SMCHS Community,

My name is Blake Oldfield and I am the School Psychologist at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. I graduated from SMCHS in 1999, and spent those 4 years trying to juggle academics, basketball, family, friends and whatever else life threw my way. After working at Santa Margarita as a coach and teacher in the school’s Auxiliary Studies program (ASP), I spent time working with Dr. Michael Elliott, a clinical psychologist, with the hopes of attaining a larger perspective of the field of mental health. My passion for working with teenagers led me back to ASP at Santa Margarita in 2010.  I completed my Masters in School Psychology in 2014 and have served as the full-time school psychologist since 2015.

As an alumnus of the school, I know what it is like trying to balance academics, athletics, charity work and a social life. There are environmental and biological factors that can lead to, or increase, any student’s negative reaction to such stressors. On Wednesday, Nov. 16, I am going to have the privilege of speaking with parents at the Parent Teacher Guild’s Teens Coping with Today’s Challenges presentation to discuss the emotional concerns impacting the current educational landscape.  This event is open to all parents and I encourage all parents to attend.  In the meantime, here are several suggestions I have for students to decrease the negative feelings of stress that they may have to all the concerns in their lives.

1) Get at least 9 hours of sleep nightly. I know, this can can be difficult to accomplish while trying to juggle all the previously mentioned parts of a student’s life. However, with a little planning, this is an easily attainable goal.

2) Limit the intake of caffeine. This suggestion relates directly back to sleep. Caffeine is a stimulant, and over time our body becomes tolerant to it. This means that we are required to drink more and more caffeine to obtain the same level of effect. Also, one of the last things we want an anxious person to ingest is something that stimulates the bodies’ system.

3) Eat 4 or 5 small meals a day. Our blood sugar levels are highly impacted by what we eat. When we go through extended periods of fasting, our blood sugar levels dip. This can lead to headaches, fatigue, irritability, and anxiety.

4) Lastly, limit the amount of exposure to electronics starting an hour before bedtime. The “blue light” emitted from our phones and lap tops impact our bodies’ circadian rhythm. The light from such devices trick our body into thinking that it is still daytime. This decreases the secretion of melatonin, which lowers body temperature and promotes drowsiness.

These are just a few suggestions that we can all implement to decrease the impact that stress and anxiety have on our emotional well-being.  I look forward to seeing a number of parents on the Wednesday, Nov. 16, to discuss these, and other interventions, more in depth. If you would like to attend this free event, please visit the following link and fill out the RSVP form.

http://www.smhs.org/apps/form/form.SMCHS.q1ljirA.2iE?_=1478099819929

Mr. Blake Oldfield ’99, M.A. School Psychology

SMCHS School Psychologist​