After a long hiatus, I’m back with four more interesting articles for you to read. Sunbeams, rainbows and bluebirds! Nothing to bring you down, and everything to lighten your mood.
Here’s a list. To read them all, just click the “Read the entire article” link:
- FDA Approves Generic Lexapro for Depression, Anxiety
- Mentoring scheme helps anxiety sufferers
- Panic in Paradise — Honeymoon Ruined by Agoraphobia and Panic
- Mobile app lets you "Tweet-A-Beer" — Perfect for agoraphobic beer lovers!
Many people take Lexapro for Anxiety Disorders, and it can become quite costly after a while. Good news!
In March, 2012 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first generic Lexapro (escitalopram tablets) to treat both depression and generalized anxiety disorder in adults. Of course, generic drugs are much less expensive than name-brand medications.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Announcement,
Anxiety,
Mental Health
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has released a new report, Grading the States, assessing the nation’s public mental health care system for adults.
The average grade in 2009 for the United States was a D. This grade has not budged from the D the US received from NAMI in 2006. Fourteen states improved their grades in 2009. Twelve states fell backwards.
This national grade, an average of the state grades, reflects our country’s utter neglect of its most vulnerable citizens. The lack of improvement over time brings into sharp relief our complete failure to take charge of an ineffective system and begin to transform it.
Michael J. Fitzpatrick, NAMI’s executive director, said:
Mental health care in America is in crisis. Even states that have worked hard to build life-saving, recovery-oriented systems of care stand to see their progress wiped out.
Ironically, state budget cuts occur during a time of economic crisis when mental heath services are needed even more urgently than before. It is a vicious cycle that can lead to ruin. States need to move forward, not retreat.
Too many people living with mental illness end up hospitalized, on the street, in jail or dead. We need governors and legislators willing to make investments in change.
This post provides details of the NAMI report, makes recommendations, and analyzes the implications of this dire situation for mental health in America.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Mental Health,
NAMI,
National Alliance on Mental Health
Mental wholeness is the last term in the tag line for this blog, Living with Health, Wellness and Wholeness.
Wholeness is a concept that has many meanings in our culture. It is spoken of by New Age gurus, preached from the pulpit, and bandied about by pop psychologists. Yet none of these can give you a straightforward answer as to what wholeness really is.
Mental wholeness is murkier still. It is referred to by many, again without definition. This may be because the meaning of the term is difficult to articulate, the person doesn’t really know what it means, or that they just like the mysterious way it sounds!
This post explores the meanings of wholeness and provides my definition of mental wholeness as used in this blog. It is the third in a series that defines mental health, mental wellness, and mental wholeness, three pillars of all the posts written here.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Mental Health,
Mental Wellness,
Mental Wholeness
Mental wellness is part of the tag line for this blog, “Living with Health, Wellness and Wholeness.”
Wellness is a relatively new paradigm in health care, and the subject of mental wellness is newer still. The study of characteristics that make up mental health is called Positive Psychology, which was introduced only in 1998. Mental wellness in counseling and therapy is even more recent, being introduced in 2001.
Mental wellness is more than a pop psychology term; it is a part of the future of medicine, which is moving daily toward a concept of holistic treatment. Both presidential candidates envision more holistic health care, and medical practices across the nation are taking up the idea of treating the whole person, rather than just handing out prescriptions.
This post defines mental wellness as it is understood by its originators, and as it is used in this blog. It is the second post in the series defining the terms mental health, mental wellness, and mental wholeness as it relates to this blog’s tag line, “Living with Health, Wellness and Wholeness.”
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Mental Health,
Mental Wellness,
Mental Wholeness
Living with Health, Wellness and Wholeness is the tag line for this blog.
But what exactly do the terms mental health, wellness and wholeness mean? When you think about it, it’s hard to pin down exact definitions for them.
And the definitions are continually changing for every individual, because mental health, mental wellness, and mental wholeness are processes, in movement, and not static. In a way, we make our own definitions of what they mean for each of us.
To me, these are more than interesting terms or concepts. They are the very underpinnings of this blog, the ultimate goal for every post written.
This is the first of a three-part series presenting the widely-recognized definitions of the terms mental health, mental wellness, and mental wholeness, along with my own definitions and how I use the terms in this blog. Today’s post, on mental health, will be followed by post on mental wellness and mental wholeness in the days to come.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Agoraphobia,
Mental Health,
Mental Wellness,
Mental Wholeness
I have some very good news: The mental health parity bill passed Congress just a couple of hours ago, and it is predicted that President Bush will sign it into law!
This means that insurance companies are now forced to offer the same coverage and copays for mental health services as they do for physical health.
To quote Mental Health America:
Mental Health America today hailed as “a great civil rights victory” the approval of a mental health parity legislation that will broadly outlaw health insurance discrimination against Americans with mental health and substance-use conditions in employer-sponsored health plans.
The legislation, which recognizes the importance of mental health to overall health, bans employers and insurers from imposing stricter limits on coverage for mental health and substance-use conditions than those set for other health problems. It will provide parity for 82 million Americans covered by self-insured plans and another 31 million in plans that are subject to state regulation.
It is estimated that roughly 67 percent of adults and 80 percent of children requiring mental health services do not receive help, in large part because of discriminatory insurance practices.
For more information, see Mental Health America’s press release.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Anxiety Disorder,
Legislation,
Medications,
Mental Health,
Murphy's Law
The stigma of mental illness continues to a shocking degree throughout the world.
A new study has detailed the stigma of mental illness in Canada. Its results are unsettling, to say the least. Here are some of the findings:
- 46% believe that a diagnosis of mental illness is merely an “excuse for poor behavior and personal failings”
- 10% think that people with mental illness could “just snap out of it if they wanted”
- 42% would no longer socialize with a friend diagnosed with mental illness
- 55% would not marry someone who suffered from mental illness
- 25% are afraid of being around someone who suffers from serious mental illness
- 50% would not tell friends or coworkers that a family member was suffering from mental illness. 72% would discuss cancer, and 68% diabetes.
- 50% think alcoholism and drug addiction are not mental illnesses
- 11% think depression is not a mental illness
- 50% think that depression is not a serious condition
There is no reason to believe that attitudes toward the mentally ill are any better in the US. Experience shows us that they may be even be worse. To my knowledge there have been no comparable studies of mental health stigma in the US, amazingly enough.
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as:
Canada,
Mental Health,
Mental Illness,
Stigma
Is What You’re Reading Junk? Evaluating the Quality of Mental Health Websites, Part 2
by Mike Nichols on July 15, 2009 · 2 comments
The internet is a minefield full of inaccurate, biased sites.
How do you tell the difference between good information and bad information? You need a guide to help you evaluate sites, to tell whether the articles presented are valid and accurate, to discover when someone is trying to sell you something, and to discern between a legitimate view and a crackpot’s rant.
This two-part series of articles is intended to be a guide for you in your search for trustworthy information. It outlines the collective wisdom of medical librarians, mental health professionals, professional associations, and other experts who surf the web every day to discover quality information in support of clinical and scientific decision making by professionals responsible for the nation’s mental health.
Today’s information, part 2 of the series, is presented under the following headings:
Be sure to read yesterday’s installment, too. It discussed these topics:
[Read the entire article...]
Tagged as: Internet, Mental Health
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