Show notes
In this episode of Real Talk, KJK Student Defense Attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler are joined by Dr. Jill Grimes, a family physician, award-winning author, and media medical expert. They discuss medical issues that college students face while they're away from home. The conversation includes practical tips that college students actually want to hear about, prevention and coping with anxiety and other mental health issues at the collegiate level, and alcohol consumption and marijuana addiction myths and misconceptions. Links Mentioned: Book: Ultimate College Student Health Handbook Student Defense: studentdefense.kjk.com Show Notes: The experiences that snowballed Dr. Grimes' prowess in the medical field, namely for college students (0:36) The essential components of a practical first aid kit for a college student (2:03) How to encourage college students to practice safe oral sex (04:08) Oral herpes and the means it can be spread, among other sexually transmitted infections (05:34) Why Dr. Grimes wrote a book to spread awareness of sexually transmitted diseases (06:45) The distinction between traditional therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) (09:06) Pragmatic alternatives to alleviating mental health concerns in spite of limited access to campus health centers (12:29) How this non-addictive drug can help manage anxiety in college students (14:08) Collegiate study skills courses as a means of decreasing test anxiety altogether(16:54) Breaking the stigma that only students who are struggling academically need tutoring (18:17) A first-hand tip from college professors that every parent can easily do to help their child succeed (19:01) An ace tip to creating an efficient study group (19:45) Addiction and medicinal marijuana use to cope with anxiety (21:15) The potentially harmful contents of marijuana (21:54) A dangerous misconception of marijuana use and coping with mental health issues (23:13) What parents and students need to know about blackout drinking and the role it plays in sexual harassment (26:55) The "proper" alcohol consumption method as advised by a licensed physician to prevent blackout drinking (29:14) Additional medical issues students faced at the onset of COVID (31:21) Future topics to be included in the Ultimate College Student Health Handbook; from how to create a safe environment in the event of a seizure, diabetes, and navigating the healthcare system in college (32:11) Transcript: Susan Stone: Welcome back to Real Talk with Susan Stone and Kristina Supler. We're full-time moms and attorneys bringing our student defense legal practice to real life with real candid conversations. Susan Stone: Today's topic is medical issues that college students face while they're away from home. We're pleased to be joined by Dr. Jill Grimes, author of the Ultimate College Student Health Handbook. Your guide to everything from hangovers to homesickness. Kristina Supler: Dr. Grimes is a board certified family physician with a passion for practical evidence-based advice for students of all ages. After spending over 20 years in private practice in Austin, Texas, Dr. Grimes transitioned to a campus health center and through her work with college students on a daily basis, she's really come to understand the most common medical issues that college students experience. And this experience has in part contributed to. Dr. Grimes writing over six books. Kristina Supler: Dr. Grimes, we're so pleased to have you with us today. Welcome. Dr. Jill Grimes: Thanks so much for having me. I'm delighted to be here. Susan Stone: I have to tell you, I devoured your book in a day. And I think we were chatting Kristina while we were working on the sound and all this administrative stuff. And I was saying it made me re-go go back to my daughter and say, Do you wipe from front to back? Kristina Supler: The dreaded UTI problem. Kristina Supler: Also was so great about this book. Cause I was reading it is, I mean, to your point, Susan, The book contained really practical health advice, not just for students, but people that, you know, just never hurts to brush up on Susan Stone: don't puke in a sink. Dr. Jill Grimes: Uh, Susan Stone: but if you have to get sick and you can't make the toilet go for a wastepaper basket, right. Doctor Grimes? Dr. Jill Grimes: Absolutely. Or here's a thought as you're making that first aid kit that you're going to put together for your college students to send them off, you know the doggy poop bags that come in a roll, hello, easy solution. Put those in the first aid kit that way, you know, if they're feeling queasy, they've got it by them side, you can throw up in that, throw it away. Dr. Jill Grimes: I mean, this, this is the kind of practical information I like to dish out. Because, you know, I was saying that the beginning of each semester, the fall semester, every college campus has a plumbing problem and people, this is a big part of it. Kristina Supler: I can't imagine. Well, it's also interesting because Susan and I were talking and, you know, Susan was reflecting on, her gifts that she gives to high school graduates heading off to college, or just preparing care packages for good luck, best wishes. Kristina Supler: And this book is a great guide for the first aid kit and everything else. I'm totally envisioning Susan putting together a really nice, cute, gift. Susan Stone: I know that. I'm going to cut to the chase. All right. Gotta talk to you about a topic. Okay. Kristina Supler: Hard hitting topics. Susan Stone: I'm starting with the big one. You talk through your book about the use of flavored condoms. Susan Stone: Even during oral sex. Let's cut to the chase, Dr. Grimes kids every day about sex and what we're seeing a rise of plan B and students not even using condom during intercourse. Do you really think anyone's going to use a flavored barrier protection during oral sex? Dr. Jill Grimes: Well, that's the hope and that's why we talk about it. Dr. Jill Grimes: And I'll tell you what, I'm just saying. Those two words together: flavored condoms. I talk to young people all the time and I will tell you what gets through. That's something that really gets their attention because. Say when we switch them or, uh, you know, we kind of do risky business. We talk about drugs, sex, alcohol, whatever. Susan Stone: The fun stuff, right? Dr. Jill Grimes: Yeah, exactly. When I'm talking with them, you know, I'll say, why do you think that there are flavored condoms? Because people say, well, not people don't really you don't, why would you use condoms with oral sex? Nobody does that. And then I say, well, why do you think there's flavored condoms? Dr. Jill Grimes: And it's like this little light bulb bumps on over their head. They're like, oh! Also not to be crass, but, I have yet to hear about any male that refused oral sex. If someone, uh, if, you know, if asked to wear a condom to use a condom. It's, it's not a turn under. Kristina Supler: Wow. That's a good tip. No pun intended. Susan Stone: Oh my gosh. Dr. Jill Grimes: And this is how we're starting the podcast, ladies. Susan Stone: We're getting into it. Kristina Supler: Um, you know, it, wasn't a really great practice pointer though, for us as well, because similar to you, Susan and I speak with college students about their sex lives and really personal, intimate details every day, given the nature of our law practice. And I have to say, this is flavored condoms. Kristina Supler: I don't recall ever talking about that with the student. And so, and we tried to in a very nonjudgmental way, provide some real world right. life advice about how to more safely engage in sex and consent and STIs and all of that. So this is certainly something good for us to keep in mind Dr. Jill Grimes: and for the listeners, I want to clarify that people are like, but again, why, why do you want to do that? Dr. Jill Grimes: The reason is that sexually transmitted infections can and are transmitted with oral sex. If someone has a cold sore, Cold sore fever, blister, whatever you want to call it. That is oral herpes. And they may not have gotten it sexually. Most people do not get their oral herpes sexually. Most people get it from sharing a drink or, you know, kissing within a family or whatever. Dr. Jill Grimes: It's, you know, if somebody in your family has cold sores, usually a lot of people in the family have it because it's really, really common. So not a big deal, but let's call it what it is. Oral herpes is oral herpes, right? These cold sores fever, blisters. Whether or not someone has a fever blister today if they put their mouth on someone else's genitals with no barriers, they can pass that on and give that person genital herpes. Dr. Jill Grimes: If that person themselves doesn't already have oral herpes, if that makes sense. Susan Stone: And no sharing of lipstick. No lipstick sharing. Dr. Jill Grimes: Lipsticks, please. Don't don't share mascara. That's equally gross. That has nothing to do with STIs. You know, you don't want to be sharing bacteria from your mascara. Anyway, so yeah, so that's, that's why. And honestly, the whole reason I wrote my very first book was called Seductive Delusions: How Everyday People Catch STDs. Uh, cause you know, who doesn't want to write a book about STDs. Right, people? Dr. Jill Grimes: But point is the whole reason I started thinking about sharing stories, which is what that book does with accurate information is because so many of my patients in my private practice, which was a very, you know, well-to-do area, people are, will educated well off. Dr. Jill Grimes: And they were shocked when they came in with what they thought was, um, spider bites. Bug bites. Yeah, almost everyone thinks it's some kind of bite when they get genital herpes and it's not actually on their genitals, but it's near it. It's on their upper thigh or on their rear end. And they have no idea what it is, but it's this little cluster of red listers and it's, it's genital herpes and that's what it comes from. Dr. Jill Grimes: So anyway, so I've like, I've got to find a better way to talk about this subject so that we can not have this happen. Because let me tell you, you guys know you take a young person who is confident and excited and pumped about their future, and they suddenly have genital warts or genital herpes, they don't feel good about themselves anymore. Susan Stone: Speaking about self-esteem. Dr. Jill Grimes: Yeah, so let's, Kristina Supler: let's, let's take a left turn. Uh, may is mental health awareness month. And Susan and I write a lot about this topic through our legal work with students who have debilitating depression and anxiety. And it seems a running theme in your book is really advocating for CBT or cognitive behavior therapy. Kristina Supler: You know, you write about how it's a really good treatment modality for homesickness, test anxiety, even the dreaded bathroom anxiety. So can you describe for us this, Kristina Supler: this tells us more about this. Susan Stone: I just want to interject. I just, Kristina did you get that article I forwarded to yesterday, from the New York times. Kristina Supler: Yeah. Susan Stone: Did you see that article that hundreds of suicidal teens are now sleeping in emergency rooms every night, because there's not enough places for them and facility. So we really do have to focus on mental health and we're curious what you need, what you can now offer. Dr. Jill Grimes: All right. So, um, so let's, let's talk about cognitive behavioral therapy. Dr. Jill Grimes: So we say CBT, which is not to be confused with CBD CBD oil. We're saying CBT. So cognitive behavioral therapy. And how I describe it is like, this is because people you get the immediate eye roll. You know, you say. Look, some say someone's having terrible anxiety and sits test anxiety. And one of the things we talk about is is this type of therapy and, you know, get the eye roll. Dr. Jill Grimes: I'm like, no, no, no. This is not lay down on the couch. And talk about all your mother's failures. This is, this is short, very goal directed therapy, sometimes just one or two sessions. And it's all about identifying errant thinking. So basically how we react to something is much more about our, our kind of our gut reaction, if you will, than an intellectual process. Dr. Jill Grimes: So for example, let's talk about flying on a plane. I have fear of flying. A lot of people, 40% of the population has fear of flying. And so I hit a bump of turbulence and I go immediately to from, you know, oh, you know, it's choppy air waves to, oh my gosh, the plane's going to crash them to orphan my children. Dr. Jill Grimes: They're never going to get over this and they're not going to a life. Yeah. Like I just go zero to 180 and that is not logical. And I can tell you it's not logical. But I'm having to stop that process is different. And so there's a lot of things that we can do to stop that process. Dr. Jill Grimes: In the college setting, what we mostly see this with, or the best example I think is test anxiety. So somebody bombs a quiz. Now let me just say, this happens all the time. Especially to freshmen. They may have breezed through high school, or maybe they worked super hard through high school, but now they're in a new setting. They take their first, it's always general gen chem, general chemistry. Dr. Jill Grimes: The pre-meds who are so intent and terrified of making a B, and they don't even make a, B, maybe they make a C. And now they're terrified. And that was the quiz, but they go from, oh my gosh, I'm going to, I'm going to flunk the test. I'm gonna flunk the course. I'm gonna lose my scholarship. I will never get into medical school. And, you know, substitute grad school, law school, whatever, and whatever course. Dr. Jill Grimes: But this, this kind of thinking it's catastrophic thinking. And so one of the things that CBT does a really good job of doing it's identifying catastrophic thinking for what it is and stopping it. And instead putting other things in your brain, like, well, okay. In my high school, calculus class, you know what I, I made a B on a test and a quiz in that, and I survived that and I got through it. Dr. Jill Grimes: And so like thinking through concrete examples, that, that prove you are getting into a catastrophic thinking rather than something that's accurate, Kristina Supler: Helps with the reframe. Reframe your thoughts before you, before you go over the edge. Susan Stone: Well, I love that Dr. Grimes. Every day we hear from college students saying they can't get into their campus health center. Susan Stone: I mean, it's hard enough to get any appointment, much less someone who has the training and CBT. What are we going to do about this on campus? Dr. Jill Grimes: So there's several things. One, I will say there is a huge movement within college campuses. There are everyone recognizes that this is a huge problem. Dr. Jill Grimes: They are trying to funnel more money into mental health. But right now, you know, football, mental health, where do you think the money's going? Right. And football generates money for colleges. I'm not picking on football.. I love football. But I'm just saying, we have to keep we as a nation, have to, to be prioritizing it more. Dr. Jill Grimes: But a practical moment for an individual who is in college and can't get in. There's a co…
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