INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you notice any parts of the dahlias that are brown or shriveled, you can remove them with a pair of gardening shears to improve the appearance of your plants. Doing this regularly can also help to prevent diseases from spreading among your plants. Make sure to discard the diseased leaves, buds, and stems, such as by throwing them away or burning them. This is a sign of a fungus, and eventually the fungus will lead to a wooly gray growth on the dahlia's petals. The fungus will continue to spread if you don't remove the damaged petals. This fungus favors cool, wet conditions. If you live in a climate where this weather is common, you may need to spray the plant with a fungicide, such as iprodione, moncozeb, or fenhexamid, which you should be able to find at a garden supply store. This is a sign of the root knot nematode, which lives in warm, sandy soil, and which can affect a variety of different plants. The knots will appear near the roots, and they will continue to worsen until the plant dies. If your soil is infested with root knot nematodes, you will need to treat it with a nematicide before you can grow healthy plants. The discoloration, combined with wilting leaves, is a sign of verticillium wilt, and it can stay in the soil for several years. This fungus will eventually kill your plant, and it can spread to other dahlias quickly if not treated. If burning isn't allowed in your area, discard these plants in the landfill. You will also need to destroy the entire dahlia plant if you see mosaic mottling on the leaves, which is usually due to a virus spread by aphids. Smut causes yellowish spots to appear on the leaves, and eventually leads to the leaves becoming brown and dry. Watering from directly overhead can lead to water pooling, allowing the growth of smut. Instead, try to water close to the base of the plant, so the water will go directly to the roots.

SUMMARY: Cut off any diseased parts of the dahlias. Remove flowers immediately if you see brown, water-soaked spots. Pull up the entire plant, including the roots, if you see knots forming. Burn dahlia plants and roots if you see discoloration of the veins. Avoid watering dahlias from overhead to prevent smut.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Sometimes we just need a little reassurance and a friendly voice to help us relax. If calming yourself does not work, try to call a friend (if a friend is available). Hopefully, the soothing voice on the other end of the phone will help put you at ease and help you get to sleep. Make sure to call someone who is already familiar with your anxiety problems so you won't need to explain your situation. Try talking to a friend who will only listen and not add more to the conversation. Talking to someone who will make you worry more will not help you. Always make sure to call your friend the next day after you've settled down and thank them for their time. One way to get to sleep when anxious is to take melatonin supplements. Melatonin is a chemical that naturally occurs in our bodies and helps us go to sleep. If you're lucky, a little melatonin will go a long way and put you to sleep in a jiffy. Melatonin is sold over the counter in 1, 2, 3, and 5 milligram tablets. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about using melatonin before you take it. Do not take melatonin with alcohol or other controlled substances. If your anxiety is consistently undermining your ability to get to sleep, you should talk to a medical professional. Your doctor should be able to refer you to a specialist or diagnose your problem. If anxiety undermines your ability to sleep consistently over a short amount of time, make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible. Be truthful and honest with your doctor about what is causing your anxiety. If appropriate, seek help from a psychologist or psychiatrist. A doctor might put you on anxiety medicines or prescription sleep aids. One way to deal with persistent anxiety that interferes with your sleep is to get professional mental health counseling. A mental health counselor (whether a counselor, a psychiatrist, or a psychologist) will talk to you and help you identify the source of your anxiety. Psychiatrists might choose to treat you with medication. Many counselors or psychologists will allow you to talk about your problems and work through them in a structured environment. Some counselors might choose cognitive behavioral therapy, a technique widely used to treat anxiety. If you've got a pet in your household, you may want to consider recruiting them and stationing them nearby to make you feel relaxed and loved. Who knows, your dog's snoring might relax you and help put you to sleep. Lure your dog nearby with a treat or a bone. If it's okay with you, invite them to sleep in the bed with you. Try to get your family cat to snuggle with you. It is possible that your cat's purring might soothe you and put you to sleep. Relocate yourself to the vicinity of your gerbil or ferret's habitat. Just being near a cute little animal might help to relax you and relieve your anxiety.

SUMMARY:
Call a friend. Try melatonin supplements. Talk to your doctor. Seek mental health counseling. Recruit the family pet.