Problem: Article: If your task seems impossible, you will feel fatigued and may be more likely to fail. Remind yourself that you will not be alone in this struggle withdrawal should only be attempted after consulting with your doctor. You may need to enter a detox or rehabilitation program to make sure you are safe and your symptoms are treated during the process. To encourage the belief that you can succeed, try to remind yourself about other personal struggles you have overcome. The painful symptoms of withdrawal are temporary. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Remind yourself of this before you attempt to endure the pain of withdrawal, and continue to remind yourself during withdrawal. Write notes to yourself reminding yourself that the pain is temporary. Put one on your refrigerator and one on your mirror, or any other places in your house you frequent. Also try reminding yourself that people endure the pain of opiate withdrawal all the time. Knowing that others before you have been successful can give you hope you can do it, too. There are several kinds of pain you may need to endure when going through opiate withdrawal. These are most likely to occur around 8-12 hours after stopping the drug (peaking at 72 hours). These may include: Agitation Anxiety Muscle aches Increased tearing Insomnia Runny nose Sweating Yawning These are most likely to first appear 24-36 hours after last use of opiates (peaking at 72 hours). There are several: Abdominal cramping Diarrhea Dilated pupils Goose bumps Nausea Vomiting You may become dangerously dehydrated from vomiting and diarrhea. You may also breathe stomach contents into your lungs while vomiting. It is important you enter withdrawal with the proper medical support to avoid these complications. Because one symptom of withdrawal can be insomnia, it is often hardest to endure the pain of stopping opiates during the night. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot that can be done about this without the use of drugs. Benadryl, an antihistamine that causes drowsiness, can be effective for some. If nothing else works, try a warm bath and a cup of a hot, non-caffeinated beverage before trying to sleep. Your enduring opiate withdrawal comes one moment at a time. Keep this in mind: you only endure pain one moment at a time. Pain in the past is a memory and future pain has yet to come. Focus on the moment without thinking too much about when you will be fully recovered. Just focus on doing what you can help you to endure the pain in the moment. PAWS stands for Post Addiction Withdrawal Syndrome. The symptoms of PAWS may appear after the initial withdrawal symptoms have passed and can last for months. Symptoms may include: The inability to think clearly Trouble concentrating Impaired reasoning Repetitive and constrained thinking Memory loss; short term, long term or both Emotional volatility or emotional numbness Sleep disturbances Motor issues such as problems balance or slow reflexes
Summary: Believe you can endure. Repeat to yourself that the pain won't last forever. Learn about the early symptoms you might experience. Learn about the late symptoms you might experience. Be aware of complications that may arise. Accept that sleep probably won't come easy. Take it one step at a time. Watch for PAWS.

Problem: Article: As a rule of thumb, you should not take out so much in student loans that you will pay more than 10% of your monthly income post-graduation. Research the average salaries of the field that you would like to enter and divide by twelve to estimate your monthly earnings. Do not take out a loan that would require you to pay more than that per month. Student loans are typically considered a "good" form of debt, because college should increase your earning power enough to pay back the loans. Just be careful that your career choices are compatible with the amount of debt you might incur. Be cautious when taking out loans to attend a for-profit university. Tuition at these institutions is very high and their graduates have had difficulty obtaining jobs. One major chain of for-profit universities is currently being sued for its practices. Do not let student loans deter you from pursuing a degree in highly profitable fields like medicine. Tuition can be particularly high in fields that require postgraduate degrees, but the earnings are more than sufficient to cover student loans. When in doubt, closely and intensely study statistics for your profession of choice. If you are entering a postgraduate program, it should also be able to give you statistics on student placement. Ask for these to confirm that the program is competitive and that it will secure you a job commensurate with the average wages in the field. If you meet certain requirements for long enough, the remainder of your debt will be forgotten. Specific types of student loans, including Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans can be forgiven if you make 120 on-time payments while working for a public service organization. Such organizations include the federal, state, or local government and not-for-profits designated as tax-exempt by the IRS. Find an Employment Certification Form on the federal student aid website. Submit it annually to verify that you are meeting requirements for loan forgiveness. Employers are often willing to commit some money to paying off student loans in fields that require specialized skills, including tech, nursing, engineering or finance. You should raise the question when you and your employer are scheduled to discuss compensation. An example would be during hiring negotiations. If you are already working for a company, wait for your annual review. Expect to forego a higher wage and commit to work for the company for a set years of time in return for the student loan payment. This can be a mutually beneficial arrangement because it will save your employer money in wages over the long term, while shaving off interest on your loans. You can save money by claiming a tax deduction on interest paid for student loans. You cannot claim a deduction for the principal on your student loan. Call your lender to ask what portion of your payment was toward the interest on the loan and what was on the principal. You can only claim this deduction if your modified adjusted gross income as an individual was less than $75,000 or $150,000 as a couple. The deduction also only applies if the loan was taken out for educational expenses. Consult an accountant to verify that you qualify. This is an exception to the general rule that you should pay off high interest loans first. Private loans offered by banks are often "variable" loans, which means the rate of interest changes with the general circumstances of the economy. Right now, the interest you pay on these might be lower than what you pay on your federal loans. However, as the economy improves, these rates are likely to go up. Save yourself the risk of rapidly growing credit bills by putting whatever extra money you allocate to student loan repayment toward paying off your private loans.
Summary:
Do not take out student loans if college will not significantly increase your earning power. Seek student loan forgiveness. Ask an employer to pay off your student loans. Claim your tax deduction. Pay off private student loans first.