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.

Healthy Lifestyle: Be Happy!

If you remember your philosophy lessons, Cicero once said that "diseases of the soul are more dangerous and more numerous than those of the body." So to be truly healthy, heal the diseases of your soul - be happy and work to be happy. Be truly happy and make your soul healthy with the following tips:

1. Give and share.

Call it karmic pay-off, but it is the giver that benefits more from the giving than the receiver. It is truly better to give than to receive. One study found out that people who volunteered for two or more organizations are 44% less likely to die early compared with those who didn't. Volunteering even beat out exercising four times a week (30%) and going to religious services (29%) when it came to promoting longevity.

2. Rejuvenate your spirit.

Whether it is a coffee break, reading a funny comic or watching a feel-good movie, rejuvenating your spirit goes a long way in making you healthy. This quick routine can help you hit the reset button on body, mind, and spirit. It also keeps stress at bay and makes you more productive.

-Tin Gonzaga

Getting In Tune With Your Spiritual Well-Being

Very few people are a tuned with their spiritual health which has a significant effect in the over-all wellness of the mind and body. Spirituality is unique to each individual. It can be equated with traditional religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, or Buddhism. It could also mean as growing in your personal relationships with others, or simply being at peace with nature.

Those who are not in touch with their spiritual needs usually experience deep sadness, depression, intense anger, fear, anxiety, and grief. These negative feelings can create the environment for emotional, physical, and mental health dysfunction. People who suffer from repeated physical and emotional abuse carries a wounded and broken heart tormented by life's difficulties and pains. They do not realize that their heavy-heartedness may influence their well-being. Denial of the depth of distress will only aggravate the situation and may lead to serious heart conditions and illnesses.

Recent studies have shown the connection between depression and anxiety, and the development of heart diseases. They are considered risk factors equal to high cholesterol and diabetes. According to research, patients going through depression are twice as likely to die from the complications of a heart attack, compared with people who don't have depression. Some experts even suggest that depression and anxiety should be classified as new risk factors for the development of heart disease.

People who are alone and friendless tend to be more sickly, with greater chances of developing heart disease and a shorter life expectancy, than those blessed with a wide circle of friends, relationships, and support. There seems to be a direct connection between illness and lack of love as documented in research studies conducted by Dean Ornish, M.D., a respected cardiologist from the University of California in San Francisco.

A few years ago, scientists have discovered that inflammation of the coronary arteries plays a role in the arteries becoming clogged with cholesterol. Two of the most successful heart medications, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors, work at the hormonal level, reducing the influence of adrenaline released when we are upset, nervous, or experiencing stress and fear. These drugs have been nothing short of miraculous, reducing incidence of death by 30 percent.
However, there are many patients who do not respond well to drugs alone because of emotional as well as physical ailments. This is where alternative healing, such as meditation, prayer, or psychotheraphy, comes in.

Sufism, or Practicing Remembrance, is an ancient spiritual practice that originated in Islam, and best known in the West through the poetry of Rumi. Sufism focuses its many practical and effective methods of healing on the heart with a simple but miraculous way of opening a person to the healing rays of love.

Spiritual wellness is discovering a sense of meaning in your life, and healthy lifestyle living out the reason and purpose of your existence.

Letting Go

Different people have different views about life.. They either marvel about it, or mouth a litany of complaints. Life is beautiful...life is unfair...life is what you make it...and so on and so forth. But what about death? Not very many will engagingly discuss the topic of death unless the situation is at hand. And since most people find it morbid to dwell on such an issue, they also find it very difficult to accept a tragedy when it strikes.

Death is inevitable as birth is common. However, while birth is considered a natural part of life's processes, people tend to have a different attitude towards death. And yet, it is an eventuality we all have to face sooner or later. Like it or not, we have to cope with it when we are finally faced with the death of someone we care about so much.

We grieve when we lose something. It can be a job, a prized possession, an unborn child, or the end of a relationship. But nothing compares to the loss or death of a loved one which could bring about the most powerful feeling of grief. It is characterized by not just a single feeling but a whole succession of feelings which take a while to overcome and which cannot be hurried. And no matter how similar the the experiences we may have, the intensity of grieving will always be different with each individual. There is no “right” way, or “correct” order for the grieving process.

As soon as the news of death of a close relative or friend is disclosed, most people feel simply stunned, as though they could not believe it has actually happened. Even in the case of terminally ill patients whose demise are already expected, still, most people may feel surprised by the tragedy as if it hasn't been expected at all.

There are times when the sense of emotional numbness initially keeps a person from grieving but helps in getting through some of the important practical arrangements that have to be made, such as getting in touch with relatives, as well as organizing the funeral. Yet sometimes, such feeling of unreality may become a problem if it goes on for too long. Suppressing emotions will only aggravate the situation and can have detrimental repercussions in the physical, emotional, and mental health of an individual.

People who refuse to acknowledge the feelings of sadness have the tendency to avoid relationships which only aggravate the depression. Similarly, emotional eaters usually become angrier with themselves after a bingeing episode.

Guilt is another common feeling for people who are in the process of grieving. They could not get it out of their head and may even consider what they could have done differently to prevent the tragedy of death. The grieving person may need to be reminded that death is usually beyond anyone’s control. In the case of deaths of terminally ill patients, the feeling of relief is natural but may cause guilty feelings.

In due time, the intense pain of grieving, as well as the depression, will fade away and it is again possible to think about the future. Although the sense of having lost a part of oneself never goes away entirely, the final phase of grieving is a letting go of the person who has died. Live a healthy lifestyle!