Nancy B. Buckles

According to Nancy B. Buckles, director of counseling and psychological services at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, your first concern should be academics.Once you've decided on your course load, she advises, canvas the university and get a feel for your surroundings.

"Making New Year's resolutions appeals to us in a very basic way," said Nancy Buckles, director of counseling and psychological services at the University Health Center at Indiana University Bloomington.
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That depends on the approach, according to Buckles.

"New Year's resolutions are fun," she said, "but the problem for most people is that resolutions may not be thought out or realistic, so they may be difficult, even impossible, to actualize.

Nancy Buckles, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the IU Health Center, said patients have had a variety of concerns.

"Often this is even a student's first experience with death and the grieving process," said Nancy Buckles, director of counseling and psychological services at the IU Health Center."Usually students are not looking for therapy in these kinds of situations.They turn to the people closest in their own environment, they turn to family, and they turn to their faith."

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There are many phases and expectations that come from the grieving process, Buckles said.She said normal behavior includes loss of appetite, trouble with sleeping and concentration, feeling down and moody, and then thinking you're okay and then having the whole realization hit like a ton of bricks.

"It takes about a year to recover from an uncomplicated grief of a very close loved one," Buckles said.The reason for this is because of anniversaries.Often, birthdays, holidays, the day friends met or went to a big event, are triggers of a wave of grief, even when someone thinks they are going to be okay.

"It's a normal kind of thing," Buckles said."Don't be surprised or scared.

Nancy Buckles, director of Counseling and Psychological Services in the IU Health Center said the facility on the fourth floor offers walk-in counseling for students who feel they cannot wait for a scheduled appointment.

Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. Buckles said although at least one counselor is always on duty, in an emergency situation, the center will overstaff.She said because of the circumstances, fees will be waived this week.

"In the light of this unusual traumatic event there will be no charges for services provided in relationship to the event that occurred," Buckles said.

Buckles said anyone who is affected by this event should see a counselor immediately if by the next day, they are having difficulty sleeping, appetite changes, problems focusing and concentrating and have feelings of fear, anxiety or depression.

Students seeking advice for their long-distance relationships are often freshmen, or "fresh people," as Nancy Buckles, director of the IU Health Center's Counseling and Psychological Services, likes to refer to them.

Students in long-distance relationships who utilize the Health Center's counseling services are often starting to question their relationship.Counselors help students look at the pros and cons of their situation.If they decide circumstances will not allow the relationship to continue, counselors can help students look at ways to end it.

Buckles said many students want to remain long-distance friends when the romantic element has been cut out, but it's usually an ineffective alternative.

"I won't say it never works, but it's very difficult," Buckles said.

Buckles said a key part to maintaining the relationship is for the couple to enjoy each other's company.

A Jeep body or not, sometimes obsessions with material things can get out of hand, said Nancy Buckles, director of Counseling and Psychological Services.

"It becomes a seriousness when the addiction is getting in the way of your daily, normal life," Buckles said."It can mess up your life if you flunk out of college by (excessively) playing video games."

Buckles added that a fun addiction on the outside can be a means of covering up or coping with other things on the inside and the obsessions, especially with people like celebrities, could be hiding insecurities about one's self-identity.

While Woody adores his Jeep, he also sees the other side.

"We have this thing called 'J.A.' (Jeep-a-holic Anonymous) for people who go too far, because sometimes it can," he said.

Although there might never be a need for an "odd-obsessive anonymous," the Counseling and Psychological Services program is always available.Offered by the IU Health Center, CaPS is a counseling service for people with all types of concerns, and the first two visits are already covered in students' tuition.

But no matter how expensive or downright freaky, almost everyone has an obsession, and even Buckles agrees it can be a stress-reliever.

It's a ritualized way of reviewing the past year and looking toward the future," said Nancy Buckles, director of counseling and psychological services at the University Health Center at Indiana University at Bloomington.