized the hiring of an additional psychiatrist. We will be monitoring the availability of counselors as well.”

Daisy Creager Daisy.C.Creager-1@ou.edu

OU YAK OF THE DAY “I’d like a student discount for tuition, please.”

oudaily

OUDaily

@OUDaily

theoklahomadaily

VOL. 101, NO. 043 © 2015 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25¢

2

• Tuesday, November 24, 2015

NEWS

Page Jones, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

Oklahoma ranks low in mental health resources

45th

A top ranking on the scale indicates lower prevalence of mental illness and higher rates of access to care.

A low overall ranking indicates higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care.

Factors in the rankings:

1. Adults with any mental illness (AMI) 2. Adults with dependence or abuse of illicit drugs or alcohol 3. Adults with serious thoughts of suicide 4. Children with emotional behavioral developmental issues (EBD) 5. Youth dependence or abuse of illicit drugs or alcohol 6. Youth with at least one major depressive episode 7. Adults with AMI and uninsured 8. Adults with AMI who received treatment 9. Adults with AMI reporting unmet need 10. Children with EBD who were consistently insured 11. Children who needed but did not get mental health services 12. Students identified with seriously emotional disturbance for an individualized education plan 13. Children with ongoing EBD reporting inadequate insurance 14. Adults with disability who could not see a doctor due to costs 15. Mental health workforce availability

Rankings for behavioral mental health: 1: Massachusetts 2: Vermont 3: Maine 4: North Dakota 5: Delaware 6: Minnesota 7: Maryland 8: New Jersey 9: South Dakota 10: Nebraska 11: Connecticut 12: Iowa 13: Hawaii 14: Pennsylvania 15: Wisconsin 16: Illinois 17: New York 18: North Carolina 19: Kansas 20: Virginia 21: Ohio 22: Missouri 23: New Hampshire 24: Rhode Island 25: Tennessee 26: Florida

27: Kentucky 28: Colorado 29: California 30: District of Columbia 31: Alaska 32: Georgia 33: South Carolina 34: Indiana 35: West Virginia 36: Texas 37: Utah 38: Wyoming 39: Alabama 40: Oregon 41: Michigan 42: Idaho 43: Arkansas 44: Montana 45: Oklahoma 46: New Mexico 47: Louisiana 48: Washington 49: Nevada 50: Mississippi 51: Arizona Source: mentalhealthamerica.net

State status in poor condition Oklahoma ranks 46th in mental health funding BRYCE MCELHANEY news reporter @bryce_mac

Substance abuse, prison systems and education have one thing in common in Oklahoma: they are leading factors in Oklahoma’s poor mental health status.

Oklahoma ranks 45th nationally in behavioral mental health — adults nearly leading at 49th nationally and children at 43rd, according to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

“We’ve been a state that basically funds downs t r e a m ,” M i k e B r o s e ,Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services executive director, said.

“What I mean by that is, it’s been said many times, many ways, that our mental health treatment and institutions have become our jails and prisons here in Oklahoma,” he said.

According to the O klahoma D epar tment of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ fiscal year 2016 budget request, $10,214,447 is required to maintain existing programs, and overall $141,104,999 is required to implement several programs like saving lives and families through suicide prevention, improving behavioral health access for Oklahoma’s health and safety as well as screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment private/public partnership.

“Everybody says to me,

‘Mike, we just need more money in the system.’ Well we may, and we probably do, but we also need to reformulate, retool and rethink,” Brose said.

Jeff Dismukes, Oklahoma Dire ctor of Health and Substance Abuse Services public information director, said the state’s mental health problem isn’t something that has happened over night.

“We’re looking at decades of underfunding related to mental health and substance abuse issues,” Dismukes said. “It’s really unfair to point toward all of these fixes that have to happen immediately.”

The public system has greater need than available resources, he said.

“Some things have happened in the last few years where we funded some programs that provide services to very specific at-risk populations, and those are making a difference,” he said.

Oklahoma State Re p. B o b by C l e v e l a n d , R-Cleveland County, said the legislature hasn’t put mental health as one of its priorities over the years.

“We’ve really got a problem that needs to be addressed, and we can’t keep kicking the can down the road,” he said.

“It’s not a party-line situation. It’s just over in-general,” Cleveland said. “There hasn’t been discussion. Our mental health in Oklahoma is not good, and we’ve got to do a better job.”

He said Oklahoma’s record for mental health is not great, but he believes people are becoming more aware of it.

“I see that the attitude in the House is changing,” Cleveland said. “I see we’re

changing with our prisons, and it’s changing on mental health.”

“That’s one of the problems we’ve had — it just wasn’t being talked about enough,” he said.

Mark Britzman, assistant professor of educational psychology, said it’s not all about funding, though the state is 46th in mental health funding.

“If it’s true that it takes a village to raise a child, what is going awry?” Britzman said.

He said there needs to be a change in dealing with Oklahoma children in education or in the child’s environment.

“Every behavior is neuro-chemical,” Britzman said. “What happens is, there’s a high rate of trauma in Oklahoma for whatever reason. It could be sexual trauma. It could be child abuse, neglect, those types of things, (or) poverty or lack of education.”

Trauma at early stages in life can lead to bad decision making directly caused by cortisol, a chemical released when an individual is distressed or traumatized, physiologically affecting parts of the brain, he said.

“Make sure all the kids have warm, emotional attachment,” Britzman said.

“Make sure that they’re nourished, that they don’t have trauma and abuse that releases cortisol, which begins to contaminate parts of the brain and the prefrontal cortex.”

He said poor decision making can naturally lead to incarceration.

Brose said Oklahoma has a strong incarceration punishment mentality, which is counterintuitive to improving mental health.

“We’ve incarcerated a lot of people, who have committed nonviolent acts in some shape or form, that are tied to either untreated mental illness or the use and abuse of substances,” Brose said.

Cleveland said most of thes e people who have been incarcerated were either robbing to get drugs, self-medicating or buying drugs.

“It’s all around drugs,” he said.

“Some of the people who we have incarcerated have never committed a violent crime at all, and we’re putting them in prison. As a society, that is just wrong,” Cleveland said.

Something that can help the substance abuse problem is a drug called

Vivitrol, which is new on the Oklahoma market and does not allow individuals to feel drunk or high for 30 days, Cleveland said.

“I’m trying to get private funding for this to get started in Cleveland County, because I believe in it so much,” he said.

Another factor weighing in on the problem, Brose said, is the various state agencies like the department of education, department of health, department of labor, law enforcement, treatment providers and political leadership.

“No one entity can be able to move us or transform us to move from (45th in national behavioral mental health) up to where the people of this state need and deserve,” Brose said.

There isn’t an easy resolution, but there is a need for a blue-ribbon panel in Oklahoma to study the issues, he said. “ We n e e d o u r g ov e rnor to really put together a blue-ribbon panel, and to really study this, and bring (Fallin’s) recommendations about how we move upstream,” Brose said. “(Fallin) said we need to reduce incarceration. You want to reduce incarceration? Take this on.”

Bryce McElhaney btmcelhaney@gmail.com

Adopt - An - Area Area ratings for this week Air Force ROTC Alpha Chi Omega Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Delta Phi Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Phi Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Sigma Kappa Alpha Tau Omega Beta Theta Pi Catholic Student Assn.

Chi Omega Delta Chi Delta Delta Delta Delta Epsilon Psi Delta Gamma Delta Phi Omega Delta Sigma Theta Delta Tau Delta

Delta Upsilon Gamma Phi Beta Hispanic American Student Assn.

Iota Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Delta Chi Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Psi Lambda Chi Alpha N. Soc. of Collegiate Scholars Omega Delta Phi Omega Psi Phi Our Earth Phi Beta Sigma Phi Delta Alpha Phi Delta Theta Phi Gamma Delta

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Sigma Pi Beta Phi Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Phi President’s Community Scholars President’s Leadership Class Rotaract RUF/NEK Lil Sis Sigma Chi Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Lambda Beta Sigma Lambda Gamma Sigma Nu Sigma Phi Epsilon Zeta Phi Beta Adams Center Cate Center Couch Center Walker Center

Way to go! Keep up the good work!

Volunteer u Programs Strengthening Our Traditions through Service to State and Society

Leadership Development and Volunteerism • leadandvolunteer.ou.edu The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution. For accommodations on the basis of disability, call 325-2340

Tuesday, November 24, 2015 •

OPINION

3

Dana Branham, engagement managing editor dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/opinion • Twitter: @OUDailyOpinion

Boren made his move, CLASSIFIEDS now it’s up to students J Housing Rentals

DUPLEXES UNFURNISHED

$550/mo! Walk to OU! 2bd, 2 blocks from Sarkey’s Energy Center. Carpet, blinds, NEW CH/A, appliances, W/D: Call 2033493

Our view: We

appreciate OU President David Boren’s swift response to student concerns that the university lacks mental health resources, but now it’s on students to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness.

HOUSES UNFURNISHED Home for Rent Tenant pays bills Lease runs to 30 June 2016 Pet & Smoke Free Application fee $25 One month’s rent security deposit 907 Parsons available 5 November 1 bedroom small house 1 person 3 Blocks from OU No washer/dryer hookup Gas Heat, Window air $550 809 Comanche available now 2 Bedroom house 10 minute walk to OU Washer/ dryer, Gas Heat, Window air $750 Call 360-3850

Monday, following The Daily’s reporting on the lack of mental health resources on campus, OU President David Boren announced the hiring of another psychiatrist for the university’s health services. While an additional psychiatrist might not entirely fix the perceived staffing problem at Goddard Health Center, it’s a step toward offering OU students better resources for mental health issues. It could mean shorter wait times for appointments when students run into crises or run out of medication, and time is of the essence in those situations. We’re happy to see Boren’s swift, decisive nature put into action to improve the availability of resources for students living with mental illness.

We’re thankful Boren sees mental health as a priority on campus, which can be credited to student effort from groups like Our Mental Health. We’re thankful for those students, who have advocated for better mental health resources on campus since the group’s creation this semester.

It’s clear the conversation about mental illness needs to continue — especially on college campuses, where a fastpaced, high-pressure, debt-gathering environment is part of the race to graduation. This week, The Daily reported the stories of students battling depression, students coping with anxiety, student veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, students with eating disorders and even students who grappled with thoughts of suicide and eventually left OU.

Being

NUMBER ONE is nothing to celebrate.

This year, more than 163,000 people will die from lung cancer— making it America’s

NUMBER ONE cancer killer.

But new treatments offer hope.

Join Lung Cancer Alliance in the fight against this disease. lungcanceralliance.org

FREE AD WITH OU.EDU EMAIL ADDRESS Anyone with an ou.edu email address can place their ad in the Classified section of The Oklahoma Daily at no cost. Simply email your ad copy to classifieds@ou.edu, along with name, address and phone contact information. Maximum 5 lines and 10-issue run per listing.

PLACE A PAID AD Phone: 405-325-2521 E-mail: classifieds@ou.edu

Fax: 405-325-7517 Campus Address: COH 149A

DEADLINES Line Ad ..................................................................................3 days prior Place line ad by 9:00 a.m. 3 business days prior to publication.

Display Ad ............................................................................3 days prior Classified Display or Classified Card Ad Place your display, classified display or classified card ads by 5:00 p.m. 3 business days prior to publication.

New Donors: Donate plasma and earn up to * $400 per month!

1327 E. LINDSEY ST., NORMAN, OK 73071 405.447.9977 *Applicable for eligible, qualified new donors. Fees vary by weight and location.

New donors must bring photo ID, proof of address and Social Security number.

Redeem at your nearest donation center for details.

Center staff scan to enter payment comment.

CSLPlasma.com

NOOR EEMAAN/THE DAILY

OU President David Boren speaks with The Daily staff members on Oct. 7. Boren released a statement on Monday authorizing the hiring of a new psychiatrist to bolster mental health resources on campus.

Mental illness is present in the lives of our peers and classmates.

It’s up to the university administration to be equipped to handle the mental health problems its students face; but it’s up to us, as students, to make sure our peers, friends and classmates know they’re not alone.

It’s tough to talk about mental illness. It’s tough to speak up and let someone know when you’re not okay. It’s tough to tell a friend to consider seeing a counselor. Talking about mental illness means having tough conversations, but that kind of openness and vulnerability is how we can end the stigma surrounding mental illness.

So, we encourage you

Previous Solution

Monday- Very Easy Tuesday-Easy Wednesday- Easy Thursday- Medium Friday - Hard

Instructions: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

to keep up the conversation. The only way to destigmatize mental illness is to talk about it.

Share your stories with us using the hash tag #yOUrmentalhealth on

Twitter and Facebook, or send your stories to dailyopinion@ou.edu.

It’s up to us to end the stigma.

HOROSCOPE

By Eugenia Last

Copyright 2015, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2015

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -Overspending or overindulging will First impressions are important. take a toll on your health. Loved Promote your skills with finesse. A ones will feel left out if you donĘźt knowledgeable, dedicated approach include them in your plans. Nurture will dispel any fear you may harbor important relationships. when taking on extra challenges.

Project a positive image to receive GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- A a good response. Being unprepared partnership will go downhill if you or ill-informed will be your downfall are not honest regarding your intenthis year. tions. You will be left taking the blame for someone elseĘźs actions if SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- A you arenĘźt careful. little romance will brighten your day. ItĘźs better to spend your energy CANCER (June 21-July 22) pleasing others rather than letting -- Someone you meet at a social lifeĘźs little annoyances lead to a event will have something to offer dispute. professionally or personally. If you need assistance, donĘźt hesitate to CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- You call in favors from someone you should stop complaining about your have helped in the past. life and start taking action. You will receive encouragement from LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Be truthful an unexpected source if you decide about what you can and cannot do. to take a stand regarding some DonĘźt embellish your talents to othunexpected changes. ers, or your reputation will suffer.

Avoid gambling. Children will play a AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- DonĘźt role in a decision you make. let self-doubt stand in the way of your progress. ItĘźs time to consider VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Lessen what you hope to accomplish by your anxiety by tackling projects yearĘźs end and to put the finishing you can work on by yourself. Trying touches on any current projects. to get along with others will add to your stress.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- A promotion is within reach. Be open LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- You to new employment possibilities need a change, but making some that are not in your current area residential improvements could be of expertise. Your hard work and costly if you donĘźt get estimates up diligence will pay off. front. Make sure you get everything in writing or your savings will be ARIES (March 21-April 19) -depleted.

Celebrate by hosting a gathering of friends and colleagues for some SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Standlight entertainment. Make sure ing on the sidelines will not get you stick to your budget so that you ahead. If you let everyone unnecessary expenses donĘźt leave know that you are willing to accept you broke. greater responsibility, offers will come your way. Love is highlighted.

my friend’s got mental illness

To a friend with mental illness, your caring and understanding greatly increases their chance of recovery. Visit whatadifference.samhsa.gov for more information.

Mental Illness – What a difference a friend makes.

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker November 24, 2015

ACROSS 1 Bit of punctuation 6 It’s best when boring 11 Thing in the kitchen 14 Depthcharge target of old 15 Blinding light 16 “Long ___ and far away...�

17 Their work involves forks and pitches 19 “Prior to,� for starters 20 Open, as letters 21 Adolescent, almost 23 Guanaco relatives 26 At anchor 27 Auto seller 28 Christie detective 30 Acts as crew 31 Film that got Fonda an Oscar 32 Floor cover 35 “___ got an idea�

36 Baseball bat application 38 Santa ___ winds 39 ___ Aviv 40 Regions 41 Little brook 42 Drunk as a skunk 44 Comedian’s Muse

11/24

46 Bacon selections 48 Lao-tse’s followers 49 St. ___ Girl (German beer) 50 FedEx pick-up 52 Major network 53 Air traveler’s need 58 “Iron Chef� prop 59 Gutter location 60 A Judd 61 CPAs crunch them 62 Sends forth lava 63 It’s for the mill?

DOWN 1 Hockey trophy 2 It’s kind of a cinch, in Japan 3 Bird of the past 4 Handbooks 5 Immediately 6 Chilly symptoms?

7 Arm bone 8 Highlander 9 Boot one, in baseball 10 Museum specialist 11 What investigators sometimes follow

12 Say “uh-huh�

13 “There’s ___ in sight�

18 Bygone Russian despot 22 Try to date 23 Allow in 24 Make an exit 25 Some work vehicles 26 Copier brand, once 28 Ask on one’s knees 29 Inning sextet 31 Proposer’s support 33 Like a new candle 34 Fancy parties

36 Bamboo musical instruments 37 Aggravates 41 Track roller 43 Be sick 44 Diplomat’s asset 45 Turning up on the farm?

46 Bring forth young 47 Cultural no-no 48 Hair lock 50 Make a road 51 Again 54 440 yards, often 55 Popular pond fish 56 Letters on an ambulance 57 ___ for tat

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

11/23

11/23

Š 2015 Universal Uclick www.upuzzles.com Š 2015 Universal Uclick

PT BOATLOAD By Lewis Harper

4

• Tuesday, November 24, 2015

NEWS DISORDER: Continued from Page One

Her time at camp also led her to seek help from a therapist — not for her eating disorder, but for something else: her anxiety. She found she had generalized anxiety disorder and had experienced symptoms since seventh grade. Freeman still sees her therapist for her anxiety to this day, she said.

Freeman never tried to reach out to anyone during the months when her disorder was the most severe.

However, after realizing she had an issue during the summer, she was finally able to tell her parents and roommates about her condition in January during her senior year of high school. “(Telling them) was very freeing, but it was very confusing for my roommates and my family to find out about it and realize that they hadn’t noticed it … It was almost more difficult for them than it was for me,” Freeman said.

Being open with people about her struggles has helped her tremendously.

She began speaking with a counselor soon after she told her friends and family and, since then, she has realized how important communicating with other people is.

“I know that I have a long way to go to be as physically and mentally healthy as I want to be,” Freeman said.

If she could give someone struggling with bulimia advice, she strongly suggests not eating alone and being with other people during meals — especially after meals. Her advice for others is to always ask.

“If you see your friend always going to the toilet or disappearing suddenly after meals, (or if they seem) agitated during meals, ask,” she said. “Always ask. They very well may need your help. It’s good to just ask because it’s better to upset your friend a little bit than for no one to know that they’re sick.” *** Nursing junior Ashton Bloomer struggled with

Page Jones, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

something she calls “reverse bulimia,” which consisted of her binging and then taking laxatives to purge herself. This started in middle school as a result of media ideals and her failure to meet them.

“Ever ybody in middle school wants to be a Victoria’s Secret model,” she said. “I always tried to find value in what I looked like and what others thought.”

She was surrounded by friends who had bulimia, too, but no one ever addressed it or acknowledged

“No matter what anyone tells you, you’re not in the right mindset, and you won’t believe it.”

ALEXIS PENNY, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING FRESHMAN

it with each other, so they dealt with their disorders on their own, Bloomer said.

Placing her value on her body size led Bloomer into depression and caused her to have suicidal thoughts.

Her desire to binge eat was a result of everyday stress, but once she binged, she would worry about what the food would do to her body, resulting in her taking laxatives, she said.

Taking laxatives when she didn’t need them, and as frequently as she did, damaged her intestines, and she realized it could negatively affect her throughout the rest of her life.

“I could have issues down the line when I’m 50, and everything slows down, and it could be because of this,” she said.

Her freshman year of college, though, she decided to go vegan in order to get her insides back in order, and for the most part, it has worked, she said.

Bloomer never sought help from anyone. Instead, she chose to struggle with her eating disorder on her own. No one close to her even noticed a change as she dealt with her disorder from middle school through her senior year of high school. It wasn’t until she became a Christian her freshman year of

college that she started to recover and open up to her Christian mentor, Bloomer said.

“The only person I sought help from was God because I was looking for my true value,” she said.

Faith has been a big part of what started her on the road to recover y. What helped Bloomer the most was learning that, based on Christian teachings, she has so much more value and purpose than what she looks like or weighs, she said. There have been times where she could have relapsed her freshman year, but her faith kept her strong.

“I think it’s benefited me … having experienced that. I know a lot of people around me … who struggle with eating disorders and body image and wanting to be a certain size, and having overcome that hill, I can help them turn to Jesus,” Bloomers said.

If Bloomers could give advice to anyone struggling with an eating or body image disorder, she would say to keep faith and not listen to the media’s unrealistic messages.

“Your body image does not define you … It doesn’t matter what your friends say, your parents say (or) anybody who tells you that you need to be a certain size … you are not supposed to be like that,” Bloomers said.

“I think the only way that you can overcome this is by trusting in Jesus Christ.” *** Chemical engineering freshman Alex is Penny was shocked by the weight she gained her sophomore year of high school after she started birth control, resulting in the development of an eating disorder that resembled anorexia at first but shifted to something more like binge eating disorder in later months, Penny said.

Sh e wa s o n t h e s w i m team, and along with swim practices, she would do dance workouts and exercis e on her ow n. She would exercise three to four hours every day, she said.

However, she restricted her calorie intake to sometimes as little as 200 or 300 calories a day, which caused her

swimming to suffer.

When her anorexia was at its worst, she weighed 95 pounds. Whenever she was binge eating she weighed 140 pounds, she said.

Throughout her approximately two years of having an eating disorder, Penny never sought out medical attention because she didn’t think anything or anyone could’ve helped her.

“No matter what anyone tells you, you’re not in the right mindset, and you won’t believe it,” Penny said.

Penny experienced depression and compared her eating disorder to being trapped in a box. As a result of her depression and obsession with being thin, she lost many friends. Even though they knew something was going on with her, they didn’t understand, Penny said. Her experience allowed her to see who her true friends were as well.

“My best friend didn’t understand it at all, but she still respected the fact that I was going through something hard,” Penny said.

She did tell a few other friends who supported her, despite not completely understanding what she was going through. There was one person who understood her, though, and that was her small group leader at her church who had had an eating disorder at one point as well.

When she tried to let her parents know that things were not going well at all, her father wasn’t able to understand that she could have an issue with eating, while her mother simply didn’t see a problem with her losing weight since she was thin herself.

Even though Penny knew they couldn’t help her, she wanted them to acknowledge that she was going through something, she said. “(My dad) still, to this day, doesn’t believe that it was an issue,” Penny said.

Penny’s mindset seemed to change randomly one day in the summer before her senior year, she said.

She had started to do muscle building workouts, and she realized that in order

for them to work, she had to eat. Her focus shifted to being healthy rather than skinny.

“I have an obsessive personality to where I have to be obsessed with one thing at a time. Before eating disorders, I was obsessed with being clean … and after worrying about my weight, I shifted that to being healthy,” Penny said. “Now I work out every single day, and I eat a ton every single day.”

Because of her experience, she has been able to help people who have been on the verge of developing an eating disorder because she knows exactly what it’s like to be there. Having had an eating disorder has also made her more sympathetic and understanding, too, she said.

“I didn’t have any issue with food. I had an issue with myself,” Penny said.

Mary Smith mcsooner19@gmail.com

College women with unspecified eating disorders In a study of women with unspecified eating disorders (e.g., not anorexia or bulimia), the women reported these behaviors:

100

80

60

40

20

0 moderate eating concerns

binged periodically

engaged in compensatory exercise

vomited

severely restricted eating used laxatives

source: College Women Eating Disorder Diagnostic and DSM-5, Journal of American College Health

Exercise helps reduce stress and anxiety Many students see improvement in their mood and life JESSE POUND news editor @jesserpound

When Samantha Milburn slipped and fell on a flight of stairs in the Oklahoma Memorial Union earlier this semester, she expected to feel embarrassed and angry about it for the rest of the day.

“Normally, that’s something that would have set me off, and I would have been mad about or just steaming about it ... for the entire day,” Milburn, a health and exercise science junior, said.

But after a couple of minutes, she brushed it off. She stopped thinking about it.

She moved on.

“I was kind of impressed with myself. I tend to hold onto things,” said Milburn, who takes anxiety medication to mitigate the panic attacks she has been having for two years.

Milburn credits this new mindset, along with a better control of her clinical anxiety, to changes she’s made in her lifestyle this semester. She’s eating better and healthier, having lost 10 pounds since she arrived in the fall as a transfer student.

“My nutrition was not good (at my old school) because I was just snacking on whatever was around my house, which was usually

Doritos and pizza rolls,” she said.

She’s also doing yoga.

“I overthink everything, and for some reason when I do yoga, it just completely disappears for an hour,” Milburn said.

Exercising and practicing proper nutrition are two ways that students can practice self-care for their mental health.

A study published by Portland State University linke d a high intake of fresh fruits and vegetables to a positive general mental health outcome among teenagers, and a high intake of vitamin A helped to mitigate symptoms of depression.

In addition to the physical benefits of exercise, there are also behavioral and mental health benefits. People who get regular exercise see improved sleep, increased interest in sex, improvement in mood, stress relief and increased energy, according to an article from the Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

The exercise doesn’t even need to be strenuous.

“It doesn’t have to be super-duper intense, but it does probably need to be at least 15 to 20 minutes in length,” Chris Black, assistant professor of health and exercise science, said.

E xercise creates both acute and chronic effects for depression and anxiety, Black said, meaning people

“People that exercise a lot have lower self-reported feelings of fatigue and higher selfreported levels of what we call vigor.”

CHRIS BLACK, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HEALTH AND EXERCISE SCIENCE

are given a mental health boost immediately following exercise and can see additional lowering of levels of stress and depression with a regular exercise routine.

Regular exercise also helps students overcome chronic fatigue, thereby possibly increasing cognitive function.

“People that exercise a lot have lower self-reported feelings of fatigue and higher self-reported levels of what we call vigor,” Black said.

Maybe one third of college students suffer from diagnosed or undiagnosed anxiety disorders, Black said, with white females being the most affected group.

The effects even work for students who are not clinically anxious or depressed.

In this way, exercise works to both relieve the normal fluctuations of day-to-day life and help prevent feelings of depression.

Psychology senior Abby Beard, who also takes a yoga class at OU, said she has noticed her general stress level go down as a result of the

regular exercise.

“I didn’t realize how much it affected my life, but not going (to yoga) affected how I ... dealt with other events,” Beard said.

This is the goal of Beard and Milburn’s yoga instructor, Laili Boozary, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in health promotion.

Boozary said she intentionally teaches her classes in a way that is therapeutic and estimated that the majority of her students struggle with anxiety or depression.

There are multiple theories as to why exercise helps with anxiety, Black said, including simply serving as a distraction, raising core body temperature and the idea of a runner’s high.

“The honest answer is that we really don’t know; and it may be different (for different students), but we do know that it seems to work,” Black said.

Some studies have shown that the effects of exercise on anxiety and depression work just as well as medication, Black said.

The effects are still working for Milburn, who said she would usually take medication a couple of times a week just to get through the week at this point in the semester.

This time it’s different.

“I don’t think I’ve had to touch my anxiety medication for awhile,” Milburn said.

Jesse Pound jesserpound@gmail.com

ILLUSTRATION BY AUSTIN DORROUGH

HOW TO EXERCISE YOUR WAY TO BETTER MENTAL HEALTH 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week is enough exercise to see a long term decrease in symptoms of depression and anxieties The exercise doesn’t need to be particularly strenuous.

Aerobic exercise such as walking, cycling or yoga is more beneficial than weightlifting

12

The positive benefits can be felt immediately following exercise, called an actute effect, and over time can be felt more consistently, called a chronic effect.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015 •

5

SPORTS Mayfield unwilling to miss Bedlam

Dillon Hollingsworth, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySports

Junior quarterback confident in status for Saturday JOE BUETTNER

assistant sports editor @Joe_Buettner

O k l a h o m a’s u s u a l Monday press conference did not come without Baker Mayfield news.

The junior quarterback’s status for OU’s season finale at Oklahoma State remains questionable. But Mayfield and coach Bob Stoops gave a promising update as to whether No. 6 will be ready for his first Bedlam matchup.

“He has checked out after the game, passed all protocol and tests they give,” Stoops said. “Yesterday, he passed all those tests. He will do some physical exertion work today — maybe some team stuff.

“If he continues this way with no issues like yesterday and so far today, then he is expected to play.”

Mayfield suffered a concussion Saturday night in the second quarter of Oklahoma’s game against TCU. Mayfield notified team doctors and trainers that he had a headache at halftime, which led to the decision to sideline him for the rest of the game.

Oklahoma head athletic trainer Scott Anderson spoke with the media Monday and confirmed the headache was a factor in keeping Mayfield out of Oklahoma’s 30-29 win over the Horned Frogs.

“Concussion, as it occurs, is without a doubt probably

CHRISTOPHER MICHIE/THE DAILY

Junior quarterback Baker Mayfield dodges Texas Christian University defenders Nov. 21. Mayfield was later taken out of the game due to a possible concussion.

the most challenging thing that we face, because largely you’re left to self-reporting it unless you see those cognitive or postural issues,” Anderson said. “You are left to what the athlete tells you. There aren’t any other particular clinical signs that you can see or you can go to. That necessitates that you have serial evaluation, which we did.”

Th e d e c i si o n to ke e p Mayfield from playing was

hard on him.

He sat out all of last season due to NCAA transfer rules, and sitting on the sideline again was difficult for the Austin, Texas, native.

“I felt like after I had did the test at halftime that I felt like I was good enough to go out and play,” Mayfield said.

“But they told me I wasn’t going to be able to play. And that kills me, because I care so much about the team.

That was a big game for us.”

Sterling Shepard could tell his quarterback was upset watching the offense from an unfamiliar place.

The senior receiver said Mayfield was his normal self, but he wasn’t as lively in the locker room as his team celebrated a hardfought win.

Mayfield hasn’t had a headache since Saturday.

But if Stoops reports that Mayfield has a setback in any way with the medical

staff ’s protocol and testing, he will not play against Oklahoma State.

A win Saturday would help Oklahoma clinch its first Big 12 championship since 2012. And the Sooners and Cowboys are set for a primetime stage of 7 p.m. on ABC. Mayfield says he’s progressing per fectly, and Shepard said the quarterback looked smooth in Monday’s practice.

Despite the hard hit, the concussion hasn’t weakened his spirit.

“I’m not afraid of concussions,” Mayfield said.

“I signed up for football.

I wear a helmet for a reason. I know what I’m getting myself in to when I play football. I’m tough. I’d run through a brick wall for my team.”

Joe Buettner joebuet@ou.edu

Where will the playoff committee place OU? Two teams in the top-10 of the College Football Playoff rankings fell Saturday — No. 3 Ohio State to No. 9 Michigan State and No. 6 Oklahoma State to No. 10 Baylor.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma has pulled off two straight victories over top-25 opponents in Baylor and TCU the last two weeks, gaining national recognition and momentum for a possible playoff spot.

After a whirlwind weekend, we predicted what the playoff committee’s rankings will be when they come out at 6 p.m. tonight on ESPN. Note: These predictions are how we think the committee will rank the top four, not necessarily how we believe they should.

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

FOOTBALL REPORTER

Brady Vardeman

Joe Buettner

Spenser Davis

bradyvardeman@gmail.com

joebuet@ou.edu

davis.spenser@ou.edu

@BradyVardeman

@Joe_Buettner

@Davis_Spenser

Top four: 1. Clemson 3. Iowa 2.Alabama 4. Notre Dame

Top four: 1. Clemson 3. Iowa 2.Alabama 4. Notre Dame

Top four: 1. Clemson 3. Iowa 2.Alabama 4. Michigan State

Next two: Oklahoma, Michigan State

Next two: Oklahoma, Michigan State

Next two: Oklahoma, Notre Dame

Committee chair man Jeff Long said there was talk of moving 10-1 Alabama ahead of 11-0 Clemson last week, but the Tide’s 56-6 win over Charleston Southern Saturday probably won’t be enough to warrant such a jump this time around.

After Oklahoma’s two big victories, the Sooners should inch even closer to a top four ranking. If OU wins

Clemson has coasted by, and it should be able to beat North Carolina in the ACC title game without question. As crazy as this season’s been, Iowa will probably end up winning it all.

Alabama will be heavy favorites against Auburn and Florida in its games leading

Two Big Ten teams might seem like a lot for right now, but that shouldn’t be an issue after Iowa and Michigan State meet on Dec. 10.

Both the Sooners and Spartans have a pair o f r a n k e d w i n s, a b i g

Bedlam in Stillwater, it will have a serious case to jump Notre Dame. Oklahoma ranks No. 1 in ESPN’s FPI and holds the third-best strength of record.

OKLAHOMA BOWL PROJECTION: Orange Bowl (College Football P l ay o f f S e m i f i n a l ) v s.

Clemson — Dec. 31, 3 or 7 p.m. (ESPN)

up to the postseason.

Notre Dame continues to skate by with its bruising brand of football, leaving the Big 12 out once again.

OKLAHOMA BOWL PROJECTION: Sugar Bowl vs. Ole Miss — Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

non-conference win and a horrible loss. But for now, I think the committee gives Michigan State the edge.

OKLAHOMA BOWL PROJECTION: Sugar Bowl vs. Florida — Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m.

(ESPN)

6

NEWS

• Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Breath analysis detects cancer Breathalyzer can identify molecule produced by tumor ANNA MAYER news reporter @AnnaMay136

One OU electrical engineering professor is on the brink of developing a new technology that would be able to detect cancer earlier than ever before, but he has hit a problem: funding.

While the OU Stephenson Cancer Center has just received a $20 million grant for further cancer research, Patrick McCann, who is developing a breathalyzer that would be able to detect cancer in a much earlier stage and closely monitor cancer therapy, is struggling to find $100,000 to support his project.

“One of the complicated factors is that I’m not a medical researcher,” McCann said. “I have absolutely no credibility with the National Institutes of Health or any other medical funding agency. And with the current situation of funding being what it is, my chances for a proposal to get funded are very small. It’s a real challenge.”

McCann’s breath analysis instrument would be able to significantly advance the medical grasp of cancer.

“Right now, doctors can detect a tumor that’s around a centimeter in diameter — maybe they could get down to five millimeters,” McCann said. “We could measure a tumor that’s a millimeter in diameter.”

“If this works, we could be smarter about understanding cancer,” McCann added.

McCann first got the idea for this project about 15 years ago when multiple studies appeared showing that dogs could smell cancer

KYLE COOKMEYER/THE DAILY

Engineering professor Patrick McCann is working on developing a breathalyzer for cancer. McCann has been working on this project for the last 10 years.

“That’s what people forget when you start talking about university research,” Boren said. “They think that, ‘Oh, that’s an abstraction.’ No, that’s helping people. That’s helping things like finding a cure for cancer.”

OU PRESIDENT DAVID BOREN

with more than 90 percent accuracy. “ T h i s i s n o t a f l u k e,” McCann said. “Dogs can smell cancer. We need a dog’s nose. We need an instrument that doesn’t get tired.”

McCann re ceive d his bachelor’s of science in engineering physics from UC Berkeley and his doctorate’s in electronic materials from MIT. His research projects usually involve solid state devices and a lot of lasers.

“You can actually use a laser to measure chemical species,” McCann explained.

“You shine a laser through the gas sample, and what

you do is you tune a laser and if there’s a molecule that absorbs light, you’ll see a reduction in the transmitted light intensity. You can actually use that information to measure both the concentration as well as identify the molecule.”

And that is exactly what McCann has done.

After learning about the studies conducted with dogs, McCann set out to find what they could possibly be sensing.

He began studying different biomedical literature, especially that of Otto Warburg from 1927. Warburg discovered that a build up of

lactic acid was associated with cancer, then he formed a mechanism to explain that phenomenon, now called the Warburg effect.

“Warburg was this real pioneer, very ahead of his time with this explanation for cancer,” McCann said.

“Cancer really isn’t a metabolic disease. What happens is that instead of the Krebs cycle—what he said was that cancer cells get energy from glycolysis, which is a less efficient way of getting energy from food.”

McCann said usually glucose, a sugar molecule responsible for regulating energy, breaks down into an acid called pyruvate, which in turn goes into the Krebs oxidation cycle. However, with cancer, pyruvate never enters the Krebs cycle and is instead lactated.

Basically, that is how cancer grows. Glycolysis does not need oxygen, so it allows the tumor to grow, McCann said. “ If you think ab out a

tumor deep inside — it’s not near blood vessels, it’s not getting oxygen, yet the cells are still able to get enough energy to replicate,” McCann said.

“So I looked at that and said pyruvate is building up, and that’s a hallmark of cancer,” McCann continued. “Is there any other place that the pyruvate can go to? Are there any other molecules that can be produced from pyruvate in addition to lactate? Indeed there is. It’s acetaldehyde.”

Acetaldehyde is a very high vapor pressure, so it ends up being exhaled by humans. McCann’s theory is that the dogs are picking up on the acetaldehyde.

The chemical compound is similar to the more wellknown compound, formaldehyde, in that, with high concentrations, acetaldehyde has an incredibly strong odor. In small quantities, humans may not pick it up, but dogs can.

McCann and his team then built a laser spectrometer to measure acetaldehyde, and they were successful.

They created a laser that was able to identify and measure the acetaldehyde from the breath of a subject after ethanol consumption (i.e., a glass of wine).

“Acetaldehyde increases as a metabolic product of ethanol consumption, similar to how it increases in patients with cancer,” McCann said.

The only problem with their breathalyzer was that it was too large.

“What we need to do is build another spectrometer that’s small enough and easy to use and get it into the hands of medical researchers and have them test it,” McCann said. “But developing the final product takes

money. Basically, you would need between $50 (thousand) and $100,000.”

McCann said he feels confident that with a sufficient grant, he could create a final product within two or three years.

McCann said he already has a few medical researchers at the OU Health and Sciences Center, like Rajagopal Ramesh, who are ready to work with him, but who are waiting for him to build the instrument.

Following the announcement of Stephenson’s $20 million grant, OU President David Boren expressed his concern with McCann’s funding issue as well.

“We’ve been cut, cut, cut,” Boren said. “We are operating OU with over $100 million less than we got from the state government in 2008.

There are so many things, like (McCann’s) research, that need more funding.

Instead we are going to be cut more.”

“That’s what people forget when you start talking about university research,” Boren said. “They think that, ‘Oh that’s an abstraction.’ No, that’s helping people. That’s helping things like finding a cure for cancer.”

According to Stephenson Cancer Center director Dr. Robert Mannel, Oklahoma ranks 43rd worst in cancer incidence and top five in cancer mortality. The money used from their recent grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust will be used for furthering cancer research and funding more Stevenson Cancer Center needs.

Anna Mayer anna.n.mayer@gmail.com

THE SOONER you take your graduate portrait THE BETTER November 30

Crossroads Lobby

December 2 - 4 Crossroads Lobby

March 8 - 11

Crossroads Lobby

March 28

Grad Gear-Up: Beaird Lounge

March 30 - April 1

April 18

Crossroads Lobby

April 20 - 22 Crossroads Lobby

April 25

Crossroads Lobby

April 27 - 29 Crossroads Lobby

Grad Gear-Up: Beaird Lounge

schedule your graduate portrait today SOONER order a yearbook at sooneryearbook.com

yearbook

(it’s free!)