The College Blues

College is a fun, but stressful time. For some, it is the first time they have been on their own. A lot of times, that can be tough to take. There is a definite adjustment period that one needs to go through before they can detach themselves from their previous comforts of home and family. When you pile homework, classes, tests and all apartment responsibilities; some kids start to get a little depressed.
How can you tell if you're depressed? Well, I'm not a doctor, but from what I've read it seems like whenever you have prolonged feelings of sadness and stress (I'm talking weeks or months of this), then you might have depression. Once that happens, take a load off, and go see a doctor. A good number of Americans aren't even aware that their mental wellbeing can be treated by a regular doctor. It certainly can!
Depression is not something to be ashamed of, it is a treatable mental condition. It isn't anything that you did, and you aren't inferior for any reason if you have clinical depression. If you are ever diagnosed with depression, please take the right steps to get treated right away. While you're in treatment, keep these tips in mind, and you might feel better faster.
Carefully plan your day: When you prioritize and schedule all your work, it gives you a sense of control over the day. That sense of control will grant you some stability and power. Once you feel empowered, you can start to feel better.
Plan your work and sleep schedules: I know how it goes. Oftentimes, students will put off homework until the night before and then stay up late doing it. Then, they wake up really tired the next morning. Problem is, they keep to that schedule fairly consistently. One of the triggers of depression is lack of sleep. So when you're planning out your day, make sure you get your work done first. After that, you can schedule eight full hours of sleep. With that, you will feel a little better.
Participate in an extracurricular activity: Involvement with an organization makes you feel worthwhile. You know that you can contribute, and you feel like a contributor to something other than yourself. Furthermore, any sort of club that does physical activity will release endorphins into your system. Endorphins are hormones that, when absorbed, create a good feeling in the body. So, anything that resembles physical activity is good for both body and mind.
Seek support from other people: There is no better feeling in the world to know that someone cares about you. If you can confide in someone (particularly a parent) about your condition, they will be able to help you whenever you need. The wonderful thing about most parents is that you matter more to them than anything else. So, if you can talk to your parents about what's going on, they will try and work with you to help you start to feel better.
Try relaxation methods and take "me" time: Nothing feels better than a quick power nap, or a nice bath. The problem with stress and depression is it makes you feel tense and constricted. With a nap, or something like a bath, you get to relax and let all the stress ebb away from you. By so doing, you loosed up your muscles (and your mind), and allow yourself to cope.
Work toward recovery: If you want to get better, you have to make an effort. As with most things in life, you need to go after it if you want it bad enough. Don't wallow, don't pine and don't sit in dark rooms listening to emo music. Dashboard Confessional doesn't really know how you feel, but your mom might. If you really want to beat this thing, then you have to beat it. Trust us, there are lots of people who love you and want to help.

About the Author
Andrew Snow writes blog content for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers guides people that are weighing the options of an online education and helps them compare which schools are the best online colleges for them and their specific goals.

The Health Implications of Sleeping on a Poor Quality Mattress

We spend around a third of our lives in bed, making the mattress one of the most important purchases we will ever make. However a good quality mattress can be expensive meaning that many of us choose to skimp on this all important item, choosing instead to purchase whatever we can afford.
Yet did you know that there are an abundance of mattress discounters selling budget beds and similar furnishings? Despite commonly held belief the mattresses stocked are not all low-quality and cheaply made. Many mattress discounters sell off old stock from brand-name stores or mattresses that have a slight fault (such as a small tear) which renders them unsuitable for sale in a pricey department store or similar retailer.
It’s due to the availability of affordable yet high-quality mattresses that every one of us should ensure to purchase the best mattress our funds will allow.
There are two primary issues concerned with the use of a poor quality or old and worn mattress: disturbed sleep and back problems.
In order to prevent back pain we need a supportive mattress. Low quality mattresses will lose their support very quickly and can trigger back problems or worsen existing pain. The continuous coil mattress is one of the cheapest mattress types available yet due to the single wire that forms the mattress’s shape, the wires will quickly bend and sag causing the mattress to dip and reducing the support it offers our backs.
In addition, the style of the continuous coil mattress means that should the bed be shared by two people, each person can feel the movement of the other person quite considerably. This can have a dramatic impact on the quality of sleep the couple can attain, particularly if one person is prone to moving in their sleep or waking during the night.
The pocket sprung mattress is a much better alternative. This type of mattress is formed of individual springs sewn into individual pockets of fabric. This makes for a much longer lasting mattress and a better quality of sleep. The individual springs are also very supportive and will stay that way for a long time.
Finding a pocket sprung mattress at a good price should not be very difficult. Any decent mattress discounters that sell budget beds should have a range of pocket sprung mattresses; since many studies have concluded that they are the most popular type of mattress available.
But what could happen if we don’t seek a high quality mattress and instead just pick the lowest priced one going?
Short-term problems associated with disturbed or poor-quality sleep include drowsiness, poor concentration, irritability, poor coordination, depression and a decreased or increased appetite.
In the long term regular disturbed or lack of sleep can cause all manner of problems including high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
Back pain resulting from regular use of a poor quality mattress will get worse over time; particularly as we age. The longer we put up with the pain the more difficult it will be to eradicate it and the longer the pain will last from waking.
Spending that little bit more for a high quality mattress can have a drastic impact upon your quality of life. If you can’t afford to visit well-known department or bed stores, you may be able to find similar or even identical products by visiting local mattress discounters.
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Amy Fowler wrote this article on behalf of The Original Factory Shop. Amy cares about a good night’s sleep and is interested in finding out how sleep deprivation can affect our quality of life.

What's Normal Body Temperature?

Fever is the human body’s natural defense. It is often noticed by medical and nursing staff manning hospital emergency wards that fever related illness and illnesses can account for up to half of all emergency room and ward visits. During the cold winter months with their chills this can swell to up to 70 % of the total patient visits. Wintertime it seems is when kids and young children seem to be most susceptible to the flu and “colds”.
Yet even the most experienced and seasoned parents and even grandparents often start to fret and worry when a fever or fevers come on to scene. Yet it’s the case that fever rarely is a cause in itself for great concern or alarm. For the greatest party overall fevers actually do people and patients good rather than being harmful. Fevers are natures and the body’s own way and means of dealing with infections in a good, proper and comprehensive way.
To begin with, as a means of reassurance to parents, if your child does have a fever – in almost all cases these fevers are caused by viruses – not bacterial means.
Left alone with no medicines or antibiotics these viruses that your child has unfortunately contracted – are self limiting. What that means in ordinary layperson’s words is that left alone they will go away all by themselves. Your child or adolescent will be fine – the fever will be gone and there will be no lasting or permanent damage to health or body.
If there is one message that has to be conveyed and driven home to parents that is that “98.6 degrees Fahrenheit” is not “normal “body temperature.
98.6 degrees is “mean “or “average” temperature. What that means is that different people – your kid included can have a baseline temperature of their own body’s preference which is different than that magic number. On top of that the child or person’s temperature can vary for any of a number of factors for that same person.
Count in activity, dehydration, time of day, season, temperature outside and any of a number of reasons. Not only does a “regular” temperature differ from person to person – it also varies for that one person themselves. So be reassured as a parent or caregiver.
We all want to be good parents and caregivers. Yet it’s important first of all to understand that there are variations in body temperature. It’s best to treat the person or the patient not the thermometer temperature reading. With today’s
High tech electronic and even laser thermometers which can be read by the red flash of light halfway to the moon it’s just too easy to fall prey to the measurement rather than the patient or child is just fine. Have patience and take a load off your mind.

Garry Doerr
Morgellon Disease Resource - a disease where you feel insects crawling under your skin
You may of been told by your doctor and dermaologist that you are imagining the itchiness under your skin and that its imaginary and in your mind that you feel your skin crawling
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