Insurance Coverage for Rehabilitation

February 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you or a loved on is interested in checking into a rehabilitation facility it is important to talk to your insurance company. Many people don’t realize that their heath insurance may offer some type of coverage or discount on this type of service. Whether you need to find out if you have this coverage or if you are sure you do but want the details it is important to contact the insurance agency to get the answers.

Your benefits booklet is a great place to start. Most companies offer some basic information about the coverage that you have. It may not list the facilities that you can use or even the amount of money or time they will cover but it will let you know that there is something available. For that reason it is a good place to start.

The next step is to call the insurance company to get the important details. After giving them all of the information about your policy number and your name you can ask them to give you the specifics of the coverage that you have regarding rehabilitation. You can find out how much of the stay will be covered, how much you will need to pay, and what other discounts are available.

Some policies only cover in-network places. Once you get a list of the places you can begin calling to make the arrangements. You need to find a place that has availability for you or your loved one and when you can come in to get things started and the paperwork filled out. For some, these rehabilitation facilities are the difference between continuing in some of the same paths from the past and moving on with a new life into the future.

Filed Under: Health, Rehabilitation Tagged With: , ,

Bipolar Disorders

August 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A lady (we will call her Mandy) sits in jail after stealing two cars and attempting to steal another while fleeing the authorities. Oh yeah – she was also naked during the pursuit. Mandy was in her early thirties and a mother of three beautiful children. She had never been convicted of any offense prior to the series of events listed above.

How did such a, seemingly “normal,” individual end up behind bars?

Mandy suffered from bipolar disorder. She had been receiving treatments for this mental illness, but began to discontinue medication. Her conditioned slowly worsened eventually leading up to the sorry series of events.

Bipolar disorder (also known as manic depressive disorder) is a mental health illness related to other disorders that affect mood. Individuals who suffer from this condition can experience episodes of abnormal behavior often associated with high levels of energy. Many people name these elevated moments of moodiness as mania or even hypomania.

Periods of depression can follow manic episodes or can also be felt at the same time. Bipolar individuals often have normal, or level, mood levels between these episodes. With such drastic swings in mood, bipolar disorder can often be easily diagnosed.

Severe forms of bipolar disorder can lead to psychotic episodes such as delusions or hallucinations. Other severe symptoms can also include suicidal tendencies, which can occur during a depressive phase.

Anyone can develop a bipolar disorder. Those more likely to develop this condition are Individuals with other mood disorders, such as depression. Genetic makeup of an individual can also cause a disorder but does not guarantee such a condition.

Treatments for bipolar disorder often include a number of medications that seek to stabilize mood. Professional counseling is also used often in conjunction with medicinal remedies. In-patient care can be prescribed should the symptoms be too severe for a person to function well in society

Seek out professional help should you suspect a loved one is developing bipolar disorder.

Filed Under: Care & Cure, Mental Disorders, Rehabilitation Tagged With: ,

Biting Your Nails: Nervous Habits

August 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Biting your nails, tapping your toes, bouncing your knees and the list goes on. Most everyone has a nervous habit of some sort. These habits are usually formed over time. Eventually they become part of a person occurring almost automatically. They become so ingrained into someone’s life that they are often very difficult to stop.

Nervous habits provide very little use other than a way to release energy, usually during times of stress or anxiety. They may relate to a mental health condition. Sometime people do them without stress or anxiety; it almost becomes a way to just kill the time. People spend a lifetime trying to break their nervous habits.

Although most nervous habits seem harmless, most of them are. The physical toll of things like biting your nails or chewing your lips can actually cause some amount of bodily harm. Other than the actual damage that a nervous habit can inflict, nervous habits can be just plain annoying to other people. It might also be detrimental to ones appearance. Some habits just do not appear professional in some settings. At a minimum, nervous habits can make someone appear to be nervous when in fact they are not.

Finding the cause for nervous habits can be tough. As mentioned previously, these habits form over time. Most of these habits stem from something learned or acquired during their childhood years. Unfortunately some children learn these habits from adults, most often their parents. Children mimic them, than eventually form a habit.

So what is the secret to breaking a nervous habit? Many people try to break them but fail. Many suggest creating some sort of mechanism that will make one aware of the habit. For example: placing tape on ones fingertips to prevent biting nails. This increased awareness give a person the opportunity to consciously stop the activity.

The secret to stopping a habit is persistence. So if you are aware of a nervous habit, which you probably are, decide today to focus on breaking it. It will bless both you and most likely those who you associate with.

Filed Under: Care & Cure, Phychiatric, Rehabilitation Tagged With: ,

The Mental Health Effects of Unemployment

August 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Studies have shown that economic conditions can have an effect on the mental health of individuals and society as a whole. One simply needs to look back to the U.S. Great Depression of the 1930s to see how mental health conditions deteriorate with a downward economy. This time in history had one of the highest suicide rates ever recorded.

Studies published during the world wide recession of 2008 show that almost 50% of Americans experienced a higher level of stress compared to the prior year. One third of the sample characterized their stress levels as extreme.

Of course anxiety and stress are part of living with financial distress. Job loss and under employment can consume people’s lives. The uncertainty of whether or not bills will be paid, children to feed and a mortgage to be met is enough to place anyone into a mental health funk.

Unemployment in particular has been proven to cause mental health illness. Unemployment not only causes financial distress, it also affects ones social environment. Associations are lost and the stigma of carrying an “unemployed” title can cause self-esteem issues. Individuals who have held the same job for extended periods of time can have a harder time adjusting to unemployment life. For them a job could be more than just a job, but a way of life.

Although studies would suggest that unemployment can lead to mental illness – it does not guarantee it. Many people have endured unemployment with ease. Penn State University has published a paper identifying ways to control stress during unemployment. Steps include: continue to keep your regular routines in life; maintain a healthy lifestyle (good eating and exercise); talk to friends and family; network; seek out professional health.

Economic conditions will constantly change. Maintaining this perspective will help individuals better cope with the financial stresses of life.

Filed Under: Mental Disorders, Mental Health, Rehabilitation Tagged With: ,
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