DBSA Blog

12/10/2015

SURVIVING HOLIDAY STRESS
from bp magazine winter 2015
Every year the holiday season swings around again, a festive period of joy and light—or maybe not so much. The very things that define the holidays, from big family feasts to planning gifts for our children, can also be the things that make us feel stressed, depressed and anxious. At the least, increased temptations and time demands can disrupt the management strategies that keep depression in check. To survive holiday stress and make the most of the coming weeks, you’ll need to be proactive.

7 Steps for Surviving Holiday Stress:
1. The first step in your holiday coping strategy is to know thine enemy. In other words, take stock of your particular pressure points. Do you succumb to sweets and rich foods? Fret yourself into an anxiety spiral because you can’t afford everything on your child’s wish list? Maybe you start to feel more isolated because of all the emphasis on family togetherness. Use past experience as a guide to identifying your triggers.

2. Once you know your danger zones, you can bring some clear-eyed problem solving to bear. You might find it helpful to call a family meeting, brainstorm with a friend, or enlist a therapist to help you identify positive measures you can take.

3. Remember that a healthy diet and routine armor you against depression. Yet from the cornucopia of the Thanksgiving table to the tempting bubbles of New Year’s champagne, there are ample challenges to your willpower and commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Sit down with a blank page and ask yourself this: “How can I ensure that I remain healthy during the holidays?” Once you’ve recorded your thoughts, develop a list of goals (specific and realistic) and challenges (what typically pulls you off track). Day-by-day, track your frustrations and feelings and mark your achievements. If you’re prone to getting in your own way, this process will definitely help. And it never hurts to fold in small rewards along the way.

4. Speaking of that to-do list, write down all the things you think need to be done and all the invitations you’d like to accept, then take a calendar and rough out a schedule of when they need to happen. Next, think hard about what’s really central to your personal celebrations—the heart of your holidays, so to speak. To protect your well-being, you may have to make tough choices about trimming back some traditional activities. For example, you may have to weigh the emotional and physical costs of traveling to see family against the potential hurt feelings and feuds if you don’t go.

5. Accept that you, yourself, can’t do it all. Are there ways to divvy up tasks? Allowing each member of the household to choose preferred tasks may improve their willingness to help. Or maybe the party you always host could be a potluck this year. Most importantly, take a breath and have faith that somehow, it will all get done.

6. As with so much in life, attitude is everything. Sometimes dealing with holiday stress boils down to tweaking your own outlook. Placing unrealistic expectations on yourself and the people around you is a surefire guarantee of disappointment and conflict. If there are certain relatives who always set you off, stop wishing that others would change and remind yourself—as often as necessary—that you can control only what you think, feel and say, not how others treat you. Endeavor to look past irritations and find ways to be grateful. For example, let go of self-critical feelings if the house isn’t spotless as your guests arrive and focus instead on how much you enjoy their company. Yes, this takes some practice, but there’s plenty of research proving that nurturing an attitude of gratitude has benefits for your physical and mental health.

7. If all else fails and you do slip into depression, accept that you are only human. Turn to trusted professionals as needed, revisit tried-and-true techniques for recovery, and hold onto the knowledge that like the holiday season, this too shall pass.

December 31st, 1969

12/10/2015

DBSA Opposes CMS Proposal to Eliminate Access to Mental Health Treatments as Part of the "Six Protected Classes"

In a misguided effort to save money, CMS proposal would deny vital treatments for people with mental health conditions who are covered under Medicare Part D

Chicago, IL (January 17, 2014)
On January 6, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) circulated a proposed rule that would remove antidepressants and immunosupressants from the protected class status they received under Medicare Part D in 2015, and to remove antipsychotics from that status in 2016. Despite a growing public recognition of America’s mental health treatment crisis, the Administration inexplicably proposed undoing one of Medicare’s signature protections for people with mental health conditions by suggesting that when it comes to drug treatment one size fits all.

“DBSA advocates for the right of people with mental health conditions like depression or bipolar disorder to choose their own paths to mental, emotional, and physical wellness,” stated Allen Doederlein, President of DBSA. “Implementation of this proposed ruling has the potential not only to undermine hard-won treatment advances a person with a mental health condition may have made, but also to undermine a person’s ability to choose the right treatment that a clinician identifies as the best fit for a serious, life-threatening condition.”

For nearly a decade, the “six protected class” policy has ensured that Medicare patients with mental health conditions, many of whom have severe, treatment-resistant symptoms, have access to the most appropriate drug without having to go through “fail-first” experiences or lengthy appeals and grievance processes. Often, delays caused by these processes can result in suicide and other tragic outcomes, and inadequate treatment leaves people open to relapse, co-occurring conditions which greatly shorten lifespans, and increased suicide risk.

Commenting on the proposed ruling, Joseph R. Calabrese, MD, Director, Mood Disorders Program, Bipolar Dis. Research Chair & Professor of Psychiatry and Dir. Bipolar Disorders Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, stated “the effectiveness and tolerability of antidepressants can vary greatly among people who choose this treatment option. Our extensive clinical experience demonstrates that the best therapy for one person may be ineffective or poorly tolerated in another individual. Moreover, successful treatment frequently involves trial of several different medications in a quest to find the best treatment in terms of efficacy and tolerability. As a result, it is important that people with mental health conditions have access to a wide variety of treatments and that clear information about these options is available both to clinicians and the individuals they serve and treat.”

We understand that the Administration's proposal represents an effort to save money. However, CMS has clearly failed to anticipate the predictable increase in costs to both Medicaid and Medicare Part A from the resulting spike in inpatient admissions. The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance strongly opposes this proposed rule and is joining other stakeholders in the fight against it. These activities include submitting comments to the regulatory rulemaking process which are due on March 7.

Background: In 2005, CMS directed that Part D formularies include all or substantially all drugs in six drug classes, including: antidepressant; antipsychotic; anticonvulsant; immunosuppressant (to prevent rejection of organ transplants); antiretroviral (for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); and antineoplastic. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act created the six protected classes, and the Affordable Care Act also defined them by name. Today, Medicare Part D plans must carry "all or substantially all" of the chemically distinct drugs in these categories on their formularies. For other categories, the plans can typically carry one brand-name drug and one generic drug.

December 31st, 1969

12/10/2015

State Mental Health Legislation 2015 Trends, Themes & Effective Practices
See more at: http://www.nami.org/statereport#sthash.fBWnHkl2.dpuf

NAMI’s report, State Mental Health Legislation: Trends, Themes and Effective Practices, highlights the good and bad news in states’ approaches to mental health.
The good news is that in 2015, 35 states adopted one or more measures that NAMI applauds with a Gold Star—and five states passed model legislation.
The bad news is that, at a time when public awareness of the need for mental health reform continues to increase, funding for mental health services fell in more states than it grew. This is the third year in a row the number of states willing to increase spending on mental health shrank.
Fewer than half of states increased their mental health budgets this year. The rest reduced funding, including three states that have been in steady decline over three years—Alaska, North Carolina and Wyoming. Only eleven states have steadily increased investment from 2013 to 2015: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington.

The report also highlights legislation that helps improve mental health systems or services. Five bills stood out:

AZ HB 2488 (Housing). Housing is a cornerstone of recovery for people with mental illness, yet, on average, the rent for a studio apartment rent exceeds 90% of disability income. This legislation creates a housing trust fund for rental assistance to people with serious mental illness.
MN SF 1458 (First Episode Psychosis program). Leading research shows that early intervention through First Episode Psychosis (FEP) programs enables young people to manage psychosis and get on with their lives. This legislation supplements federal dollars to support evidence-based FEP programs.
UT HB 348 (Criminal Justice and Mental Health). People with mental illness who would be better served with mental health services and supports too often end up in jails and prisons. This legislation requires the state departments of corrections and mental health to collaborate on providing mental health treatment to inmates, developing alternatives to incarceration and implementing graduated sanctions and incentives.
VA HB 2118 (Psychiatric Inpatient Beds). Finding a psychiatric bed in a crisis is challenging. As a result, people with mental illness are often boarded in emergency departments for exceptionally long periods. Lack of information on the availability of psychiatric beds throughout a state is often part of the problem. This legislation requires all public and private facilities to report psychiatric inpatient and crisis stabilization beds at least once daily.
WA SB 5175 (Telehealth). Nationwide, there is an acute shortage of mental health professionals. Telehealth can make mental health expertise more available to underserved communities using readily available technology. However, challenges in reimbursement have resulted in underuse of this valuable resource. This legislation defines telemedicine as a reimbursable service for the purposes of diagnosis, consultation or treatment.

Use the report as a tool to help drive policies and investments that will improve your state mental health system. Together we can build a movement to help transform the mental health system in America

- See more at: http://www.nami.org/statereport#sthash.7TYggX4Y.dpuf

.            Sometimes  we need  time to reflect

December 31st, 1969

December 31st, 1969

Edited by Vicki,
Facilitator
DBSA Roland Park
Support Group

Archives

Categories

. Sometimes we need time to reflect

December 31st, 1969

December 31st, 1969

Edited by Vicki, FacilitatorDBSA Roland ParkSupport GroupArchives

Categories

Edited by Vicki,
Facilitator
DBSA Roland Park
Support Group

Archives