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on: Friday, 04 July 2008 01:41
on: Friday, 04 July 2008 00:17
on: Thursday, 03 July 2008 22:42
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Member Testimonials
QUOTE (Obsessing @ Dec 8 2007, 07:54 PM) *
If I could I would take all the pain from all the people here and ball it up and swallow it for you all!!
You are all beautiful, caring, sharing people who don't deserve the pain.
And I know I can't but really if I could I would I have been reading posts for about an hour now and I just think you people are so wonderful that if I could take it from you I would.
(QUOTE (Obsessing @ Dec 8 2007, 07:54 PM) *)
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Depression & Mental Health FAQs
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated 40 million Americans living today will suffer from major depressive illness during their lives. Seasonal affective disorder is major depression that appears in the fall or winter and goes away in spring, thought to be caused by lack of sunlight.
Postpartum depression occurs within four weeks of a women giving childbirth. Most new mothers suffer from some form of the �baby blues.� Postpartum depression, by contrast, is major depression, thought to be triggered by changes in hormonal flows associated with childbirth. Catatonic depression is a rare form of major depression characterized by (at least two): Stupor, excessive motor activity, extreme negativism, peculiarities in voluntary movement, and repetition of other people's words or actions. - mcmanweb.com
Psychotic depression is a rare form of depression characterized by delusions or hallucinations, such as believing you are someone you are not and hearing voices.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the US population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder. Depression is a chronic illness that exacts a significant toll on
America's health and productivity. It affects more than 21 million
American children and adults annually and is the leading cause of
disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44.
Lost productive time among U.S. workers due to depression is estimated
to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently
co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease,
cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status
and prognosis. It is also the principal cause of the 30,000 suicides
in the U.S. each year. In 2004, suicide was the 11 th leading cause of death in the United States, third among individuals 15-24.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is presently on track to becoming the world's second-most disabling disease (after heart disease) by the year 2020. Depression is responsible for some $87 billion a year in lost productivity in the US (a conservative estimate), and according to Bank One, is responsible for most lost work days in its employees after pregnancy and childbirth. Additionally, one million people worldwide die by their own hand, most as a result of a mood disorder. Finally, the linkage between depression and a host of physical illnesses makes it arguably the world's greatest killer.
Research presented at the 56th Annual Conference of the Canadian
Psychiatric Association shows a marked link between bipolar disorder
and migraines. The odds of migraine in persons with bipolar disorder were 40% higher than the general population. Data
obtained from 36,984 people aged 15 and over, who screened positive for
manic or depressive episodes with migraine, were compared against those
who screened positive for mania but who didn�t suffer from migraines. Amongst
males, 14.9% of those with manic episodes were also diagnosed with
migraines compared with 5.8% of the general population. Amongst
females, 34.7% had both migraines and bipolar disorder compared with
14.7% who only had migraines.unquote.gif While the research was
skewed towards persons who were already diagnosed with bipolar
disorders, what does it mean for people who suffer from migraines but
who may have an undiagnosed bipolar disorder?
Migraines and headaches aren�t fully understood but the manifestations are very real and debilitating for their sufferers: Throbbing pain Nausea Heightened sensitivity to light or sound Seeing dots, wavy lines, flashing lights, or blind spots Difficulty with speech, sensation, or movement
An estimated 2.1 million
American adolescents have experienced major depression within the last
year, according to a new comprehensive government study. Researchers
surveyed more than 67,000 young people ages 12 to 17 and found that one
in 12 had suffered from serious depression in the previous year.Nearly
13 percent of girls had struggled with depression, compared to less
than 5 percent of boys. Odds of depression increased with age -- just 4
percent of 12-year-olds experienced depression but that climbed to 11
percent for older teens.
Our DF Members
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Mental Health Patient's Bill of Rights
Principles for the Provision of
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment Services
Our commitment is to provide quality mental health and substance abuse services to all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, or disability -www.apa.org
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You often don't discover what your managed care plan or health insurance plan covers until you need services. This is especially true for mental health care and substance abuse treatment. You can find out what is covered, and not covered, by asking the benefits manager in the human resources or personnel department where you work. Knowing what to ask can be difficult. The following questions and guidance may be helpful. The areas listed are based on a list of mental health rights developed by nine major health professional organizations to protect individuals seeking mental health treatment.
Right To Know
Benefits
If you have not already received information about your health plan, ask your benefits manager for a copy of your health plan benefits; you have a right to have one of your own to keep. Does this document describe what mental health care and substance abuse treatment benefits you are entitled to? Does it explain how to get services and how to appeal coverage decisions you do not agree with? Does it explain what your financial responsibilities are? Is the coverage equal to that offered for other illnesses? Individuals have the right to be provided information from the purchasing entity (such as the employer or union or public purchaser) and the insurance/third party payer describing the nature and extent of their mental health and substance abuse treatment benefits. This information should include details on procedures to obtain access to services, on utilization management procedures, and on appeal rights. The information should be presented clearly in writing with language that the individual can understand.
Professional Expertise
Ask your benefits manager which mental health professionals are covered by your plan. Does the plan cover a full range of mental health professionals? What is their training and experience? Are they licensed or certified? What kinds of treatments are avaiable? What treatments are excluded? Individuals have the right to receive full information from the potential treating professional about that professional's knowledge, skills, preparation, experience, and credentials. Individuals have the right to be informed about the options available for treatment interventions and the effectiveness of the recommended treatment.
Contractual Limitations
Ask if there are any financial agreements or arrangements that the professional has had to make with a third-party payer or insurer that could interfere with or influence his or her treatment decisions. Is the professional constrained from telling you about any treatment options, for example those that are or are not covered in the plan? Is the professional in danger of being discharged from the plan for advocating for your optimal care? Does the plan pay the professional the same amount regardless of treatment prescribed? Does the plan reward the professional for limiting services? Individuals have the right to be informed by the treating professional of any arrangements, restrictions, and/or covenants established between the third party payer and the treating professional that could interfere with or influence treatment recommendations. Individuals have the right to be informed of the nature of information that may be disclosed for the purposes of paying benefits.
Appeals and Grievances
If you have concerns about the certification or authorization of treatment decisions made by the payer or insurance company, ask how you can appeal them to the payer, your employer or the purchasing agent, or to outside regulatory agencies. Ask what methods you can use to complain if you don't agree with the care provided by the professional. You have the right to complain to regulatory boards and/or professional associations which have grievance processes, and you have the right to air your complaints to your union, your state and federal legislators, and to the media. Individuals have the right to receive information about the methods they can use to submit complaints or grievances regarding provision of care by the treating professional to that profession's regulatory board and to the professional association.
Individuals have the right to be provided information about the procedures they can use to appeal benefit utilization decisions to the third party payer systems, to the employer or purchasing entity, and to external regulatory entities.
Confidentiality
Find out if the information to be disclosed to the payer would be anything other than diagnosis, prognosis, type of treatment, time and length of treatment, and cost. Will the organizations receiving this information keep it as confidential as the mental health professional? How will they protect it? Are there penalties for disclosing information improperly?
If your information is transmitted, stored, or used for any purpose as data, will information that identifies you be removed to protect your privacy? Will the information be transferred to others or sold? Individuals have the right to be guaranteed the protection of the confidentiality of their relationship with their mental health and substance abuse professional, except when laws or ethics dictate otherwise. Any disclosure to another party will be time limited and made with the full written, informed consent of the individuals.
Individuals shall not be required to disclose confidential, privileged, or other information other than diagnosis, prognosis, type of treatment, time and length of treatment, and cost.
Entities receiving information for the purposes of benefits determination, public agencies receiving information for health care planning, or any other organization with legitimate right to information will maintain clinical information in confidence with the same rigor and be subject to the same penalties for violation as is the direct provider of care.
Information technology will be used for transmission, storage, or data management only with methodologies that remove individual identifying information and assure the protection of the individual's privacy. Information should not be transferred, sold, or otherwise utilized.
Choice
Ask if you are able to choose any licensed/certified professional for your mental health care services. What professionals are covered and what are their credentials? What if you choose a licensed professional not usually covered by the plan? Individuals have the right to choose any duly licensed/certified professional for mental health and substance abuse services. Individuals have the right to receive full information regarding the education and training of professionals, treatment options (including risks and benefits), and cost implications to make an informed choice regarding the selection of care deemed appropriate by individual and professional.
Determination of Treatment
Is anyone besides your professional involved in your treatment decisions? If so, do they have the same training and experience as your treating professional? Do they have a financial interest in the decisions they make? Recommendations regarding mental health and substance abuse treatment shall be made only by a duly licensed/certified professional in conjunction with the individual and his or her family as appropriate. Treatment decisions should not be made by third party payers. The individual has the right to make final decisions regarding treatment.
Parity
Individuals have the right to receive benefits for mental health and substance abuse treatment on the same basis as they do for any other illnesses, with the same provisions, co-payments, lifetime benefits, and catastrophic coverage in both insurance and self-funded/self-insured health plans.
Nondiscrimination
Individuals who use mental health and substance abuse benefits shall not be penalized when seeking other health insurance or disability, life, or any other insurance benefit. Quality mental health and substance abuse services should be provided to all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, or disability.
Benefit of Usage
The individual is entitled to the entire scope of the benefits within the benefit plan that will address his or her clinical needs.
Benefit of Design
Whenever both federal and state law and/or regulations are applicable, the professional and all payers shall use whichever affords the individual the greatest level of protection and access.
Treatment Review
To assure that treatment review processes are fair and valid, individuals have the right to be guaranteed that any review of their mental health and substance abuse treatment shall involve a professional having the training, credentials, and licensure required to provide the treatment in the jurisdiction in which it will be provided. The reviewer should have no financial interest in the decision and is subject to the section on confidentiality.
Accountability
Treating professionals may be held accountable and liable to individuals for any injury caused by gross incompetence or negligence on the part of the professional. The treating professional has the obligation to advocate for and document necessity of care and to advise the individual of options if payment authorization is denied.
Payers and other third parties may be held accountable and liable to individuals for any injury caused by gross incompetence or negligence or by their clinically unjustified decisions.
Participating Groups
Supporting Groups
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Counseling Association
American Family Therapy Academy
American Nurses Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
American Psychological Association
Clinical Social Work Federation
National Association of Social Workers American Group Psychotherapy Association
American Psychoanalytic Association
National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors
National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association
National Mental Health Association
Therapeutic Communities of America
www.apa.org
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Depression & Mental Health FAQs 2
What is Clinical Depression? Clinical
depression can affect your body, mood, thoughts, and behavior. It can
change your eating habits, how you feel and think about things, your
ability to work and study, and how you interact with people. Clinical
depression is not a passing mood, a sign of personal weakness or a
condition that can be willed away. Clinically depressed people cannot
"pull themselves together" and get better. Depression can be
successfully treated by a mental health professional or certain health
care providers. With the right treatment, 80 percent of those who seek
help get better. And many people begin to feel better in just a few
weeks.
Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health World Health Organization Finds Depression Often Goes Untreated By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Sept.
6, 2007 -- Depression has a greater impact on overall health than
arthritis, diabetes, angina, and asthma, but it all too often goes
unrecognized and untreated, a report from the World Health Organization
(WHO) suggests. more... Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health
For Additional Information About Depression Write To: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8184, MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
For free brochures on depression and its treatment call: 1-800-421-4211. or visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
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