Behavioral Health Considerations in Health Insurance Plans

Typically when it comes to health insurance coverage, people think about a few specific parts of coverage such as preventative medicine, doctor visits, prescription drug coverage, emergency room coverage, ambulance coverage, and so on. Unfortunately, sometimes certain aspects of health are not covered in a health insurance plan, and so you need to look a little deeper to find the right coverage to meet your individual needs.

For example, behavioral health is not covered in every health insurance plan, or rather it does not come standard in many health insurance programs. It is important for you to include behavioral health as part of your health insurance coverage, however, especially if you are already dealing with behavioral health issues such as a serious mental illness. When appraising the benefits and features of various online insurance quotes, you are going to want to pay particular attention to whether or not mental or behavioral health is a consideration, so that you can ensure the specific types of coverage that you need.

Most people that are suffering from a major illness requiring health insurance coverage may also be suffering from a mental illness like depression. As such, it would be a smart idea to add mental health coverage to your health insurance coverage so that you can get the mental health help that you need if a problem should ever arise. Obtain insurance quotes from health care suppliers in your area in order to determine how much it is going to cost for you to add this type of coverage to your health care plan.

If your current health care insurance provider does not offer mental health insurance then make sure you find a provider who does so that you will have the most well-rounded health insurance coverage possible because this is ideal for maintaining optimal health at all times.

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The Winter Blahs: Combating Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder, often known by the acronym SAD, refers to marked changes in mood and behavior caused by the lack of sunlight in winter. While many people experience changes in winter, SAD can interfere with your ability to thrive in the colder, darker months. There are many ways to help combat SAD. If home remedies and changes in your lifestyle aren’t helping, you can also speak with a psychiatrist about options to help you through the winter.

Let in the Light

Try to maximize the amount of sunlight in your home. Keep window curtains drawn and spend time in the sunnier spaces of your home. Sunlight, even in the winter, can help to improve your mood significantly. If you still aren’t getting enough natural sunlight, consider light bulbs or light boxes designed to treat SAD. Spending time near these can be a huge help to sufferers. While pricy, many find that these lights make a big difference.

Get Outside

Bundle up and get outside, especially on winter days when the sun is out. Spending time outside, even short periods of time each day, can help to shake the winter blahs and bring you back to yourself. Timing your outdoor time for the morning can make a big difference in how you feel starting your day. Many with SAD find that mornings are their most difficult time of day in the winter.

Live a Healthy Lifestyle

Eating a healthy diet in the winter, filled with fruits and vegetables and a variety of healthy foods, can help you to feel better. Getting daily exercise, be it a trip to the gym, a swim in the indoor pool, or a quick workout at home, can help to improve SAD too. Anything that keeps your body healthy in the winter and helps to build positive routines for your body and mind will often help you to feel better.

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A Few Facts About Vitamin D

From articles in health magazines and websites, it’s clear that vitamin D is the newly crowned superstar of the vitamin world.Early studies suggest that vitamin D can help prevent some types of cancer and may also be helpful in preventing diabetes.  Some studies have pointed to vitamin D deficiency as the reason that many people experience a higher blood pressure in the winter than in the summer.

Dietary Sources of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is found in many fortified foods including milk and many breakfast cereals. Natural sources include fish and eggs. Taking a daily dose of cod liver oil is another way to ensure you’re getting enough vitamin D in your diet. Many people turn to a supplement to help get enough vitamin D in their diets and many calcium supplements also include vitamin D as it helps aid in the absorption of calcium to build strong bones.

Other Source of Vitamin D

The human body can produce it’s own vitamin D. Spending as little as ten minutes each day in sunlight can help your body to create all of the vitamin D it needs. In the summer months, many people get this amount of vitamin D easily, while wintertime can be a challenge. Wearing sunscreen, while good for helping to prevent sun damage and skin cancer, blocks the rays that help the body to make vitamin D. A small amount of time unprotected in the sun is adequate.

How to Tell if You’re Deficient

Muscle pain and weakness are a common symptom. In older adults, osteoporosis can be a sign of a deficiency, as can frequently breaking bones. Young children can experience rickets from serious deficiencies.If you’re concerned about vitamin D, track your diet and speak with a doctor or nutritionist about adding a daily supplement or changing your diet to boost your vitamin D.

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How Healthy are Americans’ Diets?

A diet rich in soy and whey protein, found in ...

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The American diet has long been thought to be high in fat and calories, low in real nutrition. In recent years, however, it seems that many Americans believe that they eat a healthy diet and are doing everything they can to lead a healthy lifestyle. For some, however, their actions still don’t line up with their intentions. Consumer Reports recently polled 1,234 adults in the US to see if their perceptions of their diet matched their actual eating habits.

According to the poll results, roughly 53% believed that their diet was somewhat healthy. 32% believed they ate a very healthy diet and around 6% of respondents believed that they were extremely healthy eaters. These numbers paint a very positive picture of Americans’ diets.

When pressed for more information, however, some more disturbing numbers were revealed. 43% of the people polled said that they drank one or more soda or sugary coffee or tea every day.  Only 25% said that they actively limit the sweets and fat in their daily diets.

Drinking calories—through sodas, artificially sweetened juices, and sugary coffees and teas—is a common way that people gain weight. Dieticians often recommend limiting or eliminating high calorie beverages and replacing them with water or unsweetened fruit juices. It’s much easier to count calories and cut back on daily intake when calories come from food that fills you up and not from drink overloads.

Few in the Consumer Reports poll reported counting their calories or weighing themselves at regular intervals. This may contribute to the fact that 33% of poll respondents believed they were at a healthy weight when they were actually overweight or obese according to their body mass index (BMI).

While more and more Americans may believe that they are healthy, the real figured show that they still have a long way to go.

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After Job Loss…Take Care of Your Beautiful Mind and Your Body Electric

If you’ve been let go from your job it’s normal to go through bouts of denial, anger and depression. The key to setting yourself up for a brighter future is in moving from the initial negative feelings to a more productive state of mind. You accept what has happened and start looking forward instead of backwards. And you take care of your most valuable asset – you.

You are now in the sales and marketing business, and the product you are selling is you. So let’s get personal.

• Take a look around and be grateful for what you have. You probably have reasonably good health, a place to live, food to eat, people who care about you. Not a bad place for starting over.
• Write down your abilities and accomplishments. Include your technical and your interpersonal skills. Develop a short “commercial” to use when talking to people about your job search and during interviews. Being able to clearly and concisely describe your education, experience and skills will set you apart.
• Take a look in the mirror. Maybe you could lose a few pounds. Maybe your teeth could be whiter. Maybe you could use a hair cut. Spending some time and money on your appearance is one of the best investments you can make.
• Don’t lie around and feel sorry for yourself. Follow a daily schedule – work on your resume, make calls, do research, set up meetings and informational interviews. Add exercise to your routine.
• Avoid isolation. Keep up with your contacts and work to expand your network. Attend social and business events.
• Improve upon or learn new skills. Employers want workers who have multiple skill sets and are up to date with software applications.
• Consider the type of company you want to work for next, or whether you want to become a consultant, open a franchise or start up your own business.

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Are You Ready for Major Weight Loss?

Picture of an Obese Teenager (146kg/322lb) wit...
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People who are 20 percent or more over their ideal body weight, or have a body mass index of 30 or higher, are considered obese. The heaviest suffer from serious health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, back and joint pain, fatigue, sleep apnea, shortness of breath, certain kinds of cancer and cardiovascular disease. They also can suffer emotionally and socially.

People who are obese may reach a time when they resolve to drop a large amount of weight.

The first step is to talk with your family doctor. Your physician will order tests to ensure your condition is not related to thyroid dysfunction or medications you may be taking. Since obesity affects every major organ system and your mental state, you may be referred to other specialists, as well as a dietitian, an exercise physiologist and a counselor or psychologist.

You then have a choice: an intensive diet and exercise program, or undergo bariatric surgery.

If you choose the natural route, it will take a plan, discipline, support from others and a complete change in lifestyle. You should incorporate aerobic exercise, weight training, stretching and an overhaul of your eating habits. You won’t drop weight rapidly, but you will immediately gain improved fitness, energy, flexibility and strength. As you get healthier you need to continue these new routines the rest of your life.

Bariatric surgery is a fairly new discipline, first emerging in the early 1980s. Surgical techniques now include minimally invasive and laparoscopic options. Choose a board certified surgeon highly experienced in the procedure you want. Make sure the surgery program is comprehensive, with pre-surgery preparation as well as follow-up and support services. Look for programs certified by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. After surgery, follow your surgeon’s instructions exactly to avoid complications. Spend time talking with a counselor or journaling to help you cope with changes in your body, relationships and your life.

Filed Under: Health, Mental Health, Psychiatric Consultant Tagged With: , , , , , ,

You’ve Lost Your Job Now

You walk into the office and are met by your boss. He hands you a folder and tells you your job has been eliminated. Your knees buckle and you feel like you’ve been sucker punched in the gut. What now?

This scenario has played out for millions of Americans in the last two years, and it’s still happening. As of December 2010, the national unemployment rate had inched up to 9.8 percent.

The old days of working for one company your entire career have given way to shorter tenures with many different companies and even career changes.

Financial hardship is one matter, but job loss affects many aspects of your life, including your self-esteem, your sense of worth and purpose, daily routines, your social status, relationships and dreams for the future.

Here are some tips to survive this stressful time:

  • Find out about your severance package (if any) and health insurance options.
  • Contact your state unemployment insurance office to apply for benefits. It’s usually better to go in person even though the wait can be lengthy.
  • Take a hard look at your finances and seek ways to cut back. You may need to contact creditors and set up a hardship plan.
  • Talk candidly with family members so they understand your situation.
  • Find out if there are support groups in your area for unemployed people. Or talk with a trusted friend, spiritual advisor or counselor.
  • Don’t get ripped off by scams targeting desperate people offering bogus work at home opportunities or resume services.
  • Develop a great resume. You’ll need several versions appropriate for different industries or jobs.
  • Network, network, network. Use personal and online networking to let people know your marketable skills and the types of jobs you’re interested in.
  • Register with online job search engines.
  • See your doctor or a psychiatrist if you need antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication.
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Be Nice to Aspys: A Little Known Condition is Gaining Recognition

You approach a stranger at a party. He’s nice looking, well groomed and wears stylish clothing. He’s standing alone, with a rather stiff, self-conscious posture. You smile. He stares back a few awkward seconds, then shapes his mouth into a returning smile. You strike up a conversation about a recent game. He nods his head with interest, then begins spouting a stream of statistics and data about the game, the major plays of each team, the coaches, the officials, the history of the sport Your eyes glaze over and you find an excuse to break off and flee to the other side of the room.

You may have met an extremely devoted fan of the game or you’ve just had an encounter with an Aspy.

Asperger syndrome disorder (AS) has only become a distinct diagnosed condition since the early 1990s. It is characterized by social awkwardness, inability to understand facial expressions and body language, clumsy movements, overly formal use of language, preoccupation with favorite topics, poor impulse control, difficulty empathizing, hypersensitivity to light, sounds, smells and touch, and repetitive routines.

Asperger’s is a type of autism, although people with this condition often are highly intelligent, have excellent written and verbal abilities, appear ordinary, and function fairly normally.

Although mostly diagnosed in children, AS is increasingly recognized in adults who initially seek help for depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, self-esteem issues, OCD, ADHD and relationship problems.

One of the most famous Aspys is Temple Grandin, a scientist, college professor, animal rights advocate and author. Grandin has said her condition is like a computer that hasn’t been loaded with software. Most people intuitively know how to make connections with others; Aspys must watch and learn appropriate behaviors, thus loading the needed software into their brains.

So, next time you meet someone who seems odd, be extra nice. They may be an Aspy coping with their limitations.

Filed Under: Health, Mental Health, Psychiatric Consultant Tagged With: , , , ,

After Job Loss¦Take Care of Your Beautiful Mind and Your Body Electric

If you’ve been let go from your job it’s normal to go through bouts of denial, anger and depression. The key to setting yourself up for a brighter future is in moving from the initial negative feelings to a more productive state of mind. You accept what has happened and start looking forward instead of backwards. And you take care of your most valuable asset you.

You are now in the sales and marketing business, and the product you are selling is you. So let’s get personal.

  • Take a look around and be grateful for what you have. You probably have reasonably good health, a place to live, food to eat, people who care about you. Not a bad place for starting over.
  • Write down your abilities and accomplishments. Include your technical and your interpersonal skills. Develop a short commercial to use when talking to people about your job search and during interviews. Being able to clearly and concisely describe your education, experience and skills will set you apart.
  • Take a look in the mirror. Maybe you could lose a few pounds. Maybe your teeth could be whiter. Maybe you could use a hair cut. Spending some time and money on your appearance is one of the best investments you can make.
  • Don’t lie around and feel sorry for yourself. Follow a daily schedule work on your resume, make calls, do research, set up meetings and informational interviews. Add exercise to your routine.
  • Avoid isolation. Keep up with your contacts and work to expand your network. Attend social and business events.
  • Improve upon or learn new skills. Employers want workers who have multiple skill sets and are up to date with software applications.
  • Consider the type of company you want to work for next, or whether you want to become a consultant, open a franchise or start up your own business.

Filed Under: Health, Mental Health, Psychiatric Consultant Tagged With: , , ,

Aren’t We All a little Paranoid?

Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) is characterized by a deep distrust of others. People with PPD suspect that others are competing with them, undermining them, plotting against them and out to humiliate and belittle them.

Well, let’s think about this. Didn’t Bernie Madoff bilk billions from people who trusted him? And in the workplace aren’t we constantly competing with our coworkers for time, attention, rewards, promotions and job security? Haven’t most of us encountered so-called friends, who smile to your face, then spread rumors behind your back? What about the guy who cuts you off in traffic or suddenly slams on his breaks in front of you for no reason other than to get you upset?

There are some good reasons in our current world for people to have a healthy distrust of others. They’re likely to be more cautious and careful, very selective in whom they befriend and which institutions they patronize.

It’s probably a normal human trait to be a little paranoid  a survival mechanism. It’s wise to look before we leap, to suspect hidden agendas behind offers that seem too good to be true. We just have to be careful not to let our cynicism block us from actual opportunities and genuine relationships.

People with PPD seldom seek counseling, and if they do, they won’t open up and share with their therapist. Their thinking is so rigid they find it hard to let down their guard and consider a different reality than the one they see.

The beauty of self reflection and personal growth is that we can take a breath, forgive others, try to understand a different point of view and not let setbacks keep us from hoping and dreaming.

It takes courage in a time of change and uncertainty to look for the good in others, overlook offenses and stay positive.

Filed Under: Health, Mental Health, Psychiatric Consultant Tagged With: , , , , ,
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