Use a soft brush or your nails to lightly scrape and agitate the stain. Use a liquid detergent if possible. It is important you remove all traces of the ammonia. Rinse thoroughly and wring the garment to make sure it is completely washed out.

Summary: Soak the stain in a mixture of 1 qt warm water, 1/2 TSP detergent, and 1 TBSP ammonia. Rinse with water and launder as usual.


Find a space without loud noises or noticeable odors that might distract you. You should also avoid spaces with excessive decoration or colors that might draw your attention. See what works for you best and what makes you in a peaceful state of mind. Indoor spaces are less likely to have distracting sounds but you can meditate outside if you prefer the fresh air and you have some distance from cars or other people. Most people sit down when they meditate so find a spot where you can sit comfortably for more than 10 minutes. Plush carpeting or soft grass are ideal. You could also lay down a yoga mat or even just a towel. Turn off or silence your phone and anything else that might make a noise. If there are other people around, tell them you plan to meditate and ask to be left alone for the next few minutes. If you have pets that may come looking for attention, put them in another room where they can’t distract you. Tell other people in the house “Please do not disturb me for the next 30 minutes unless it’s an emergency. I will be meditating and need to maintain absolute focus.” There are many different positions you can use for meditation. The key is to choose a position that is comfortable and won’t require you to consciously prop yourself up.  Some meditators purchase a zafu, a small floor pillow, or a zabuton, a small padded mat, to help prop them up. The most popular posture is the lotus position. Sit on the floor with your back straight. Place your left foot under your right thigh and right foot layered over the left ankle. If you are meditating for a long period of time, you may want to switch which foot goes under the thigh after a while. Some meditators sit in a chair. Make sure you keep your back straight and your feet flat on the ground.

Summary: Find a quiet, featureless space. Find a soft surface. Remove distractions. Sit in a comfortable position.


Activities such as yoga and meditation have been found to be helpful in treating anxiety. You can also practice relaxation exercises such as deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation. These techniques work best when practiced regularly. To practice deep breathing, find a comfortable position for your body (either sitting, standing, or lying down) and begin to focus on your breath. Increase the lengths of your inhales and exhales, and take four deep breaths. Notice how you feel after practicing the deep breathing exercise. How does your mind feel, and how does your body feel? Are you anxious in the same way as before you did the breathing? One of the hardest parts of dealing with anxiety is accepting uncertainty. You may want to be prepared for all outcomes to a situation and feel that by trying to think through every possibility, you are somehow actively preparing yourself for the worst or even preventing bad things from happening. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead of making life more safe or predictable, you keep yourself from enjoying what’s around you and what’s ahead.  If you feel like you must worry, then set aside a 10 minute period of the day and worry. Don’t try to correct or interrupt the worries during this time. The rest of the day is devoted to not worrying at all. When a worry occurs to you during the day, stop and write it down. Tell yourself, "I will worry about this later, during my worry period," and try to move on with your day. You can also use this time to evaluate and strategize. If your worry is beyond your control — say, the sudden anxiety that a comet is going to hit the earth — you can remind yourself that this is not something you can solve or prevent. If it's something over which you do have some control — such as a looming deadline — you can take the time to start brainstorming about how you can tackle the issue and use problem solving skills to find a solution. . Even the most positive people have negative thoughts at times — they often pop into a person's head, seemingly out of nowhere. Because negative thoughts cannot simply be stopped, it is important to learn how to deal with them. Instead of ruminating on them or immediately believing these thoughts to be fact, take a moment to challenge whether or not these thoughts are really true.  Write down the negative thought at the top of a page and then divide the page into two columns. One column will be fore evidence that supports the negative though, the other for evidence against the negative thought. Then fill in these columns to see if there's really any merit to the thought. If you are worried that your best friend suddenly hates you, for instance, write that at the top of the page. In the first column, you might write something like, "She didn't respond to my text from yesterday." In the second column, you may counter that with evidence such as: "She was visiting her grandmother yesterday, so she was busy and she doesn't really get good reception up at her grandmother's house," or, "We have had fights before and she has assured me that she's my friend for the long-haul. If something is wrong, we promised each other we would talk about it and work it out." Spend some time each day doing things that you enjoy. It can be as simple as reading a chapter in a book, sipping on delicious coffee, or taking a walk by yourself. If you are interested in sports, join a local league and play with other adults that also enjoy the same activity. Doing something you love each day helps ward off stress and helps you enjoy each day. If you have a busy or hectic lifestyle, you increase your chances of experiencing anxiety. If you’re having difficulty managing home and work or school, find ways to decrease your load such as delegating tasks to others, saying no to things you reasonably cannot do, or giving up certain responsibilities you no longer can perform well. Find ways to cut stress out of your life. Be aware that there may be a negative aspect to decreasing your activities — when you have more time to think, you may fill those minutes or hours with worrying. If this happens, try the method of writing down the cause of anxiety and promising you will think about it during your established worry period.

Summary: Make time for relaxation. Learn to accept uncertainty. Challenge negative thoughts Do things you love. Adjust your lifestyle.


Regular exercise will help you lose weight, lower the amount of unhealthy LDL cholesterol that you have, as well as increase your levels of good HDL cholesterol. Add at least half an hour of exercise or movement to your daily regimen so you can reap the benefits of healthy exercise.  Go for a walk or a light jog around your neighborhood to get some fresh air. Use cardiovascular exercise such as running, swimming, or cycling to work up a sweat and burn calories.  Add in some weight lifting exercises to build muscle and burn fat. Excessive drinking leads to weight gain and can elevate your blood pressure, both of which will negatively impact your HDL cholesterol. You may also be more inclined to make unhealthy food choices if you drink too much. To avoid negative effects on your cholesterol, always drink in moderation. 1-2 drinks won’t affect your HDL cholesterol levels, but don’t be tempted to indulge in that late-night cheeseburger! Smoking has a whole host of negative health impacts, but it’s particularly harmful to your heart and it reduces the amount of HDL cholesterol that you have. Stop smoking as soon as you can to increase your levels of HDL cholesterol. If you’re around others who smoke, try to avoid breathing in the secondhand smoke.  Quitting smoking will also lead to many other benefits such as healthy lungs, better skin, and improved blood pressure.
Summary: Do 30 minutes of exercise each day to boost your HDL levels. Drink alcohol in moderation to avoid weight gain or high blood pressure. Quit smoking to improve your cardiovascular health.