Wellbeing
Beacon Health Options offers questions to ask and answer during Mental Health Awareness Month
In any given year, an astonishing 1 in 5 Americans will face mental illness. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., with more than 40 million lives affected. Additionally, about 16 million have major depression. But despite the prevalence of mental health conditions, only about a third of Americans seek treatment. Just as other illnesses – such as high blood pressure or diabetes – are treatable and manageable, so too are mental health issues. That’s why May has been designated as Mental Health Awareness Month, an observance developed to raise awareness of mental health issues and the stigma attached to them. At Beacon Health Options, our entire focus is on mental and behavioral health, because that’s…
One of the toughest endeavors: Changing health behavior
Beacon Health Options’ mission is to help people live their lives to the fullest potential. It’s a simple, yet extraordinarily complicated, goal because it requires changing behavior at all levels – system, provider and individual.
Beacon has myriad programs to help improve individuals’ mental health, and ultimately, wellbeing. Programs range from pharmacy management to home-based therapy to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment to intensive case management.
Telehealth: A virtual technology for improved access, convenience and more
For so many of us, it’s easy to put off that doctor or other healthcare appointment. The kids have soccer practice. There’s a lot going on at work. The oil needs to be changed in the car. The dog needs to go to the vet.
Yes, it’s not good, but it reflects the reality of our fast-paced lives. There’s too much going on in a day to take time out to care for ourselvesHowever, there is an evidence-based solution for addressing the most fundamental barriers to care – access and convenience – and that is telehealth.
NAMI Conference 2018: Helping people make connections
I came to my first NAMI conference as a person in recovery from bipolar disorder and as a mental health journalist.
The NAMI 2018 conference in New Orleans last month proved wildly successful in connecting me with like-minded souls as well as to businesses and organizations that can help people like me live complete and meaningful lives
Who cares for the caregiver?
When we imagine health care workers – the nurses, doctors, and support staff – we think of their role helping us. We engage with them as patients, sometimes routinely and sometimes at the darkest hours of our lives, as they help us heal. They care for us.
Bridging Access Challenges for Maternal Mental Health in California
There must be something in the water in Beacon Health Options’s San Francisco office. Over the past year, several of us who share the space have had baby girls (me included). As an expectant and now new mom, I have experienced the health care system as a patient – not just as a behind-the-scenes professional.
Stress Awareness: Three Tips to Manage Stress
We all feel stress from time to time … at home, at work, in our everyday experiences.
Stress can be short-lived or as a reaction to an external situation, such as missing your morning train, or stress can persist. Longer-term stress can negatively affect day-to-day functioning, increasing the risk for certain health problems, such as depression.
Military OneSource: Raising awareness, one bag at a time
The Military OneSource EAP program is exactly that: a one-stop source of work/life services for active duty, National Guard and Reserve service members and their families.
However, in spite of this plethora of services – ranging from non-medical counseling and health and wellness coaching to financial counseling and tax consultations – Military OneSource remains unknown to many people who could benefit from this unique program.
Feeling anxious about the election? Join the crowd.
Regardless of one’s political leanings, everyone can agree that this presidential campaign has caused more anxiety than most, if not all.
The ingredients concoct a recipe for a nail-biting anxiety: combative and often offensive rhetoric, Wikileaks disclosures, the suggestion of Russia’s role in tampering with our democratic process, a party at odds with itself due to its own candidate – all combine for a nasty plate of political heartburn.
The Unexpected: Part of the Awesome Beacon Bike Ride
Being a part of the Awesome Beacon Bike Ride has been an incredible privilege, filled with many unexpected gifts.
I have lived in Florida for 17 years, but it was only when planning our routes and then actually pedaling down the road, that I discovered a treasure of scenic towns, spectacular views and parts of the state I did not know or appreciate.