INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Breathing fresh air, reconnecting with nature, and basking in sunlight to restore your body’s vitamin D levels can go a long way toward uplifting your spirits. Spend time outside every single day. When possible, leave the city and go for a walk in the woods, or take a drive to the nearest lake or pond.  If it’s too cold to go outside for long, open the blinds and let natural light flood your house. During the darker winter months, light therapy products can help replace the sun’s rays. These are available for purchase at many drugstores and online. Sticking to a busy daily routine is an important way to escape the blues.  If you don’t have a job or classes to go to, bring your laptop or a book to a local coffee shop. Don’t allow yourself to skip a day just because you’re feeling a little sad.  Make a list of the chores that need to be done each week, and check them off as you get them accomplished. Take on responsibilities. Giving up responsibilities when you’re depressed can lead to feelings of inadequacy and helplessness. Offer to take your elderly relative to the grocery store each week, and make a point of being extremely reliable. Moving the body has a way of relaxing the mind - in fact, exercise is proven to decrease feelings of anxiety and depression. Find an exercise that appeals to you, like walking, yoga, swimming or biking, and do it every day.  Don’t worry about exercising to lose weight. Focus on how good it feels to use your body, to feel your heart pumping and your breathing get faster. Exercise with a partner to make it more fun. Try making a weekly walking date with a friend or relative.

SUMMARY: Spend extra time outside. Stay busy. Exercise every day.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Water it whenever it is dry for the first year. It should always have moist soil. If you experience hot weather, you may need to water it several times per day. It does best with six or more hours of sunlight, but also likes to be shaded from hot afternoon sun. If you have very little sunlight in the winter, it may die back. Once it is doing well, frequent cuttings keep the plant full and the leaves strong in flavor. Cut one cm above a stem junction and below any flower buds. Don’t cut more than one-third of the leaves at one time. If you allow your mint plant to flower, it will put the nutrients into flower production and slow down leaf growth. Cut the soil into fourths, and then plant each section into a new 12-inch pot. It would be best to give them room. If you don’t divide it, the plant will suffer and the leaves will not grow steadily.
Summary: Water the soil so that it sinks down to the roots. Keep it in an east-facing location. Wait until the mint plant is full and the leaves are large before cutting and using the mint. Cut the top half of the plant with sharp scissors. Divide your plant every few years.

Mites are very small, about 1mm in length and are semi transparent until they ingest blood. They then turn bright red or black. One way to identify a mite infestation is to check your bird’s cage for clusters of small red or black spots. Watch them to see if they move after 5 minutes, as mites are mobile and tend to crawl around looking for their host. Your bird can transfer mites to you very easily, and you may experience symptoms of a mite infestation as you care and live with your bird. You may have raised or reddish bites on your body, especially around your mouth and nose. You may also experience crawling sensations on your skin at night, as this is when mites come out to feed. Keep in mind mites can feed on humans, but they will not live on humans, as they cannot complete their life cycle via a human host. They also do not transmit any infectious diseases to humans or birds, but you may develop a secondary infection due to scratching and skin irritation.
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One-sentence summary -- Check for clusters of small red spots in your bird’s cage. Note if you have small bites on your body. Be aware of any crawling sensations at night when you are in bed.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The team should include four to six people that your friend likes, loves, admires, respects, or depends upon. Each person involved should be genuinely concerned about your friend and should be willing to look her in the eye to tell her that she needs help. It won’t be an easy process, so the team has to be strong and committed to helping her. Try to include a mental health professional or addiction specialist as a part of the team. A professional can help the team stay focused on facts and solutions verses emotional responses that are not always helpful. Keep in mind that having a professional on the team is vital if your friend has any of the following conditions:  A history of violence A history of mental illness A history of suicidal behavior or she has recently talked about suicide A history of taking several mood-altering drugs or substances Be sure to have a specific plan already in place before the intervention is conducted. Spend time researching the specific addiction so that you can familiarize yourself with the types of treatment that generally work for those individuals. This is important because the type of treatment will vary depending upon the specific drug and level of addiction. Keep in mind that more severe addictions may require hospitalization or admittance into an inpatient treatment facility. However, whether inpatient or outpatient treatment is necessary, a specific treatment program that can be immediately available to your friend should be identified before the intervention is held. Here are some examples of resources that can be used:  Local clinics National organizations that offer treatment programs Local mental health providers Narcotics Anonymous, Alcohol Anonymous, Meth Anonymous, and other similar programs If travel is required, be sure that the arrangements are in place before the intervention occurs. Each person on the team has to decide what the individual consequence will be if your friend refuses to get treatment. This often results in some tough decisions and usually includes breaking contact for a period of time. Be prepared to inform your friend that you will not have any more contact with her until she agrees to go to treatment. Remember, it’s tough love but is for her ultimate good. The team is responsible for setting the date, place and time of the intervention. Try to choose a time when your friend is least likely to be under the influence. Each member of the team should come to the meeting prepared with a rehearsed message.  The focus is only on helping your friend get treatment. Do not be confrontational during the intervention. Your friend should be treated with respect during the entire meeting. It might be helpful to have a rehearsal meeting before having the actual intervention. Your rehearsed message should include specific incidents when the addiction has caused problematic behaviors. Make sure that your message is worded in a way that expresses concern for your friend. For example, you could begin by saying, “It upsets me when you use drugs. Just last week…” Be sure that you stick to the rehearsed script. Any deters can quickly result in the intervention going off course. You can make notes to bring in the session if necessary. Inform your friend of the treatment plan and require her to give you an immediate answer. The team shouldn’t give your friend a few days to think about whether or not she wants to accept the treatment offer. Allowing her additional time just reinforces her denial of the problem. Worse, she may go into hiding or participate in a dangerous binge. Require her to give you an immediate answer and be prepared to take her to treatment immediately if she agrees to the plan.  Anticipate your friend’s objections in advance. This way the team can come with prepared responses to her potential objections to treatment. Not all interventions are successful so emotionally prepare yourself for the possibility of a failed intervention. However, if your friend refuses the plan you should be prepared to follow through on the consequences that you have already identified. Once your friend has agreed to the plan, be sure to continue to provide support for her This might include agreeing to go to counseling sessions with her. It could also mean helping her to change the rituals that supported her addiction. Consider what you can do to support your friend throughout her recovery and offer that support.

SUMMARY:
Create the intervention team. Develop the plan. Decide on the consequences in advance. Conduct the meeting. Ask for an immediate decision. Follow-up with your friend after the intervention.