depression

3 Common Problems Every Student Will Face in College

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The student life is one of the best times you can experience. While in college, you are going to make some friendships that will last for a lifetime, you may even meet the love of your life, and you are going to get some of the needed skills to land your dream job. Even though these few short years are amazing, there are a lot of struggles that come with it. It is said that there are a lot of common problems every student faces, no matter the location or the faculty they choose.

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Some of these problems can feel so big that you may get to the verge of dropping out of school and just giving up. One thing you should always remember is that most of these things are easily solvable and you should not give up no matter how hard things seem right now. To help you out, we created this list of things everyone struggles with in college. We are going to give you some examples, and ways you can avoid or solve the problem. Talk to your friends, family, or ask for professional help and you will realize that there is so much beauty of this period.

  1. Lack of funds

This is definitely the most common issue, and the rule is, you are never going to have enough money. Some people have to spend a lot of money on tuition, others can’t make ends meet when they are renting an apartment in another city or country, and the rest just struggle to balance the funds they need for their social life and college life.

You may need extra money to get private classes so you can ace the finals, and the books you have to buy may be too expensive. So, what to do when you cannot afford everything?

You can try buying used books if they are the same ones you are using in the class this year. The price will be halved and you will be able to save hundreds of dollars. If you need money for private lessons, then you should find a way to afford it. Passing your exams is more important than anything else. You can also try to find a part-time job, or become a freelancer so you can work from home and you can choose the hours you are available to work. Roommates are a great way to save some money on apartment rentals so you can share both the bills and the rent.

  1. Time management

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When you are in university, you have to focus on too many classes at the same time. Even though there are several times when you can take the finals, you still cannot focus on one subject per semester. It seems like the professors don’t care about the fact you cannot finish everything on time, and they all give out homework, essays, and projects at the same time.

So, you are torn between studying, making the project, writing the essay, and trying to get to all of your classes on time. Even though there is no quick-fix for this, there are some things that can help you out.

Make a plan and decide what you need to focus on right now and what can be done later. You can always ask for help with the things that don’t need all of your attention. For example, according to essayonline.net, you can always find a cheap essay online that’s created by people with the skills to provide professional academic assistance. When you have someone write an essay for you, you can save valuable time.

Think about the subjects that are the hardest and focus most of your time on them. You can study together with your friends and quiz each other to know where your knowledge stands. The same goes for projects since group projects are far easier to make than when you have to work on a task all on your own.

  1. Anxiety and Depression

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This is something that is more common that everyone admits it to be. It is said that one in three students suffers from some form of anxiety and depression. It is an extremely stressful period in your life where you are faced with the unknown, you have to make new friends, and most students have to move out of home and live hundreds of miles away from everyone they know and love.

The number of subjects, exams, time management, and money problems can lead to serious mental health issues that are left unreported and untreated. One thing you should always know is that there is no shame in you feeling anxious, stressed, or depressed. This is not something you should hide or ignore, and you should get help as soon as you notice the symptoms.

Try to find your trigger and learn if there is anything that is the biggest reason for your feelings. If you are feeling homesick, then you can talk to your parents and try to visit them or them to visit you as often as possible. Usually, this feeling will pass after the first year, so it is not a permanent state. Talk to your friends or relatives if you are feeling depressed or if you feel like the world is on your shoulders.

It is better to ask for professional help, or even take a break from college than to risk your mental health. When you address the problems when you first notice them, it is far easier to solve them than to wait for them to do permanent damage.

Your college should have a professional working there that can help you for free, so look for student counseling if you cannot afford a private psychiatrist right now.

You should know that all of these feelings that are making you panic are temporary. Everything will get better, and things will work out. The first year in college is the hardest one, so you have to just do everything you can to help yourself that first year. After that, you will have more friends, you will have a plan on how to handle financial issues, and you will have better and more stable communication with your family. When you are done with college, you are going to miss that period, so try to enjoy it as much as you can right now.

Why Obesity is so common in the USA?

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It has been a long and difficult topic of why obesity is so spread throughout the United States. And this problem will not be resolved in the next couple of years so easily. The reason for this is because one of the latest studies about obesity in the US shows that in 2013, at least 40% of all adults were obese, and 20% of the youth were overweight too. If you think about it, those are huge numbers. Almost half of the population of the United States has a problem with obesity, or in other words, a hundred and fifty million people Americans are obese.

Source:thefiscaltimes.com

This information shouldn’t be too surprising because this problem with obesity has been here for more than ten years. A lot of previous researches and studies have shown almost the same percentage. This indicates that people in the US must make a change to start dealing with this issue because, in the future, the problem could get even bigger and bigger.

Obesity is determined by the rate of BMI or body-mass index, and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, everything above 30 BMI to be obese. Another exciting thing to mention is that most obese Americans have not developed this problem because of sweets or high-calorie foods, but because of a lot of other factors such as exercise, stress, or even sleep deprivation. This means that if we want to make a change in the country, we will have to change a lot more than just our diets.

Here are the two biggest factors that influence obesity.

No physical activities whatsoever

Source:evidentlycochrane.net

One of the biggest reasons why people see symptoms of obesity is because they avoid doing any physical activities or because their lifestyle does not leave them any room for exercise. In this world of constant communication, the internet, and access to every information from our chairs, beds, or office desks, our daily physical activities have been considerably reduced.

An average American worker gets to his office, sits on his chair for more than 6 hours taking calls, writing on their computer, and working with their computers. However, the problem doesn’t end there, because the worker also needs to get home, which is usually by train, bus, or car. This results in even more seating time and then finally, when people get home tired and sleepy they spend some more time lying in bed or sitting and watching TV.

Anxiety, depression or stress

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Most people, whether working or studying, are under constant stress because they are afraid they will underperform in their tasks or tests. These big amounts of stress result in a lot more energy expenses than what the body is used to. By spending more energy, our bodies need something to replenish it with, so we turn to food. Because of this, our bodies get used to spending huge amounts of energy, but when we don’t (no stress days), the food we consume gets stored as fat. This is also one of the bigger factors that lead to obesity.

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Effects of sleep deprivation on your body

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There is nothing as disturbing as not being able to sleep well at night. The environment may be peaceful and serene but if you have insomnia, then we’re afraid you may not catch any sleep. At that time, you won’t realize the seriousness of the situation. However, in the morning and the rest of the day, that’s when you feel all the negative impacts sleep deprivation can have on your life. Missing out on the vital 8 to 9 hours of sleep every night will do more than make you feel disoriented and grumpy. There are both long term and short term effects, keep reading this article to find more information about sleep deprivation. Also, we recommend you to click here if you want to learn more about this topic.

Slows down your immune system

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We all know the immune system is important for the protection of our bodies from illnesses and pathogens. The immune system produces infection-fighting substances such as cytokines while you are asleep. This means that your immune system rejuvenates itself and prepares to fight infections during sleep. Lack of sleep will prevent it from rejuvenating itself. In this case, you will lack the ability to effectively fight off infections and it will take longer before you recover from an illness.

It ages your skin

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Nowadays, both men and women are concerned about their looks and in particular the health of their skin. It is no longer a women’s agenda to have glowing and flawless skin. Whichever the gender you belong to, sleep deprivation can greatly affect the health of your skin. A few sleepless nights are enough to make your skin appear pale and the eyes puffy. Chronic insomnia mostly leads to fine lines, dark circles around the eyes and lackluster skin.

What happens is the body produces more cortisol when you are not getting enough sleep. Cortisol is basically a stress hormone. When released in large amounts it breaks down the skin collagen which is the protein that works to keep it smooth and radiant. Therefore, lack of sleep can really impact your skin and is an issue that has to be rectified early. Otherwise, you will start looking older than you really are.

It can make you gain weight

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It may sound odd but sleep deprivation may have something to do with you having a weight gain. It is a great risk factor in addition to excessive eating and not exercising. Generally, sleep impacts the levels of two hormones in your body. These are leptin and ghrelin. These hormones control the feelings of fullness and hunger. Leptin signals to your brain that you have already eaten enough food. On the other hand, ghrelin stimulates your appetite.

If you are suffering from sleep deprivation, the brain tends to reduce the levels of leptin hormone and instead raises ghrelin. The lack of balance in these hormones may be the reason behind your craving for snacks especially later in the night. The worst part is you will tend to crave high fat or carbohydrate-rich foods.

Furthermore, when you are not sleeping enough your energy levels will definitely be down. For this reason, you won’t have the energy and motivation to exercise. Reduced physical activity and increased appetite is bound to lead to weight gain over time.

Sleep deprivation kills sex drive

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According to some specialists, more cases of low libido and lack of interest in sex are reported in sleep-deprived patients. The attributed causes are less energy level, sleepiness, and more tension. Also, the production of certain hormones such as testosterone is dependent on quality and uninterrupted sleep. Tossing and turning throughout the night will affect the production of this hormone. Low testosterone levels may be to blame for a lower sex drive.

It can result in depression

Insomnia is one of the contributing factors to symptoms of depression in a number of people. According to a 2005 sleep in America poll, people diagnosed with depression and anxiety were more prone to sleeping less than 6 hours every night.

Insomnia and depression go hand in hand. This is because sleep deprivation only aggravates depression symptoms. Therefore, when you are depressed, it will be very difficult to catch any sleep at night. As a matter of fact, treating insomnia can greatly help alleviate depressions and its symptoms.

7 Things You Didn’t Know Botox Could Treat

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While Botox is one of the most popular ways to smooth out unwanted lines and wrinkles, it actually has a wide variety of other uses.

It is a neuromuscular blocker, which means it affects the nerves in the muscle it’s injected into. Our muscles are affected or involved in a number of medical conditions, which is why Botox is such a versatile treatment. 

The Many Medical Uses for Botox

Besides making you look and feel younger, here are a few of the other ways that it can be used.

Excessive Sweating

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Even though sweating is a normal response to stress or an increase in temperature, some people experience excessive sweating for no reason at all. Sweat is produced when the muscles around the sweat glands contract. By blocking the nerve signals to these muscles, sweat and body odor can be reduced. 

Crossed Eyes

In 1981, Botox was used to treat crossed eyes for the first time. By injecting the substance into the muscles that are responsible for moving the eye, doctors are able to reduce the appearance of crossed eyes. 

Chronic Migraines

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According to epiclinic, chronic migraines are one of the most popular medical conditions that are treated with Botox. Anyone who experiences headaches more than 14 days every month has a potentially chronic condition. To treat the symptoms associated with migraines, the injections are administered to the patient’s head or neck every 12 weeks. 

Chronic Pain

Myofascial pain syndrome is a chronic condition that can be treated with Botox. By injecting it into the neck and shoulder area, chronic pain can be greatly reduced, helping patients experience a better quality of life. While medication is still effective for treating chronic pain, Botox offers longer-lasting effects. 

Depression

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It is even used as a treatment in the psychiatric space. A study that was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research in 2014, researchers injected Botox between the eyebrows of 74 people with depression. The symptoms experienced by these patients decreased by 47% over the course of six weeks. Other studies show that frowning is believed to contribute to depression-related symptoms, which is one of the reasons why Botox works as a treatment. 

Drooling

Patients with Parkinson’s disease often experience drooling because they may swallow less than usual but it can help treat this effect. In a study that was conducted in 2006, researchers saw a visible improvement in patients that were treated with Botox. 

Incontinence

source: medicalnewstoday.com

Finally, it can also be used to treat adults who have an overactive bladder but haven’t responded to the medication that’s usually prescribed for this condition. Adults with incontinence will experience bladder squeezing too often or without warning, causing them to want to urinate frequently or pass urine without warning. By injecting it into the bladder, it relaxes, which increases its capacity to store urine. 

Botox is certainly one of the most versatile treatments available today and can help improve your quality of life in more ways than one. 

Tips On How To Keep Your Anxiety Off

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In the times we are living, and with so much external stimuli around us, it is not that simple to stay positive especially when the universe seems to be working against us. And don’t worry, we have all felt like nothing is going right at some point – but accept it and let it pass; stressing over it will not do you any good and can just worsen the situation. Depression and anxiety are the two mental conditions that have been becoming more common in the past few decades. And while depression supposedly is the harder case of anxiety, neither of these are problems that don’t have a solution.

Anxiety is usually caused by insecurity and a feeling of shame. It is either due to past trauma and bad experiences, or overall lack of confidence whether in any type of social environment or relating to some exact situation. And though anxiety can be pretty persistent, it is nothing that can’t be put under control without taking a certain type of medication. Still, there are certain medications like Ativan that could be of help in the short-term.

Without further ado, let’s go ahead and take a look at the few tips on how to keep your anxiety off and under control!

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How To Keep Your Anxiety Under Control

1. Believe it or not, certain diet habits do have a lot of influence on your anxiety. And apart from the fact that you should strive for a healthy and nutritious diet and exclude refined sugar products and trans fats, there is two more advice that you should listen to. Both caffeine and alcohol are seen as anxiety inducers which means that you shouldn’t be drinking any of the two, especially in the situations when you already feel anxious as it can only worsen your condition. On the other, water as essential to life is a great choice, and some types of tea like chamomile could have a calming effect as well.

2. Go running. As soon as your anxiety starts crawling back on your start working out and wear it out. Whether it is a cardio exercise, weightlifting, or a yoga session believe us that workout session will be of great help and you should strive to do that at least 3-4 times a week.

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3. Do something you like, and focus on self-care. Whether it’s going shopping, to a manicure or having a beer by yourself – go for it. The feeling of self-care and self-respect are the two most important ones when it comes to putting your anxiety under control.

4. You feel anxious? Start writing a journal. Write down what is causing you to feel insecure and discuss it with yourself or positive people that surround you. And a daily journal is always a good option as you will be able to keep track of all the good things that happened as well and reflect on those wherever you start feeling down again.

5. Last but not least is taking a certain kind of pharmaceutical drugs. Ativan is one of the rare anxiety medications that do have an instant effect and being a benzodiazepine it works by stimulating your GABA receptors and boosting its production, thus calming you and reducing the feeling of stress. It is said to be beneficial to people that suffer from frequent seizures as well, and some even recommend it as an aid during the alcohol withdrawal process.

source: netdoctor.co.uk

Summary

Anxiety is something that can absolutely be controlled, and with the right and healthy habits, you will beat it in no time. Certain medications can have a short-term effect, but it is always better to strive for long-term results and change your life as a whole. Regular exercise, healthy diet, and sleep routine, and positive people around you – that is a winning combination!