Feeling Angry*

We have all felt angry.

That bubbling, boiling, welling up inside of you that feels like everyone needs to get the heck out of your way before you punch a wall or kick a puppy.
I think we've all felt that

(But please, I'm hoping that no one has ever kicked a puppy)

Anger is powerful.

Today I was feeling angry. And I thought, "I wish I had a blog so that I could tell everyone how angry I am! Oh wait. I do have a blog!" And because this is a health-y blog, we're gonna talk about the health implications of anger. Hooray!

So. What happens inside when you start getting that vein pulsing in your forehead?
Anger will trigger the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response. The adrenal glands flood the body with stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol). The brain sends blood towards the muscles in preparation for physical exertion. Heart rate, blood pressure and respiration increase, the body temperature rises and the skin perspires. The mind becomes sharpened and focused (but usually on something bad... puppy kicking or dummy punching, not rainbows and unicorns)

Then, you could deal with anger in a bad way...

• Anger explosions – some people have very little control over their anger and tend to explode in rages. Raging anger may lead to physical abuse or violence, and you don't want to be that person, nor do you want to be friends with that person.
  
• Anger repression – some people think that anger is an inappropriate emotion, and choose to suppress it. However, bottled anger can turn into depression and anxiety (There's a blog post about that too!). Some people vent their bottled anger at innocent parties, such as children or pets. So repression eventually leads to explosions anyways.

Or in a good way!

• If you feel out of control, walking away from the situation temporarily helps you cool down and come back into a discussion with a level head.
• Try to pinpoint the exact reasons why you feel angry and deal with that instead
• Once you have identified the problem, consider coming up with different strategies on how to fix the situation. Read: yelling doesn't fix things.
  
• Do something physical, such as going for a run or playing a sport (exercise is super helpful to lower stress and anger... unless it just stresses you out more, then don't do it)
• Learn meditation or relaxation techniques. Yoga's nice too.
• Make a blog and write about it. If you're not that self centered, write it in a journal or on the closest piece of scrappy paper. Anything to get those thoughts out.
  

Long term anger makes you sick!
The constant flood of stress chemicals that accompany recurrent anger can eventually cause harm to many different systems of the body. Various short and long-term health problems that have been linked to unmanaged anger include:

• Headache
• Digestion problems, such as abdominal pain
• Insomnia
• Increased anxiety
• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Skin problems, such as eczema
• Heart attack
• Stroke

How to stop it.
Control your anger before it controls you! Take anger management, see a psychiatrist, take a kickboxing class, start a blog, toke up, vent to a friend, take happy pills, whatever it takes to curb that anger! Life is way better when you chill the frick out anyway.

Don't be an angry bird!

Feeling Nothing*

Okay people. Let's talk something a little more challenging. Let's talk mental health.

Mental Health is the most highly stigmatized group of disorders out there. I know, we don't like to talk about it. It's tough, it's weird, it's beyond what we understand. But it needs to be talked about, because there are people out there, people who seem perfectly happy, who are struggling with something far bigger than themselves. Mental Illness is a monster. But there is hope, there is help.

There are a few categories of mental health disorders, but I'm gonna talk specifically mood disorders, and again, specifically depression. Depression is more than just being sad sometimes. It is a persistent, nagging, deep feeling of nothingness that can last for long periods of time. Sometimes it comes in bursts, silent moments of pure sadness that hit us for no reason. The consequences are ruthless. Lethargy takes over, motivation disappears, and relationships are challenged. Life in general can sometimes feel too painful or difficult to even gather the strength to even get out of bed.


The official symptoms include:

• Sadness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
• Change in weight (This is a secondary side effect/symptom, as the depression can either increase or decrease your appetite, leading to a change in weight)
  
• Difficulty sleeping or oversleeping
• Energy loss (part of over/undersleeping)
  
• Feelings of worthlessness
• Thoughts of death or suicide

Causes include genetic, environmental, psychological, and biochemical factors

• It's complicated. As simply put as possible, depression is caused by hormone imbalances in the brain and body. These tendencies are genetically inclined, resulting in common family histories of mental illness. Environmental causes usually refer to the incidences in people's lives that result in occurrence and/or relapse.

Treatments:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, an awareness approach, intended on keeping patients mindful of their thoughts, behaviors, and reactions
• Talk therapy; talking is important. Support is huge. Groups and therapies are available
  
• Antidepressants, or antianxiety meds. These are patient/experience specific. A prescription is needed, so PLEASE talk to a doctor if this is you.
• ALSO. Do not self medicate. This is big. Many people will not know how to deal with the sadness, so they will turn to alcohol, illegal drugs, or OTC drugs. This is a whole new topic, but it is so sad when someone hurts so much that they refuse or do not know how to get help.
  

In the meantime:

Depression is all about feelings. People with untreated depression hurt deeply, often for no logical reason whatsoever. What is so important to remember, is that depression is so much stronger than simple willpower. It is something we should not be ashamed of, and the people who are hurting NEED support. We need to be able to talk about this, because talking about the monster under the bed keeps him away, even for a little while. There is no shame in getting help, because if that's what it takes to get your life back, then get your life back.

If you are hurting, PLEASE get help. Talk to people. Talk to a doctor.

There is help. There is hope.

#Self Medicating

I am flying halfway across the world to a place unknown in 4 more sleeps.

It's not actually a place unknown, it's actually Belarus, which is in Eastern Europe.

But I'm not here to talk about Belarus and all that comes with it.

I'm here to talk about things to bring on vacation with you. Medications to be a little more specific.

We'll start with the plane ride:

• Analgesic (Advil, Tylenol,Asprin) - for pain relief when it comes to any types of headaches or pain that may occur from sitting in a pressured box for 12,000 hours.
• Antiemetic (Gravol) - this prevents nausea and vomitting. And Gravol has the added effect of knocking you right out. So if plane rides make you sick I would suggest it.

Now on to the actual vacation (you might laugh at some of these, but I promise you won't be laughing if you need them):

• Laxatives (Senokot) - in case you can't poop.
• Anti-Diarrheal (Immodium) - in case you can't stop pooping.
• Antiemetic (Gravol) - I told you to take this on the plane. I would bring enough for the whole vacation.
• I would also take Pepto-Bismol to cover all the other bases between your mouth and your bum
• Antihistamine (Benadryl) - you never know what you are going to be allergic to or what will cause a reaction in you. Especially in a foreign country. I would bring oral AND topical. Just in case.
• Any OTC Cold and Flu medicine - Be cautiously optimistic. Bring things like that JUST IN CASE you get sick. I'm not saying you will. Make sure you have something for fever relief as well.
• If you're going somewhere hot I would stock up on some Bactine - it relieves pain and prevents infection from minor burns. Or the staple Aloe Vera gel. Everybody knows about that one. 

I know what you're thinking, "Wow, this girl worries a lot about how my food is coming out of my body. What a weirdo." But you will thank me. Your gastrointestinal system (The one that connects your mouth to your anus) is the first one to be irritated in a foreign place. And you might THINK you're impervious to the reactions I'm talking about but chances are you're not. Because not only is the food different, the water is different. And when you can't poop, or you can't stop pooping you will not be a happy camper I promise you.

I would even bring a box of granola bars in your suit case. Just to be safe.

So there you have it. I'm sure there are a trillion other things you could bring, but this is my basic medicinal packing list for anyone travelling to a foreign coutry!

Feeling Nauseous*

My family had a very long, animated, interesting conversation around the dinner table tonight. We talked about vomit. That's right, good old barf. My parents have six children, so they have seen quite a bit of barf in their day, and they are champs at cleaning it up.
And come on, we have ALL vomited. Whether from viruses, or sympathy barfing, or too much alcohol. I don't know, maybe there was even a cowboy.
SO, let's talk vomit!


In the most basic sense, vomiting (or emesis) is expelling something unwanted from the body, specifically the stomach. Contents are propelled up and out.

Various Stimuli:

• Viral infections
• Medications
• Seasickness or motion sickness
• Nervousness
  
• Migraines
• Food poisoning
• Food allergies
• Chemotherapy
• Bulimia
  
• Alcoholism (very prevalent in teenagers & party pants)
• Peptic ulcer in the stomach
  
• Brain tumor (Cue hypochondriac)
  

Home treatment:

This is dependent on the cause of the vomiting. If it's something as simple as food poisoning or too much booze, a simple expulsion of the vagrant will make you feel so much better! Peptic ulcer, brain tumor, or migraines, however, must be treated at the source. In the meantime, stay hydrated. It sucks when your stomach is empty but you continue to hurl, so keep the creative stomach juices flowing. Something like ginger ale or tea is also soothing for a sore tummy.

Medical treatment:

An OTC (over the counter) med like pepto bismol is good for general nausea, vomiting, and upset stomach. Anything more heavy duty will need a prescription, such as an antiemetic.

When to worry:

You should worry if you have

• Been vomiting for longer than 24 hours
• Blood or bile in the vomit (very important)
  
• Severe abdominal pain (think appendicitis?)
  
• Headache and stiff neck
• Signs of dehydration

Aaand, just some interesting facts about good ol' vomit:

• Bunnies can't vomit. Neither can rats or horses. (That's why rat poison works)
  
• If you try to stop yourself from throwing up by closing your mouth, the vomit will just come out your nose.
• Whales vomit regularly (every 7 to 10 days) as a means of the ordinary digestive process, to expel inedible things they have swallowed.
• If your vomit looks like what you ate, you just ate. If it's soupy, it's been in your stomach for a while
• When in danger, the sea cucumber may eject its entire digestive tract. The animal is able to re-grow another one.

So, today's lesson boys and girls.
More often than not, barf is just the body fixing itself. So let the damage be done, and once you stop getting 'er done, you should feel much, much better.

Feeling Inspired

I went to bed an hour ago, BUT, I can't sleep! I have a cold. It isn't a real bad cold (believe me, I have had those...) I just can't seem to fall asleep right now. So, inspired by my cold, I thought I would write about them!

A cold- is a virus. You can "catch" them even when it is not winter, it does not need to be cold outside.

Symptoms- Can vary from person to person and cold to cold, but usually include cough (unproductive), rhinorrhea (runny nose!), "stuffy nose", general malaise (feeling like crap), sore/scratchy throat, and sneezing. ACHOO!

Fever- unless you are a young child with a new cold, a fever is not common. A fever may indicate that you have a bacterial infection or an influenza virus, and not a cold.

Influenza virus- similar symptoms to a cold, except with fever and muscle pain. Symptoms often abrupt and intense.

Antibiotics- can't do a thing for ya if you have a virus! Only works with bacterial infections. If you take antibiotics for a virus not only will it not get rid of the virus, it also puts you at risk for the antibiotics not being effective when you really do need to use them.

Dairy products- according to the nurse I talked with on Health Link this one time, there is no evidence showing that dairy products increase mucus production when sick with a cold.

Sugar- they couldn't tell me if taking sugar out of a diet would be beneficial or not. I find it helps though.. it could just be in my head though.

Fluids- important to have when sick with a cold/flu! Drink lots of water! Some hot water with lemon and honey feels nice on the throat too, as does soup! (I had a fantastic soup today, just boil onion carrot tomato and potato in a big pot - credit to my brother's friend for making this- I might add cabbage next time)

REMEDIES- There is no real "cure" for the cold, and usually they should go away within a week or two. I can't tell you what for sure works, but I know every person has their routine when they have a cold. Me? I really like soup, orange juice, lemon water, and garlic. They just make me feel good. Also as mentioned before, I feel like my throat hurts less when I try and cut back on the sugar.

MEDS- analgesics- pain killers, can be used for relief of pain (your pharmacist can help you here, and please follow instructions on medication box) and decongestants can help if you are real stuffed up. (again, check out your local pharmacy, those guys are super helpful.)

Complications- If you have asthma or COPD a cold can cause an exacerbation (makes things worse than usual). You shouldn't need to see a doctor or the EMERGENCY room for your normal every day cold. If you can't breathe, like legitimately can't breath (I'm talking you aren't doing anything else cause you are focusing on getting air in and out) you should seek medical attention. If you have a fever, as mentioned before, you might not have a cold! Or you have a cold and a bacterial infection to boot. Your doctor can help you figure out what is going on and provide the necessary treatment.

HEALTH LINK- an awesome tool to use if you are unsure whether you should wait things out, see your doctor, or get yourself to a hospital.

Sleep- Always good to get adequate rest, your body needs it to fight off all the things the world throws at it on a daily basis. Good night!

Share the Love

Let's face it, we all like knowing that we are liked and valued and yadda yadda.
As nurses (to be), this kind of validation is part of what we do every day.

In my last semester, I was told that this IV wasn't prepared correctly, or this equipment wasn't collected soon enough. It was difficult to be told repeatedly that that what was being done was not quite good enough (please don't feel sorry for me though, I do enough of that on my own). What made it worth it, though, were the patients. Despite the fact that these patients were all going through incredible, life changing heart surgery, they were grateful (except for this one guy. Mr. S, you were a learning experience to say the least). The patients on Unit91 made me believe in what I was doing.

Hospital experience aside, let's talk real life. As people, we're pretty great. As nurses, we are amazing. I can tell you right now that no one will listen to your problems, serve you soup, or rub your aching tummy like a nurse will. The good ones at least, will nurse their loved ones even when they're off duty.
We also do a fair bit of validating for each other. I can tell you that Rye, Livi, and M are validating machines! (Mental health? Survived, thanks to them). When we have a hard day at the hospital, no one understands like someone who's been there.

So. Give some love to your nurses. Give some love to your nursing students.
We like that ;)

It's M, Like it or Lump it

So my name is Mariel. Like the mermaid, but with an M. This is how I introduce myself to strangers, because people are idiots and will mangle my name beyond recognition until it sounds like some mutant gurgle instead of a name. For the purpose of this blog, call me M. I like my sword collection, reading books about the apocalypse, writing my own twisted fiction, and swearing profusely (it's like a tourettes most of the time, but I censor myself around authority)

I'm excited to start this blog up, collaborating with my 3 best friends
(Together, we are.......The FOUR AMIGOS!!!!! *cue mexican fiesta music*)
randomness aside, I'm pumped to get this thing started, and share just how awesome and frightening and inspiring it is to finish this odyssey we started a mere two years ago. It feels like it's been an eternity, annd sometimes it just feels like a year passed in the blink of an eye.

I am so proud of what we are studying to be, the things we have done and have yet to accomplish. But one of the best days of my life was when I looked up and realised that the 3 girls sitting around me were my best friends, and we were going to be spectacular when we finally leave the classroom behind for the last time.

My posts, like me, are not going to be sunshine and rainbows. I see the uglier side of life that people like to try to ignore. Some people see the caring family member feeding his sickly grandfather; I see the arrogant asshole shoveling food down his relative's gullet while staring impatiently at his watch. I have seen and done things that would make a priest cry, but it has only made me a stronger person, and hopefully a better nurse. I'm not the nicest kid around, and I don't dance around an issue. Trust me to be blunt.

I'm M, and I'm not fucking around. This is serious business kiddies, so buckle in and get ready. Health is definitely not a joke; with what we do, every day lives are on the line due to decisions WE make. We can change a person's life, their health outcome, but it's one miss-step away from turning into tragedy. We walk a fine line every day, face moral and ethical decisions that make lesser people shake, and become stronger because of it, better able to do our jobs. So strap in and get ready because this isn't a Grey's Anatomy kids. Shizz just got serious

M

That's right, fish pants.

I am a wearer of fish pants, though I am afraid of fish. I like to make food. It makes me happy to feed people. I enjoy giving needles. I am scared easily, M likes to surprise me at school and make me go "AHHHH!" in the food court. I like to sit near the front in lectures, and be one of 5 who constantly answers questions in class. People ask me if my glasses are upside down at least 5 times a day (they are called drop temples people). I like to travel and volunteer, and I'm always bummed out when I get home. I'm halfway through a nursing degree. I don't know what type of nursing I want to do, but community sounds interesting. I'm all about health promotion. Pineapple is also my favourite fruit. I hate pancakes, but I love crepes. Sometimes I don't know what to write.

MaRyeRye

Hola!

My name is Mariah, but you can call me Rye! Are you ready to subnurse yourself in me??

I am out of control. Mostly. Except when I'm not. I'm rarely ever serious about anything. I enjoy things like sailing on boats and flying on planes. Mostly anything that leads to an adventure. Pineapple is my favorite fruit and french toast is my favorite food. I write another blog - stethoscopesandunicorns.blogspot.com you should check it out if you like my stuff. Some of my hobbies include dancing with my headphones in and keeping my skin well hydrated. I like to collect mugs, they're my favorite actually. I one day hope to own an array of mugs, no one matching another. That is legitimately one of my life goals.

I just finished my second year in nursing school (which means I am halfway to becoming a nurse!), and I've taken quite the liking to it. And through my new love for nursing has come a passion for health. Mostly out of fear, kind of out of interest.

What is health to you? Health to me is how you feel. In every single way. What you think, what you eat, what you do, how you cope, your emotions, your body, your prayers, your life - it all contributes to your overall health.

So I'm super excited to be starting up this blog with three of my best friends. We're all about health promotion, don't you know. We're also all pretty similar but completely different. It's going to be an interesting ride, and I hope you stick around for it!

Get to know Kelly!

Hi, my name is Kelly, and I'm a half a nurse
I am also one of the 4 ladies who will be taking you on this magical, educational adventure

(sounds like the magic school bus!)

As far as the nursey part of me goes, I am proud to be a half a nurse, and muchly excited for being a full nurse. I have seen some very cool things on my rotations, from removing staples, to C-diff diarrhea, to watching an open heart surgery. I have been the witness to some raw emotional experiences at the hands of debilitating diagnoses, I have been challenged, I have been tested, and I have carried these experiences with me.
Beyond the medical aspect of health, my mom is a personal fitness trainer, so I have an understanding (though I pretend not to) of the prevention of disease also. I could tell you which foods are best for you, which to avoid and what benefits exercise could provide.

(Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.)

AND if you don't want me to tell you about these things, then I can sell you a book about them because I work in a bookstore! You should come by and visit me and buy books, because books rock, and I rock.

I am very excited to be a part of this blogging experience (it's my first!), and I hope that everyone can get something out of it. Even if all you do is tell us that we're wrong (please don't do that). Much love!

In The Beginning...

I'm new at this. Recently I took a trip, in fact, I got home last night. I wrote a few blog posts while away, some for a friend's blog. I was working in a comprehensive health centre in Mandeville, Jamaica. Not a place your usual tourist goes for a Jamaican get away. No beach. That is probably why you've never heard of it before. Anyway, that is not the overly important part.

So while I was gone I wrote a few blogs about NURSING, and HEALTHY type thingies, cause I'm a nursing student, and we do that sort of stuff! I got some feedback from friends, one of the things stressed the most was how IMPORTANT it is to educate people. I started thinking in my last week in Jamaica, I really enjoy talking to people about their health, even if it is as simple as what normal blood pressure should be. (maybe I should post my blog about that...) I also thought about how sad it made me when I saw people who came in knowing very little about topics very important for their health (birth control, STD's, diabetes, balanced diet, etc.)

During all this pondering, I thought up an idea, and it got me really excited! How neat would it be to have a whole blog dedicated to healthy living?? I don't just mean the physical, but the mental and spiritual as well. (In nursing we get all fancy and call this "holistic health") Three of my bestest nursing buddies were quick to become excited about this idea. Together we have made up "subnurse yourself", a blog where hopefully we can use what we are learning in nursing school in a way that helps our community. We are still in the discussing process, so I am excited to see where this blog goes from here.. I've already been dreaming up ideas of what I'd like to write about. (I was traveling for over 12 hours yesterday with not much more than a notebook and colouring book to entertain me..)

The main idea is for people to read stuff that they can use to help keep them an active team member in their own healthcare. We are NOT professionals though, only nursing STUDENTS, so please keep that in mind. We are not diagnosing or prescribing, just talking about health topics and providing information, maybe with a few tips here and there. If you like what you read, please feel free to post a link to our blog on your facebook, or send an e-mail, or tell your friends the good old fashioned way.. by word of mouth!

So in conclusion, we hope that you will join us on this magical journey, and be both educated and entertained =)