If you were hoping to get some medications prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while in college or at university, you might be in for a rude surprise.

Colleges and university are cutting back on their involvement with ADHD, primarily due to abuse of the psychiatric medications — stimulants like Ritalin — prescribed to treat the disorder. Students — whether they are malingering the symptoms or actually have it — are prescribed a drug to treat ADHD (sometimes from different providers in different states), then sell a few (or all the) pills on the side. Profit!

Now universities are becoming wise to the epidemic nature of the problem, as some studies have suggested up to a third of college students are illicitly taking ADHD stimulants.

This might help curb the abuse problem, but will it also make it harder for people with actual ADHD to receive treatment?

Sometimes, the nice guys out there may have a disadvantage when it comes to the opposite sex. Why? Girls often initially flock to the guys who aren’t the most courteous or kind.

This may happen because girls are frequently told early in childhood that if a guy teases or berates, it’s because he actually feels quite the opposite — he’s acting mean because he’s interested. And with that, a spark is ignited.

Girls misread certain unfriendly vibes as interest, and therefore yearn to track down their attention.

The cultivation of mindfulness requires periods of focused attention. Many proponents of mindfulness maintain that this is best developed through seated, silent meditation. So before considering how to focus attention, we must first consider our relationship with silence.

Whether in the center of a city or deep in a forest, the cacophony of sounds around us makes it apparent that true silence is impossible. Composer John Cage wrote music that included long periods of silence. When the musicians stopped playing, concertgoers were quickly confronted with the shuffling, shifting, and coughing sounds in the concert hall.

So what is silence?

It’s hardly breaking news that young adults are living at home longer.

Of course there are exceptions, but it appears that the idea of leaving the nest immediately following college graduation is long gone.

The current economy makes establishing financial independence a difficult feat. From a sociological perspective, extended mooching off Mom and Dad seems to be trending. Many young adults either are saving the money they do have, basking in domestic convenience, or simply waiting for the right living opportunity.

Overall, it seems they’re just not ready to take the next step.

College grads: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

Unfortunately, for many, the answer is a resounding “no.” Hordes of college grads have not acquired any skills that will enable them to get a decent job. And if that weren’t bad enough, they’re saddled with a mountain of debt that will be an albatross around their neck for decades to come.

With no prospects for the future, is it any wonder that so many college grads feel lost? This isn’t the way it was supposed to be. Higher education was supposed to be the best investment one could make to guarantee a solid future. Often they feel cheated, left asking “now what?”

“I’m about to bake cookies for my boyfriend!” “I have 2 job interviews this week!” “I just had the most romantic night ever!”

Do any of these sentiments sound familiar to you? It’s not a foreign concept that Facebook status updates may be geared toward all the positive occurrences in one’s life. It’s also likely that when some scroll through their news feeds, they’re comparing these successes to their own lives.

Facebook use has become an integral part of our daily routines, regardless of whether we’re aware of its impact.

According to Digital Buzz’s Facebook statistics for 2011, there are 500 million active users, used by approximately 1 in every 13 people on Earth. Over 250 million users log in every day and 48 percent of users are in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic.

Therefore, it’s not too surprising that studies have been conducted to determine the relationship between Facebook usage and its impact on our happiness, well-being and self-esteem.

There’s nothing quite as fun as college can be, as long as you approach it with the right attitude and remember that this is indeed your life. You don’t get to go to college twice (well, unless you become one of those endless students).

Being a student — while potentially fun — also brings with it a bunch of not-so-fun stuff. College students often experience their first serious romantic relationship. They can also grapple with their first battle with a mental health concern — like depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, or anxiety (like social anxiety or test anxiety).

The good news is that there’s a lot of free resources available to the savvy college student. Which includes you, since you’re reading this article.

During the summer it’s natural to slip out of study mode — and into fun, sun and relaxation.

So the start of another school year can feel sobering (at best).

But there are ways you can ease into the fall semester, without much stress. Below, Julie Hanks, LCSW, a licensed psychotherapist and author of the blog “Private Practice Toolbox” on Psych Central, shared her tips for shifting to student mode.

1. Start reading regularly. “Get back into the habit of reading for longer stretches of time and reflecting on what you’ve read,” Hanks said. Try to read material that’s somehow related to your studies, such as textbooks or journal articles.

Allison Winn Scotch’s novel, “Time of My Life,” is the perfect read for those of us who are prone to the “what if game.”

What if we can change our past? What if we can go back in time and do it all differently? Would our future be better? Would we be happier?

Scotch effectively illustrates how our past leads us to exactly where we need to be.

In “Time of My Life,” the protagonist, Jillian, appears to be going through the motions of motherhood after the birth of her first child, Katie, and can’t help but feel something is not quite right in her suburban life and marriage. She and her husband, Henry, no longer connect the way they used to, and she sometimes finds herself pining for what once was — the intense relationship she had with her ex-boyfriend, Jackson, and the fulfilling work she did at an advertising agency in New York City.

So when Jillian goes to get a massage and her masseuse “unblocks her chi,” where she travels back seven years into the past, she is very content to embark on a second chance.

The claim: after a single study (which we reported on back in May), computer scientists now know how people with depression spend time online.

From that knowledge, the researchers suggest we could design some sort of intrusive, spying app on your computer, iPad or smartphone to let you (or Big Brother, in whatever form — college administrators, your parents, or big data mining companies working for advertisers) know when you’re surfing in a “depressive” pattern.

Are the researchers over-generalizing from their data, or do we really know how people use the Internet when they’re depressed?

Let’s find out…

Being 20-something tends to be romanticized. Despite the appeal of independence, finally integrating into the ‘real world,’ or the overall fulfillment that’s found in the process of becoming who you are, there is also something to be said for the infamous ‘quarter-life crisis.’

It peaks as recent graduates navigate the stressors of post-college life, a bleak economy, and the complexities of romantic relationships. As someone who’s going through the motions, I began to view being this age as a time akin to a second stage of puberty — a little awkward and a little terrifying.

Lena Dunham, 25, created and stars in “Girls,” a television series that tells the story of four 20-somethings finding out that the ‘real world’ doesn’t exactly resemble Sex and the City. Instead of Carrie Bradshaw’s glamorous Manhattan lifestyle, these girls live in Brooklyn, wearing clothes from thrift stores and opting for the affordable beer over a cosmopolitan.

I am one of those few 20-somethings who would prefer a simple Samsung model over an iPhone or Blackberry when shopping at AT&T. And yes, I do get the odd stare from the sales associate who isn’t sure why I wouldn’t pine for that touchscreen. I typically shrug and convey how I prefer to keep it simple, and will gladly purchase a phone that has an ideal keyboard for texting.

Texting has become an everyday facet of our lives. The feature serves as a platform that absolutely allows us to stay connected to others with instant communication. However, there is something to be said about the ways in which it has the potential to diminish our social skills, if we choose to allow it to do so.

Texting has the ability to reinforce ineffective communication. Individuals can ‘hide behind a screen’ to escape confrontation in friendships or romantic relationships.