I wasn’t able to go to college right after high school because I didn’t have enough money to do so. I started working at what I thought at the time was a good bookkeeping job, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I would never get very far at the company. The only ones getting promotions had Bachelor’s degrees, and management made it clear that the trend was likely to continue. By earning an accounting degree online, I would be able to parlay my experience and time with the company into a higher-paying job.I suppose I could go the traditional route and plant my butt in a chair on campus every night for four years, but there are definite drawbacks to doing that. For one thing, I’m usually pretty wiped out by the time I finish working. The last thing I want to do is prolong my day by fighting through traffic in order to get to class. I would much rather earn an accounting degree online, where I can do the work right from the comfort of my own home whenever it’s most convenient for me. Whether I want to tackle my assignments at 9 o’clock at night or 5 o’clock in the morning (or save everything for the weekends), the choice is all mine. I know I can’t get that kind of flexibility if I have to attend classes in person!

Another attractive feature of getting an accredited accounting degree online is the affordability. Web-based college courses cost a fraction of what the regular classes cost, which means I won’t even have to take out any student loans or apply for financial aid in order to complete my studies. This is obviously a huge benefit, because nobody likes going into debt if they can help it. Plus, I’ll be able to keep working full-time while going to school, so I’ll still have a bunch of money coming in. That’s the best scenario I can think of.

I’m glad that today’s technology gives us an easy way to go back and complete our degrees if we didn’t have a chance to do so right out of high school. This really does level the playing field in the long run by giving more people the opportunity to earn their academic credentials and get ahead. Once I finish my accounting degree online, I’ll be able to move onward and upward in my career!

I had been trying for years to find an affordable health insurance plan, but I was turned down almost immediately because I am considered to be overweight and I had high blood pressure for a brief period in my life. I had not had any issues with my blood pressure in years by the time that I was trying to get health insurance coverage, but that didn’t matter.

I started to wonder why finding affordable health insurance was so difficult in a country as wealthy as the United States, where medical care is so abundant. I was tired of going to the doctor and having to pay three or four times as much as friends of mine that had health insurance coverage.

A few years ago, I developed an umbilical hernia, and that was the point that I realized I could forget about ever getting an affordable health insurance plan or any health insurance at all, for that matter, unless I decided to lie and tell an insurance company that I didn’t have any pre-existing conditions. I do not believe in lying about anything, so it was hard for me not to become depressed.

It was shortly after that happened that I saw the movie “Sicko,” which criticized the state of the health care industry in the United States by visiting with a number of families who had sick or injured loved ones that were not able to receive health insurance coverage. A few of the people even died because of a lack of insurance coverage.

Knowing that an affordable health insurance plan was laughable in the condition I was in, my feeling of depression started to change to anger. It was disgusting to me that people were dying so that these big corporations could make bigger profits.

Then came March 22, 2010, one of the most historic days of my lifetime, in which the health care bill was passed that will allow all Americans to have health insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions. The best part about it is that the coverage will be part of an affordable health insurance plan that I can get in the very near future.

There could be some hiccups with the new health bill, as there have been with most major pieces of legislation throughout the history of the United States. If I can find an affordable health insurance plan, however, I will feel so much better about my life.

It’s not that the whole online idea is thoroughly unworkable. It is. It’s just that online education is not meant to replace traditional education. It is supposed to be the way the University of Phoenix does it successfully. Its online offerings sound nothing like its traditional courses. And there is no option to do a little bit online, and then move back offline. They don’t just repackage their traditional courses and put them online. Their online classes may be just one way out of many to make education cheaper and more accessible.

The body needs sleep. This is when our brains file away what we have learned that day and our bodies repair the damage from the day. If you are a child or teenager, your body is growing while you sleep. This is why babies sleep so much after they are born. They grow more in the first year than in any other time period, so they have to sleep to allow the body to do what it needs to do. If you are not sleeping, your immune function is not what it should be and you could get sick much more easily. That being said, you can see why finding and fixing the causes of insomnia are important.

For many, the causes of insomnia are related to stress and mental health. If you have a lot on your mind and you are stressed out, your brain may be in overdrive trying to fix your problems thus you can not sleep. You may find you are so worried that you can not turn off your brain to get sleep. The lack of sleep then make the problem worse. Depression and deeper emotional problems can develop when insomnia starts this way as the lack of sleep can make any problem worse.At times, insomnia has other roots that are easier to take care of and a good night of sleep can be had with little effort. Some make the mistake of drinking the wrong things at the wrong times, leaving a person awake when they should be sleeping. It could be that the causes of insomnia in some people are simply personal habits that leave them worked up when it is time to go to sleep. Simple changes in lifestyle can easily fix these problems. This type of insomnia is not a long term problem and usually turns around in a matter of days.

In other cases, the causes of insomnia are medical. You may have a problem that needs attention by a doctor or perhaps a mental health professional. There are some drugs that can induce sleep, but do not take these without serious consideration as some have very strange and potentially dangerous side effects. The pros and cons should be weighed in each individual case. However, if you are so tired you can not safely drive, work, or care for your family, you may want to take something as a short term fix until something else helps you with your situation.

If you take a look at the statistics regarding heart disease over the past several decades, it becomes apparent that a healthy heart does have a relationship to exercise. Up until the 1980s and early 1990s, kids were far more active than they are today. Riding bikes, participation in sports and playground activities were part of a kid’s daily life. As the couch potato syndrome developed, along with time spent at the PC and video games becoming the norm, kids became less inclined to get out in the fresh air after school, opting instead to sit in front of the tube or computer, adopting a sedentary lifestyle while still in their teens. It’s also notable that physical education is now an optional, instead of mandatory, class.
As parents, we need to insist that kids engage in regular, physical exercise on a daily basis. If you look at the statistics on overweight kids, a lack of sufficient exercise is one of the major culprits. As adults, we need to impose the same rules for ourselves – setting a good example, as well as keeping ourselves fit and avoiding heart problems down the road.

While we enjoy many benefits and conveniences of the modern day, there are also inherent pitfalls. For example, we all know that fast food and highly refined and processed food are rife with much more fats, sugars, additives and a host of preservatives which certainly do nothing to promote a healthy heart. Sure, we all indulge in the occasional ‘pizza night’ or fast food dinner to accommodate busy schedules, but this should not become the daily dietary practice. Freshly prepared meals, which are low in saturated and trans fats, along with those daily, 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies, go a long way towards keeping a healthy heart healthy. When you make heart-healthy meals the norm, rather than the exception, you’re much less likely to develop a heart condition at an early age. In fact, when you make regular exercise and a healthy diet a lifelong practice, chances are good that you’ll maintain a healthy heart well into your old age!

You can find a standard living will form for your state online at many different websites. These forms are formatted properly and contain all the proper language to make the document legally binding. All you have to do is pay a fee, download the living will form, fill in all the details, and then sign it with witnesses present.
What are the advantages of completing these steps and keeping a signed living will form with your other important documents? There are many. For one thing, in these wills, you can designate a so-called health care proxy or agent, a trusted person who can be counted on to make medical decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated in any way. This ought to give you some peace of mind, knowing that your specific wishes are going to be carried out no matter what happens.

Another advantage to having a signed living will form on file is that there won’t be any room for legal wrangling. By downloading a state-specific living will form, you’re essentially guaranteeing that nobody can countermand the wishes expressed in the document. This is a good way to avoid potentially nasty legal battles between different family members who have conflicting ideas about how to proceed with your medical care. Once you’ve signed the official papers, only you can change the contents.

As I mentioned, these types of wills are readily available online. But you have to be careful about which document you download and use because some might not be binding in your state of residence. For example, I’ve seen a generic living will form that is offered as a free download. This might be tempting to a lot of people, but your state might not recognize the non-specific language it contains. Your best bet is to go ahead and pay the small fee (usually between $20 to $50) to make sure everything is done properly. The last thing you want is to run into trouble just when you need the document the most.

Even if you’re young, healthy, and in the prime of your life, it would be smart for you to consider filling out a living will form now. There’s simply no getting around the fact that catastrophes happen all the time and that fate might ring up your number next. It’s far better to take precautions now and be prepared for any eventuality than to leave your medical future to chance.

Medication is typically used for people who want to cure depression, but isn’t always needed or helpful.  A bit of anecdotal evidence:  A friend of mine in college claimed to have depression as a result of a chemical imbalance.  He went to the doctor, who tested him for said imbalance and found nothing of note.  However since my friend clearly had symptoms, he was prescribed prozac (or a similar medication) to help him regulate his moods.

It didn’t work.  Why?  Because he didn’t have clinical depression.  He was simply in a rut, unable to be happy with his accomplishments or attempt to break out of his pre-determined path.

So it’s a good step to take a look at yourself before you really go off the deep end by taking drugs that mess with your biochemistry.  Are you really, truly depressed?  Or are you just looking for an “easy” way to make your life into something else?For most people I think it’s the latter.  I say this because, at various points in my late teens and early 20s, I claimed to have “depression.”  Turns out, in hindsight, I was just lazy and unmotivated.  What I needed wasn’t drugs, but the will to get up every morning, work out, eat right, do my work and then party the night away.  Instead I just self-medicated with cigarettes and alcohol, finding brief moments of happiness in between all the ennui.  If I could do it over again, I absolutely would.

However, this isn’t to say that “depression” doesn’t exist.  For many people, there are legitimate chemical imbalances that need to be addressed with medication.  These are people who can’t be permanently helped by a change in routine, exercise and diet, but need chemical treatment.

Sadly, even with chemicals, depression isn’t one-hundred percent curable.  Science can not yet cure depression.  However it is managable, and managing your depression is the first step towards living a life where you’re in command, rather than having a disease be in command of you.

Let’s start simply:  Your cholesterol ratio is the ratio of your total cholesterol to your High-density Cholesterol (HDL).  Your total cholesterol level is determined by adding your Low-density Cholesterol (LDL) and your high-density cholesterol.  Low-density cholesterol is frequently called your “bad” cholesterol, while your high-density cholesterol is frequently called your “good” cholesterol.

The American Heart Association (americanheart.org) uses the following as its barometer:

AHA Recommendation

We recommend using the absolute numbers for total blood cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels. They’re more useful to physicians than the cholesterol ratio in determining the appropriate treatment for patients.

Some physicians and cholesterol technicians use the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol in place of the total blood cholesterol. The ratio is obtained by dividing the HDL cholesterol level into the total cholesterol. For example, if a person has a total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL and an HDL cholesterol level of 50 mg/dL, the ratio would be 4:1. The goal is to keep the ratio below 5:1; the optimum ratio is 3.5:1.”So now that you know how your cholesterol ratio is determined, the question then becomes how do you get your ratio down to that 3.5:1 ratio?  It is not an easy process, but barring genetic predisposition, it is a straightforward one.

Step 1: Change your diet.  Eliminate fatty foods like red meat and dairy.  That means no more steaks, pizza or hot dogs.  You can treat yourself once every couple of weeks or so, but get used to having boneless, skinless chicken breast or fish for dinner.  Have fresh fruit for dessert.  And eat as much green, leafy vegetables as possible – spinach, kale, broccol, various lettuces.

Step 2: Eliminate processed foods.  Get rid of anything in your house that has High Fructose Corn Syrup or Trans Fats.  No questions asked, just get rid of them.

Step 3: Exercise!  You need to exercise at least four times as week for at least twenty-five minutes.  Make it part of your morning routine, because exercise is the only thing proven to raise HDL outside of prescription medication.

Most women should begin regular breast cancer screening around age 45.  The hormonal changes associated with menopause greatly increase breast cancer risk.  Women over age 45 who have not started regular screening should speak to their doctor immediately about how to get started.

Some women with special risk factors will need to start breast cancer screening much earlier.  The most severe risk factor is previous incidence of breast cancer.  Other risk factors include family history of breast cancer, being overweight or obese, having your first child at an older age (older than 35), and having your first menstruation at an early age (before age 12).  Women who think they may be at increased risk of developing breast cancer should consult with their doctors about deciding when to begin breast cancer screening.Different tests are used to screen for breast cancer.  The most well-known is the mammogram.  A mammogram is simply an x-ray of the breast.  Doctors recommend regular annual mammograms for post-menopausal women and those who are at high risk.  The mammogram is less effective for younger women, who tend to have more dense breast tissue.  The success of the mammogram in detecting breast cancer may also depend on the size of the tumor.

Other tests for breast cancer screening are gaining favor among radiologists, particularly the ultrasound and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).  Clinical trials have shown MRI breast scans to be more sensitive than mammogram images.  They can therefore detect smaller tumors which are often hidden on a mammogram image.  Ultrasound screening can also detect very small calcifications which might not show up on a mammogram image.  Ultrasound is also useful for differentiating between solid tumors and fluid-filled cysts.  Although neither ultrasound nor MRI are typically employed for regular, annual breast cancer screening, they can be very useful for women who are at particularly high risk, and also as a supplement to regular mammography.

As medical technology improves, early detection of dangerous tumors continues to improve.  With new advances in breast cancer screening, survival rates continue to increase.  If you are unsure about whether to begin screening or how you should start, don’t hesitate to bring the subject up with your doctor.  Early detection is the only cure we have.

If you are in an unhappy marriage, think about things very thoroughly before you decide that you want to ask for a divorce. There are some things that can happen which can mean the end of any marriage, and you can decide what your limits are. Many believe that cheating is the end of a marriage (though this is totally subjective), and most would agree that any type of physical or mental abuse should not be tolerated. Otherwise, however, an unhappy marriage can be saved.

There are many people today who do not understand what the word commitment means. They believe that this is something that you do when things feel good, but don’t think much of it when they find that they are in an unhappy marriage. Commitment is more about the bad times than the good. It is easy to make a commitment when you are in love and things are going well. Every relationship has its ups and downs, and there are going to be times when it feels like you are in an unhappy marriage. It happens to every couple.Most of the time, an unhappy marriage occurs because life gets in the way and spouses grow apart from each other. Work and children put a strain on communication and alone time. Both are essential for a marriage to work. What happens is that people think this means they have fallen out of love and they get out. That can be a huge mistake. If those people were to take the time to refocus on each other and have honest conversations about what is missing for them in the marriage, that marriage can turn around to be better than ever.

If you are in an unhappy marriage, think about why things have gone wrong. If you feel alone, unappreciated, and overwhelmed, chances are that your spouse if feeling the same. It may feel like they are treating you badly on purpose, but they probably have no idea. They can not read your mind. Think about how you have be contributing to the unhappy marriage that you find yourself in. With a little work, your marriage can be better than ever if you just take some time to really think. Your marriage vows mean something, so give it all you have before you decide it is really time to say goodbye. People fall back in love all of the time and are glad they did.