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If you don’t have health insurance, or you need to renew your plan, make time to review your health plan options before open enrollment ends on Dec. 15th. Some companies advertise health plans that don’t cover mental health or substance use care or may deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. Compare monthly premiums, deductibles, co-pays and/or co-insurance to make sure you have selected the best option for your health insurance needs. You may also need to consider differences in how plans cover inpatient (care where you spend at least one night in a medical facility which is usually a hospital) and outpatient care (where you don’t spend the night and can leave the facility after the care is over).

With a combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy, I have learned that despite my anxiety and panic disorder, I can live a fulfilling life full of adventure, joy and resilience. I have learned that facing my anxiety and pushing through my fear each day — going to a restaurant even when I’m afraid — is a form of courage. If I can teach my daughter that anxiety serves as her super power, equipping her with a steady inner compass, maybe she will be brave enough to push through her fear or brave enough to stand up for herself when the fear is too much. Maybe she will be brave enough to stand in solidarity with so many others fighting for mental health awareness, for people to understand that anxiety and panic is more than just a little fear – that many of us who experience these disorders are among the bravest of us all.

Join NAMI this Mental Illness Awareness Week to Raise the Voices of Lived Experience Arlington, VA – In honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) on Oct. 4-10, 2020, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and participants across the country are raising awareness and educating about mental illness warning signs and symptoms. By amplifying the voices of people with lived experience during MIAW, NAMI hopes to increase awareness, empathy and compassion for those with mental illness. Learn more about Mental Illness Awareness Week and NAMI offers information about mental illness conditions, symptoms and treatment through the NAMI HelpLine at 800-950-NAMI

The person dissociating is not dangerous Dissociative disorders, such as dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder), often get a bad reputation in the media. Dissociative identity disorder may be the exception, since their alters often are able to act while the person has dissociated, but this does not make them dangerous. And now, here is the good news: dissociative disorders can often be treated, given the appropriate mental health care, a safe environment and support of friends and family. She specifically likes to write about bipolar disorder, dissociative disorders, anxiety disorders, anorexia and borderline personality disorder, as those are her own personal experiences.