Depression And Sleep Disorder – A Few Helpful Tips To Get You Sleeping At Night

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Being depressed can have a huge impact in all areas of your life, such as relationships with friends, family and employment and has been proven to even have adverse effects on your physical health. Do you ever get “full body” depressed, where you can feel it from head to toe? I’m talking 100% lack of energy that leaves you feeling like a wet noodle. Do you get to where you have difficulty focusing on even the smallest things?

A big symptom of depression in many people is the inability to get proper rest. This lack of sleep only compounds the other symptoms and makes you feel completely “wiped out” from top to bottom. Here are a few ways that some people use to combat this problem.

Medications – There are several medications available that can be prescribed through your doctor. Some of these would be multi-purpose in order to help reduce your depression and to help you sleep at the same time. There are others that are designed just to help you rest. Either way, consult with your doctor and work together to find an option that is best for you. Never EVER take anyone elses medication! What may be helpful for one person may work the opposite way for another and end up in catastrophe. Don’t do it!

One problem with taking medication to help you sleep is that, even though most of these medicines are not habit forming, you can build up a need for them as time passes in order to get to sleep. In other words, you may start off by taking one and then gradually increasing the dosage, according to whatever your doctor prescribes. The problem is that, for some people, they’ll need to gradually take more and more in order to get the same result. In other words, they build up a tolerance to the medication. Also, there will come a point when you may want to stop taking the medicine and it will then take time for you to get back to normal. Note: Some doses of medication must be decreased gradually and stopping them “cold turkey” can be potentially very dangerous. Always consult with your physician before you stop taking prescribed medication.

Exercise – I realize how difficult that this can be when you’re feeling so listless, however, if you can just manage to “suck it up” and do some good stretching followed by some sets of calisthenics, wind sprints or a good and long brisk walk, you’ll have much more success in getting a good nights sleep. Working up a good sweat by exercising or doing some type of hard manual labor can be extremely helpful to release that tension and tire you out so that you may have a peaceful night of sleep.

Many people that suffer from loss of sleep and depression tend to dream more than they normally would, mostly bad dreams or dreams of high tension and excitement. Have you ever woke up hitting, kicking, screaming, crying, etc? These types of dreams are common in depressive people and seem to be very real. They could be brought on by an obvious problem such as their living conditions, relationships, etc. or possibly from a traumatic event such as an abusive past. They could also be pent up feelings of frustration that the person has difficulty expressing or releasing while awake.

This type of aggressive behavior should be addressed by seeking counseling. This doesn’t mean that you are “crazy” in any way, shape or form, it only means that there are issues that are subconsciously troubling you and the only way that they can be brought out into the open is to seek the help of a professional so that you may work through it together confidentially.

Don’t take naps – Taking naps during the day can be detrimental to getting a good nights sleep. Although you may be feeling tired, you really must fight it off until you condition your body to only rest itself at night.

Depression can be a serious medical problem. Please seek medical attention if these problems continue for more than a few days.

Geriatric Horse Care: Feeding Challenges For The Older Horse In A Herd Setting

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As the owner of a small horse herd containing several geriatric mares, I have found feeding time can pose several challenges. Having spent the first couple of years of horse ownership without a barn, I had to sometimes get a bit creative during feeding time. I also learned the hard way that feeding time can be one of the most dangerous times to be around horses, especially when you are not so savvy in the ways of herd behavior. For the benefit of those that are new to horses or to a herd scenario, I would like to share with you some of what I learned.

Recognize The Herd Pecking Order

Understanding this one thing can save you a ton of grief at feeding time. Horses have a pecking order, and they live by it every day. It can occasionally shift, as horses decide every day on who will be the leader of the herd. Unfortunately, in many cases it’s not the human! Pay close attention to your herd and know who moves whom around and you’ll quickly learn who is in charge. The horse that can move the other horses around is usually the leader, and it may not always be the biggest horse, or the oldest horse. There will usually be a lead mare and a lead stallion (or gelding) in a mixed sex herd. Observing this pecking order, as well as the dispositions of the top horses, will help you determine if your older horse is getting bullied by a higher ranking horse. Severe bullying cases may require splitting the herd for the safety of your older horse.

When it comes to feeding time, always recognize your herd’s pecking order when passing out the feed. You will find there will bea lot less chaos and less potential for injury if you feed the lead horse first, then second in command, and so on. In my herd, everyone has their very own spot that I always bring their feed bucket to, and they must be there in that spot before they get their bucket. I feed in the same order every time, so they learn the routine. My herd’s lead gelding (stallion in his mind!) will sometimes round everyone up when he thinks they are taking too long to get to their spots, and he gets very upset when they aren’t in the correct spot! Horses are pattern learners. They like consistency and they like to know what comes next.

I always dread having to go out of town and leave the feeding chores to others. My husband always scoffs at my routine when I give him my feeding instructions and tells me it’s silly. But it never fails that if my horse sitter doesn’t feed the horses in the correct order and put the buckets where they normally would go, it’s like a free for all! Horses charging and kicking at each other and the higher ranking horses crowding around while trying to put the feed out. Very scary!! Horses become very defensive of their space during feeding time, and it is very easy to get between two horses’ hind feet (or teeth) at the wrong moment or to get trampled. It is extremely dangerous for a human and can also be dangerous for the horses, especially for the lower ranking older horse that maybe doesn’t move so quickly. Make sure and establish a solid routine for your herd to help make it as safe as possible for both horse and human.

Separate Special Needs Horses

One of the most frustrating things for me before I had my barn and the ability to separate my horses at feeding time was making sure that my older horses got all their feed and supplements. I had one mare that just took forever to eat her food. It would literally take her 1-1/2 to 2 hours to finish! She was a very challenging mare to keep weight on and needed all the help she could get. She was on a senior formulation, as well as soaked alfalfa cubes and several supplements. The other horses were just getting regular hay and a small amount of feed which wasn’t nearly as appetizing. She was higher ranking than the two geldings at the time, so she was able to fend them off for a while, but eventually she would be harassed away from her food well before she was done. I had to find a way to separate them.

Since I didn’t have stalls, we installed tie rings on the larger fence posts and started tying each horse up to eat until the older horses were finished eating. This worked very well for us until we were able to build our barn. This, however, may not be practical for larger herds. Sometimes just tying up the offending horses is all that is necessary to ensure that the slower horses get to eat. Some situations may require a bit more imaginative solution. Creating a temporary stall in a corner of the pasture or lean-to using a couple of old stock panels attached to the fence or support posts for confining a single horse. Putting up a small portable electric pen works for some horses if they respect the electric fence.

Whatever solution you choose, it is important to provide an environment that allows your older horses to eat in peace! It also gives you the opportunity to make sure that your horse is eating its full ration. If you have a couple of stalls, you are already way ahead of the curve! If your older horse goes off its feed, you’ll know it right away! You can monitor their fecals if necessary, as well as ensuring that they get all supplements and medications that you intend for them. Not to mention that allowing your older horse to eat in a stress free environment is much better for their digestive health. A stressed out horse is less likely to eat and also compromises its ability to digest its food properly.

Proper Equine Dental Maintenance

A common area of neglect for the older horse is proper balanced equine dentistry. A lot of people just don’t realize that horses even need to have dental maintenance. This is particularly important for geriatric horse care. As horses age, they lose teeth. As their teeth wear, they develop hooks and ramps (sharp edges and ledges on the teeth) that impede the horse’s ability to properly chew its food. If they’ve lost teeth, the opposing tooth has nothing to wear against and can continue to grow into the gap left by the missing tooth, again impeding the normal movement of the jaw. A large percentage of older horses that have problems holding their weight have dental problems that can be addressed through proper balanced dentistry.

Not all equine dentists are created equal! Do your homework before deciding on who to take your horse to for dentistry. Talk to other horse owners, get referrals, find out what experiences they’ve had with the dentists in your area. A bad dentist can do an enormous amount of damage to a horse’s health and shorten its life expectancy. A horse only has so much tooth to erupt over its lifetime. Once it’s filed away, that’s it! There’s no more tooth. A good online resource is Advanced Whole Horse Dentistry, where you can find helpful information on equine dentistry.

While geriatric horse care in a herd setting can be very challenging, having a herd is a very rewarding experience which far outweighs the negatives. Horses living in a herd are much happier and healthier (both mentally and physically) overall. It provides your horses with stable relationships, socialization skills, and living conditions much more natural than being alone or stalled all day. Your older horse fills an important role in the stability of your herd; teaching socialization skills to the younger horses, providing discipline when necessary, and adding to the safety of the herd through their experience and knowledge. I love watching my herd play in the pasture. It provides me with endless hours of entertainment!

Newborn Baby Care Tips

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Giving birth is a beautiful experience as well as the beginning of a new era in a mother’s life. Motherhood certainly has it’s rewards but often first-time mothers need a bit of advice regarding the proper care of their newborn baby.

Sleep

Newborn babies sleep on average, sixteen hours in a day. The newborn sleeps in blocks of time of about two hours at a time. The newborn’s nervous system is developing after birth and you can rest assured that by the age of three months or so, he or she will begin to sleep for longer periods at a time and will by that age, be sleeping a good six hours straight at night. Be sure to allow your newborn to sleep when he or she wants to sleep.

Exercise

Your newborn baby can benefit from you doing some ‘baby exercises’ with him or her as well as gently massaging the baby’s muscles. Exercising a newborn baby can help the development of muscle coordination and control and can assist in developing muscle strength. Lay your baby on his back and simply move his limbs gently. You can bend his legs at the knees and gently bend his arms at the elbows. This provides a wonderful bonding experience for you both in addition to the benefits to the baby’s muscular development.

Feeding

It is vital that your newborn receive the proper diet during the first few months of life and beyond. Newborn babies can either be breast fed or fed a baby formula from a bottle. The choice is up to each new mother. A newborn baby should be fed every few hours throughout the day. Your baby will certainly let you know when he or she is hungry by being fussy or crying.

Bathing

Newborn babies should not be bathed every day as it can dry their tender skin. A sponge bath is really the best option in the very beginning as it is more gentle and is less likely to upset your baby. Be sure to clean the creases in the baby’s skin and the diaper area well. Keep your baby wrapped in a soft towel and clean one part of the baby’s body at a time so that the baby does not get chilled.

Caring for your newborn should be a pleasure. Do not hesitate to ask other mothers for advice. An experienced mother is a great resource for new parents. Also, if you are a new mother and could use some tips of how to care for your new child there is much information through your family doctor.

Treatment for Mesothelioma Cancer

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When learning about mesothelioma, you should search for words like cached similar mesothelioma, or mesothelioma cached similar. This is because there are a variety of cancers linked to mesothelioma and asbestos cancer.

But how is mesothelioma cancer treated?

Well, in order to explain this, we must first discuss a little about what exactly mesothelioma is, and how it attacks the body. During the attachment of mesosomes, squamous cells rise up from the linings of embryonic body cavities. These squamous cells are located in the peritoneum, the pericardium, and the pleura. The peritoneum is a thin membrane that lines the abdominal and pelvic cavities, and spans across the majority of your abdominal viscera.

The pericardium is located just outside of the heart, surrounding it with a multiple layered sac of fluid that lubricates the surfaces near the heart, preventing damage from friction. The pleuron, grouped into two sections, the visceral pleura, and the parietal pleura, is highly susceptible to pain. It is understood, that mesothelioma cancer, is one of hardship and grief.

As with all cancer growth, it manipulates the integrity of cell walls, mutating the human form. Mesothelioma cancer begins in the lungs. It is contracted by swallowing or breathing in asbestos fiber, which are so small, that the naked human eye cannot see them.

It takes a long time for mesothelioma cancer to set in. In some reported cases, it has taken tens of years for a victim to realize they have this cancer. This is one of the reasons it is so deadly, taking host to more than 3,000 per year.

When being treated for mesothelioma cancer, a patient will undergo several forms of therapy. The most common form includes a series of x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. In addition, you may find that a doctor might recommend biopsies to assist in determining which type of treatment plan will work best for you. As no one person is the same as another, nor is treatment and it will vary from one patient to another. An oncologist or physician will help you to figure out what works best with your body to meet your needs.

In addition, surgery, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy have been known to assist in the fight against cancer. This is the same with mesothelioma cancer treatment. When you began treatment, you will learn that the object of this treatment is finding and eliminate any and all tumors. The variety of theory helps by solving the question of exactly where they are located, and the spread of each tumor. There are my symptoms that will be relieved by following a doctor’s orders, and attending these treatment sessions.

In this particular cancer, a victim may find difficulty in breathing, chest pain, and harsh stomach aches. As a result, depression is likely, and fighting off disease will be more difficult than usual. If you find yourself with these or other symptoms, you should seek help from your doctor or physician right away.