Z

I'm planning on being a psychiatric nurse, but I'm struggling in chemistry (I'm in my freshman year of college in the nursing program) and I'm just not sure if it is the right career for me. I'm trying to think of back ups. I would love to work in mental healthcare. What are some careers I could pursue, and how would I go about getting into these careers (for instance, what education?) I'm doing research for myself as well but would love your recommendations and advice.

I've struggled with depression and anxiety for quite a few years now, and I'm scared that this will stop me from being hired as a nurse. I'm currently a senior in high school. I'm taking a CNA course this summer, and in the fall I'm entering a 4 year nursing program to get my BSN.

Being depressed/anxious will not keep me from being a good nurse. I've done a lot of shadowing and volunteer work, and in fact while I'm at the job and taking care of others, I'm adequately distracted from myself and my problems. I'm really good working with others and I think I'll be an excellent nurse.

However, my freshman year I had a short hospitalization because I was suicidal. That was a long time ago, but I still do struggle with depression and I've even been a bit suicidal lately, though I know I won't act on it. However, I'm scared that somewhere along the lines I will have another breakdown and have to be hospitalized for a short while again.

If this happens, will I still be able to be hired? I'm not a danger to anyone else and I don't think my mental illness will affect my job performance but I'm scared that no one will hire me.

In December or November, I started getting acid reflux almost every morning. In early February I went to the doctor about it. She prescribed me a month's worth of antacids. She said that those should help level out the acid levels in my stomach and get rid of my acid reflux. I took those before dinner every night for a month and they helped, I only had really bad acid reflux a day or two of those months.

However, the prescription ended and the acid reflux came back. I take OTC antacids (Pepsid) before dinner every night and sometimes in the mornings once I start getting the acid reflux. Should I go back to the doctor about this?

I've tried to change my diet. I don't eat many spicy foods and I don't have any caffeine, I've also cut back a lot on soda in general.

What should I do? Should I change my diet or habits further or should I go back to the doctor?

I've struggled for depression and anxiety for a very long time, and have been on Prozac (at various dosages) since 8th grade. I'm currently a senior in high school and on 40 mg of Prozac.

I've been incredibly depressed and anxious lately. It's worse than it has been in a really long time. Sometimes I go into episodes of extreme anxiety or depression and it's like I'm not myself anymore. Sometimes I see things that aren't there or have trouble getting a firm hold in reality. I have a lot of trouble concentrating and controlling my emotions and it keeps getting worse. I've lost about 20 pounds in the last month or two, which my therapist thinks is due to my stress and depression and anxiety.

My therapist suggested that I talked to my therapist about changing my medication-- either upping the dose or supplementing the Prozac with other medication or changing medications all together.

Hopefully this will work, but what should I do if it doesn't? I try to exercise, I have one of those "happy lamps" with the UV lights, and I meditate, but I still can't function very well. I was hanging out with friends the other day and for no reason I got into a really bad crying jag. I went into the bathroom to calm down and was really tempted to just take a whole bottle of pills.

I feel bad. I can't even hang out with friends without being a wreck and they don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.

I'm kind of scared. I haven't self-harmed for over three years (about the time of my suicide attempt) but I'm starting to have desires to self-harm.

What can I do if the medication doesn't work?

I've been accepted into the nursing program at my ideal school, and so four years from now I should have my Bachelor's Degree. I'm very excited. I'm also getting my CNA certification this summer.

Nursing is obviously my biggest priority right now. However, I have tattoos in mind that are very meaningful to me and I would really love to have. However, my ideal placing for these tattoos is on my wrists. They would be fairly small, but I know that I would have to cover them up during clinicals. For instance, I'd have to wear long-sleeved scrubs or wrist bands if that was allowed.

My question is to those who have tattoos that they must cover up. How much of a hassle is it to cover up these tattoos? Is it worth it to you?

I don't have enough money to get my desired tattoos right now anyway, but I was wondering if it would be possible to get these tattoos at any point during my schooling.

I've been accepted into the nursing program at my ideal school, and so four years from now I should have my Bachelor's Degree. I'm very excited. I'm also getting my CNA certification this summer.

Nursing is obviously my biggest priority right now. However, I have tattoos in mind that are very meaningful to me and I would really love to have. However, my ideal placing for these tattoos is on my wrists. They would be fairly small, but I know that I would have to cover them up during clinicals. For instance, I'd have to wear long-sleeved scrubs or wrist bands if that was allowed.

My question is to those who have tattoos that they must cover up. How much of a hassle is it to cover up these tattoos? Is it worth it to you?

I don't have enough money to get my desired tattoos right now anyway, but I was wondering if it would be possible to get these tattoos at any point during my schooling.

I've been accepted into a nursing program at my ideal university, so I'm very excited about that. However, getting scholarships has been a bit hard so far (Right now I have about 6k dollars a year in scholarships but that's all). I know that the ROTC program is eligible with my school and nursing program.

I've been looking a bit into the ROTC program, since I hear they provide excellent scholarships. I'm a total pacifist, but I feel that helping people stay or become healthy is important no matter where I work, so I wouldn't mind being a nurse in the military. I have a few questions about the program and I was wondering if I could get some help.

1. Do they pay for college while I'm actually in college?

2. Is it too late to join or apply for scholarships, since I'm starting college this fall?

3. What types of classes would I have to take in addition to those required for my major?

4. I'm on antidepressants. I know that some branches of the military won't accept this, but will the ROTC program?

5. How likely would I be to see combat once I had graduated college?

Any other information you could give me would be great, especially using the information that I am getting my major in nursing.

Thanks so much!

-Z

I really hate being around people who are drunk. It makes me a bit scared to be honest and I get really anxious. I don't have any problem with people drinking, but I get scared when they get drunk. In fact, even the idea of my friends getting drunk makes me sick with worry.

And I know this is just a super lame fear. I'm eighteen, and soon I'll go off to college, where I know there will be multiple people getting drunk.

I think I'm partially scared of people getting drunk because of bad experiences. One man who was really drunk broke into my dad's girlfriend's old house and beat her and her eight year old daughter up. I also dated a boy for three years whose mother was an alcoholic, and had some not-great experiences with her.

I'm the co-president of my high school's gay straight alliance. We have a meeting every week, and so I'm starting to run out of fun ideas. We've covered a variety of topics and I think the group is fairly well-educated, but I'm looking for fun activities and meetings I could have. It's a group of teens, so obviously a lot of them are kind of antsy, and sometimes they don't participate in discussions for long without getting off topic. Does anyone have any ideas?

I recently broke up with my boyfriend of three and a quarter years. He's a great guy, but we weren't really right for each other anymore. I wasn't comfortable being myself around him, he didn't like many of my traits, and I didn't have as much fun with him anymore. As much as I care about him, breaking up with him with the right thing to do.

But I was wondering, how long should I wait before dating someone else? Because I like someone, and she likes me. And I would love to date her. She makes me happy and she's cute and funny and sweet and totally accepts me for who I am.

But I don't want to be a total butthole and date her so soon after I broke up with my long term boyfriend. I don't want to hurt him.

(By the way, I identify as pansexual. My past boyfriend knew this, and he was cool enough with it, though not a huge fan).

I'm going into my senior year of high school, and my boyfriend and I have ben together over three years, since the end of eighth grade. And it's been great, he's a really amazing guy. But lately I've been feeling slightly torn and restless. We've grown to be different people. And sometimes I don't have a good time when I'm with him. He makes some small jokes that bother me. He doesn't like my short hair, and I don't know, I can't talk about my religion or political beliefs when I'm around him and that bothers me. I can't always talk about my depression either.

But I don't want to break up, because I love him, and also I'm really attached to his family. I've watched his nieces grow up, and I've known one of them since before she was born. And I can't imagine not being with him and not being close to his family anymore.

I know I'd survive if we broke up. I have really amazing, supportive friends. And sometimes I think it would be best for both of us to break up, but I really don't want to hurt him and I don't want to be without him as a friend. So I'm torn.

I've read about many pagans fasting before rituals, under the belief that this brings them closer to the gods and makes them more alert and aware of their surroundings, and that the hunger opens their minds (etc). How many of you fast before rituals?

I'm just curious. I usually become rather ill if I don't eat for a few hours, which wouldn't do well for me in ritual as I get dizzy and nauseous. Also, in the past I've had mental health issues, and have heard that sometimes fasting isn't good if one has had such issues. So I don't fast. But do you, and what are your experiences?

Thank you!

(Note: I am currently studying Wicca solitarily, and therefore am not following any tradition in which fasting is required.)

I'm currently on 30mg of Prozac. Today I am going to my psychiatrist. I can't decide whether or not I want to up my dosage to 40mg, since I have been very depressed and anxious every day for the past few weeks. I'm also not sleeping well. Should I just wait it out, or go up to 40mg? I have been on 40mg in the past and it doesn't seem to have any adverse side effects, but insurance may be a problem if I switch dosages.

While I've been studying Wicca for over a year, I didn't celebrate Midsummer last year, and this year I'm not sure what to do in ways of a ritual and overall celebration. What do you usually do, or what are you planning this year? I'm just curious and looking for ideas, though obviously in the end I will formulate a celebration that is meaningful to me.

Do you blow them out, pinch them or smother them? Does it depend on what you're doing, and why do you do so?

I realized that I still have an aversion to blowing out candles because of what I read when I was very new to studying Wicca and Witchcraft, which is that blowing out candles is an insult to the element of air. Now I've studied a lot more, of course, and don't take everything I read in blindly, but I realized still don't blow out candles, out of habit from what I read early on. Do you find it insulting to the element of air, and if so why, because I realize I never understood that?

Thanks!

About two weeks ago, I planted daylily plants I got from a friend. (They're about 100 years old!)

Yesterday I was checking on them, and the appeared to be healthy, other than the fact that one of the plants had numerous tiny slugs crawling on it. How harmful are they, and how should I go about disposing of them? I wouldn't like to kill them, but will if I have to. If I have to kill them, though, what is a way that is humane to both the slugs and the plants?

I hate to be a nagging, over-worried girlfriend, but I am quite worried about my boyfriend. Today he had to leave school because he was vomiting blood. He refuses to seek any medical attention, but am I wrong in worrying so much? He doesn't seem to take very good care of himself, he hurt his wrist a while ago and never saw a doctor. He wears a brace, but gets shooting pains so excruciating he has to fight back tears. Should I try to convince him to see a doctor? Can't vomiting blood be serious?

My wonderful, white-furred chinchilla is about three years old (I'm not quite sure, we adopted her) and recently I've noticed that she's been gaining weight. At first I thought she was just getting some thicker fur for winter. but she is getting a bit chubby. We feed her a small handful of food and a bit of hay twice a day. She gets dust baths about twice a week. We try to take her out to run and play as much as possible, so usually it's about every other day. She gets treats like raisins occasionally.

Am I doing anything wrong? Should I change her diet at all? Is it natural that she's gotten a little chubby lately?

So, this year I'm representing my club in a pagaent for my school, called Mr. *insert school initials here*. I'm a female, and will be the only female participating. I am representing my school's GSA.

A lot of people will be singing, but singing is essentially my only talent, so I want to stand out. What song should I sing? Hopefully something witty. I'm talking to my club and brainstorming, but I would love some ideas. Thanks!