Anne - it's a horrible disease that affects the lymph nodes at the top of a horses throat. They fill with puss and become large lumps on either side of the horses throat. This makes breathing hard and the puss is rather toxic. When the lumps get big enough, they are lanced to relase the pressure.
This is very contagious. The horse takes real strain as breathing and swollowing becomes really difficult. The fatality rate is also quite high. In a nutshell - really not nice! A Vaccine has now been developed.

Back to the original topic.
I agree with Blue that keeping a routine is imperative. While my job is very stressful and I would never recommend that level of stress to anyone, knowing I have a routine to stick to, and a salary coming in to spend on myself, that is a real comfott to me.
I'm also the type of person that cannot sit still - unless i'm sleeping. So for me not having a job and just staying at home would be a nightmare