#healthcare

When your back is hurting, using something warm like a heating pad or a warm towel can make it feel better. Heat helps to relax the muscles in your back, improve blood flow, and reduce pain. Just make sure the heat is not too hot, so you don't burn yourself. You can apply the warm pad or towel for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time. It's like giving your back a cozy, soothing hug.Or
Instead of heat, you can also use something cold like a cold pack or ice wrapped in a cloth to help with your back pain. Cold therapy can numb the area, reduce swelling, and provide relief. It's especially helpful for when you have recently hurt your back. To use cold therapy, simply apply the cold pack or ice on your back for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Just be careful not to apply the cold pack directly on your skin to avoid frostbite
Remember, everyone's body is different, so you might find that heat or cold works better for you. If one method doesn't give you relief, you can try the other. And if you're not sure which one to try or how to use them safely, it's always a good idea to talk to a healthcare professional for guidance.☺️

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Sweden can be amazing! 🇸🇪

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We have things I think the whole world should embrace, like free higher education and healthcare. Students even get PAYED in benefits to study, not much but still 💵

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There is gorgeous nature, which is made easier to explore and experience thanks to laws which allows you to walk on private property as long as you are respectful. Sweden has a rich history which is reflected in the beautiful old architecture in most Swedish city centres. Many palaces and mansions can also be found in the countryside 🏰

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It's also a country where you're truly free to be who you want to be, cause of the longstanding separation between religion and state. Some of the best pastries can be found here too, from princess cakes and chocolate balls to "semlor" 🍰

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But there are times when it's not so amazing. There's been an increased amount of violent crime and substance abuse recently. In the town where I live it's apparently very easy to get a hold of dr*gs if you want to. I don't notice it in my regular life though, except for the ways my student organization tries to crack down on it. I think it very much has to do with what kinds of circles you're in. You also often hear about shootings and gang wars in the news 😨

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It may not be perfect but comparitively speaking, I still think Sweden is a great place to live. I'd be hard pressed to come up with many better alternatives 😊

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And I'll soon have my bachelor's degree in urban planning! 🎓

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To be fair, when I was a young teen, I didn’t even know if I’d still be around at the age I am now… I was dealing with very severe chronic health issues and was in and out of the hospital, had in-home healthcare, amongst other things. 😬

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Really, at that time, I was just thinking about how lucky I was to still have another day to experience. I was in total survival mode, and wasn’t sure what was to come for me in a week, no less several years down the road. As sad as that is. 😕

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I can say with absolute confidence though, that I went above and beyond where I ever thought I’d be. I experienced years of full remission from my illness and got to graduate high school and college. I became a licensed Cosmetologist, something I’ve dreamt of since I was 6-7 years old, and have been able to make so many people feel happy and confident in their appearance. 🥰

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And most importantly, I’ve been able to make my young self proud, and fulfill her dreams. Which I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do. 🥹

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For the first ten years of my relationship, marriage wasn't even an option for us so then we weren't allowed to want it. But building a life with someone means securing your future together, something you will understand once you build a life with someone too. There are 1,300 rights and privileges same-sex couples don't get when they're not allowed to marry. This includes giving your spouse health insurance, pension, inheritance, healthcare proxy, etc etc etc. Adult things I know, but it's foolish to think that marriage is about romance. You can have that without marriage. Marriage is primarily a contract. Not to tie someone to you, but to protect your relationship and the family you're building together legally. You can have a strong commitment without it of course, but in this world we decided to protect our relationship, assets, and each other with marriage. Here's to hoping you'll never have the complications in life that would require legal protections. Here's wishing you're also allowed all the rights and benefits straight people get automatically even if they've just met.

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Ugh here we go 😒 All Lives Matter did not exist until BLM existed. It was a direct response to BLM and their simple goal of asking for equality in policing and criminal justice (and healthcare). BLM does nor mean Black Lives Matter more than any other lives or only Black Lives Matter, just that they should matter equally. Black lives don't matter equally — especially in policing. If someone says All Lives Matter one would say, yes, and?….. what is the point? There is no point.

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Your response tells people they should care about something other than what people were initially responding to in BLM (e.g., not treating Black Americans equally in terms of police responses). Others don't get to tell people why don't you focus on something else (like black on black crime or abortion). It is a deflection and distraction from the very real problem of systemic racism in police departments.

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There are several issues to consider. Let's take gun control. Chicago has some of the most restrictive measures in place and that city also has one of the *highest* rates of firearm related crimes in the entire country. Obviously, gun control is not the answer or that city would be a peaceful paradise. Simply put, criminals do not care about laws and as Chicago has demonstrated, time and time again, those who wish to use firearms for illegal purposes *WILL* continue unabated. Furthermore, restrictions remove firearms from the hands of law-abiding citizens. Civilians are left vulnerable and easy targets for armed criminals. Why some people continue to ignore these two blatantly obvious realities truly baffles me. Let's also consider the fact that most mass shootings occur in designated "gun-free zones." It should be no surprise that an armed criminal would choose to prey on people who have no means to defend themselves. Knee-jerk "solutions" and emotional appeals for more restrictive measures are utterly ridiculous, *unconstitutional* and downright childish. With respect to mental healthcare / related issues, I would agree that we are not doing enough. We also have a huge problem with drugs in this country and it is largely ignored. To what extent has that problem been a contributing factor? There are several studies and statistics but they are largely ignored too. America does not have "a gun problem" - we have a problem holding criminals accountable, providing adequate mental healthcare, constantly vilifying those who risk their lives to protect ours and supporting authoritarians who trample on our *constitutional* rights. As a resident of NYC where crime is high, resources are limited and gun control is more restrictive than it has ever been, we have managed to get one thing right: school shootings are practically nonexistent. Why? Because we had enough sense to put Safety Agents in schools with direct access to NYPD. If this country really wanted to prevent such horrors, there are plenty of former military and law enforcement officers who could provide security in every school. It is a practical solution and if it can work in this city, it can work anywhere. It's time to put our feelings aside and implement logical solutions which can save lives: armed security, metal detectors, quick access to mental healthcare for those who need it and allowing people to defend themselves and their communities in accordance with The Second Amendment.

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The weather!

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Jk. It basically rains a lot and we have lots of wind here lol. 😅

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But it’s on average a country with a lot of freedom of speech, lots of freedom to develop and express your own individuality. A good and not affordable healthcare system and equal rights for everyone by law.

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I also really love our infrastructure. Because it’s such a small country with so many people living in it, we have lots of local traffic. The roads are developed really well to prevent traffic jams as much as possible.

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I love the architecture the most, especially the older buildings. I can walk for hours outside just admiring the buildings 😄

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The schools are good, I feel like some can really uplift the quality, but it’s affordable and it’s all depending on your own capabilities as well. (We have different levels of education so everyone gets things taught in the way they’re most capable of).

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Not too bad. My life's slowly getting back on it's normal track. Been sick for most part, hopefully no more surprises. Seems to be going quickly, norm like the start of a new year but something tells me... it will be just as tough as this year has been.
I’ve been with my partner for over 9mo now after a move to their home state. We have a home together that I feel welcome in (It’s been a very long time since I’ve felt welcome in my own home due to various reasons). I got my dog from my abusive ex in April after a couple months of being away from her. I’ve signed my divorce papers, and am waiting for it to be finalized. I’ve been seeing an increase in work, as well as feeling a little more fulfilled with myself. I’ve started taking working out and dieting a little more seriously, and am seeing results. I’ve gotten healthcare and am starting the long journey of dental repair in September. I’m also going to be starting school as soon as I figure out which of the two subjects I want to go for. Friendships I’ve lost due to my previous relationship have been rekindled as well as various passions (such as reading and watching horror movies) are rekindled as well. I also stream video games with my friends from time to time as well as have started writing again.
I can’t believe it’s half over, feels like such a waste of a year so far. I’ve done nothing but work, and take two college courses on a fucking laptop for the same price as in person instruction. I’ve made no friends and haven’t improved whatsoever as a person. I should be registering for my next semester right now, but I can’t because I’m not a resident and I’ll be goddamned if I pay twice as much for school because the registrar won’t answer my fucking emails. Literally the worst.
Career is facing pretty much dead end, this crush that hates the shit out of me appeared out of nowhere and all the attempt to find somebody for me -blind dates and even arranged marriage deals- got failed.
To be fair it's mixed. Better than 2020, but on the long run this year is going to be start of a nightmare. The government litterely destroyed small and medium buisnesses with austerity. Since they privatized electricity and gas in February, the prices of these services are rising with 13-20% every month. And now they want to privatize health care, so we are fucked if the 4th wave of covid hits.

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I have a bit of depression and I feel the wave of things happening in America. I know it's a global issue too, but why are folks more depressed nowdays? I can name off the main reasons why like, poverty, economical, social, circumstances, and also the culture. I want to get down to the main reason why. In music, depression is greatly expressed. To the point where some artists are claiming it like it's a badge of honor or something. It's absurd. The median person in the US is roughly where they were in 1962. I mean, everything about their life is 100x better than it was in 1962, but their income is roughly the same. Boo hoo. More of the same envy bullshit where we don't care that people are living a MUCH better life because we are too petty. We'd much rather focus on someone doing better than you. I'd much rather have a median income now than a median income before cell phones and Netflix and Amazon. We have such abundance that the glutinous and lazy get to eat themselves into heart problems and diabetes while pretending its the healthcare system that fucked them. I'd say that life is harder, or more complicated, than ever now. There is so much influence on a person, that it's almost unbelievable. From media telling you essentially how you "should" live your life; to social media and internet not bringing us together, but tearing us apart; prices of everything going up, while you're stuck with the same income your father had, making you feel like actually owning something is not possible anymore; and I could go on. Add to that the fact that our planet is basically dying, while many choose to ignore that fact. Of course, the fact that mental illnesses are being more accepted now than ever, makes it look like the problem with depression is much more severe than it used to be. But I still believe that the amount of depressed people has gone up, even if not as severely as it looks to be, and that we are living in very unhappy times right now. My opinion - the effects of comparing oneself to others is devastating, and underrated as a huge factor in mental health. Social media, plus 24/7 news, has put this terrible condition at the forefront of everyone's mind, and the effects are real. Suicides among young people are up 56%.
It’s possible more people aren’t depressed than before, but our acceptance of it as a mental illness has increased. There is less stigma around mental illness now than 30 years ago, leading to more diagnoses and in some cases, romanticisation. Of course, I imagine that social media, reduced spending power leading to people working more hours, etc. may also have an impact on mental health.

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Don't base your happiness on accumulation of stuff ... Even though stuff is pretty awesome. Pursue goals that are motivational. I worked a low paid job for years in my twenties, no fancy holidays, no car, lived with my parents but for the most part I was happy. Now I've a well paying job, nice apartment and a car but I still remind myself of how bad things were so as to be humble. Im probably just as happy as i was with little money.
I was working a job that brought home near 6 figures, but it was often 9pm before I got home. Took a 20% paycut to move to a job where I'm home by 6pm and can work from home a few times a week if needed. The missus is 30plus weeks pregnant (we've had two losses before, the past one was at 24 weeks). We're excited and on a tight budget, but we're as happy as we could be. There's a minimum amount of cash you need and I recommend finding that first in the best possible work life balance. Money doesn't make me happy but it allows me to experience things that make me happy. Lack of money stresses the fuck out of me.
I’ve had money and I’ve had no money. Money definitely makes life easier and gives you more time and opportunity to be happy.
Never really had much money and while happy enough, stress in the long term wears me down. You can be happy, it's just easier when you have money - I'm fairly happy for getting a job that pays me money.
Money doesn't buy happiness was a phrase designed to discourage accumulations of large wealth. It's been turned and used against the poor; "you should be happy not being able to afford anything". Studies have shown wealth does increase happiness up to $75,000/year. After that point, the extra wealth doesn't make an extra impact on happiness. But up until then, the benefits of the wealth would be stuff like access to proper healthcare, constant fresh food in your home, replacing/removing health hazards in your environment, etc etc etc... There's no doubt that money gives you the ability to live a better quality life and also creates a mental value you place on yourself.
I've been paycheck to paycheck. I don't consider myself rich but my net worth is in the 7 figures now though most of it is tied in my business. Some point I should be able to sell it and ride off into the sunset. At the moment, I would say that I am somewhat above comfortable. I own my own house, have a daily driving vehicle and a fun vehicle, and take nice vacations.
Those things do not provide me the same level of happiness that I get from relationships with my family and friends, my absolutely worthless dogs, and the sense of satisfaction I get from doing what I love in life. What "money doesn't buy happiness" means is not that rich or poor people are unhappy but rather its what you drive from your life that makes you happy. The only difference between my life being broke and my life being financially successful is that I do have fewer worries, which is nice.

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