YOUR MENTAL HEALTH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BECOMING RICH AND FAMOUS
by Stan Popovich
Celebrities and successful people occasionally pick money and fame over their mental health which can be a fatal mistake. Money and fame do not ensure great mental health regardless if you’re rich and famous. As a result, here are nine things to consider regarding your mental health and the pursuit of money and fame.
1. People can’t control their fame: A person must understand that fame comes and goes and that a person has no control over his or her popularity. Fame is elusive and can’t be controlled while your mental health issues will remain with you for your entire life.
2. You will be miserable: You can’t enjoy your successes if your mental health issues are overwhelming you. Learning how to manage your mental health issues is the best thing you can do for yourself in the long run.
3. You will have to deal with the consequences: Only you will experience the consequences when your fears and anxieties get the best of you. Money and fame will not take away your fears and anxieties regardless of what anyone says. Don’t make the mistake of assuming otherwise.
4. Fear won’t rule your life: You will be in control of your life instead of your anxieties, addictions, and fears. Being anxious and fearful is no way to live your life. Make the effort to do what you can to manage your mental health issues. You will be better off in the long run.
5. Always remember your values: Your values will be with you for your entire life while your fame lasts for a short time. Do what is right and follow your heart. Don’t give in to peer pressure. When the cameras disappear, it will be just you, your family, and your friends.
6. You will enjoy your relationships: Managing your mental health issues will help you to manage and enjoy your business and personal relationships. In addition, you will be able to make better decisions regarding your relationships and other aspects of your life.
7. Learn from the mistakes of others: There are many successful people who made the mistake of sacrificing their mental health for money and fame. As a result, their entire life was ruined. Don’t make the same mistake. If you are not sure of what to do in handling your fame, then talk to a professional who can give you some advice.
8. You cannot please everybody: Successful people need to understand that no matter how popular they may be, there will always be those who will like you and those who do not. There is nothing you can do about this regardless how nice and friendly you may be. The best thing you can do is to be yourself.
9. Do what works best for you: You will have to deal with what could happen if your pressured into doing something that could get you into trouble. If something goes wrong, your colleagues will not take the blame for you. It is important that you do things that will be in your best interest rather than doing something that could interfere with your mental health issues.
MEDICAL MAYHEM: IN OUR POCKET AND MAKING US SICK
by Dr. Sharon M. CadizMedicine in America seems more like big business than the healing arts. If we need care, we better have a reliable method to pay for it, or we will be left with bills to go along with our ailment. In fact, dealing with medical providers creates its own condition which I refer to as in-your-pocketitis. The other alternative is not to seek care, and the result leaves many with untreated illnesses. This is a very bad look for a country that claims to be the richest and most developed. Co-pays, deductibles, disallowed claims and parceled out payments to diagnosticians, technicians and specialists leaves the average person feeling less well because of the sleight of hand that reaches deep into their pocket, or leaves them liable or hanging if they cannot pay. In my own experience, after a year of tests that never resolved the medical issue that I sought attention for, in the final quarter, I got a bill for over $3,000 on top of what I already paid in co-pays for dozens of appointments with many doctors. Imagine my surprise because I have three forms of health coverage that apparently did not work to address this cost of care. It leaves me wondering about what others might be experiencing. On top of everything else, there are the calls and bills in the mail which require the patient to connect the dots to figure out how to get matters straightened out and the provider paid. It can feel as though the patient is made to do the follow-up work, in spite of the fact that health care systems seem to know just about everything about all of us.
Our country is often referred to as being “rich” and our city is known as the “greatest city in the world;” yet, we are rapidly declining in the quality of care to our people primarily because health care comes at a premium price. It would appear that the only ones rich in this country and city are medical insurers, pharmaceutical companies and corporate billionaire moguls who care more about profit than people’s health or well-being. There was a time when health coverage came as one of the employee benefits. Eventually, employees were required to pay a portion of the cost; and over time that portion grew. Some rates for COBRA, after a person leaves a position, are so high that even if you are working, you would struggle to pay it.
Medical costs are only a part of the picture. Many people are not covered for things like eye glasses or dental. I see far too many working people with their eyes and teeth in poor condition. When I questioned my dentist about the pervasive lack of care for teeth, he reminded me that it is not just about the coverage issue, but the “the person behind the brush.” While I agree that personal responsibility is very important, it seems that many might be making a decision to not visit the dentist because they cannot afford to do so. During a regular dental visit, just as my dentist pointed out, folks can be reminded about the necessity of regular brushing and good hygiene. Left until the next dental emergency or when a tooth must come out, we cannot call that suitable oral health. Another factor that I was made aware of by my daughter, is the fact that certain health plans cover the extraction of a tooth over prevention measures that might save a tooth. We have always had excellent dentists and my daughter, as an adult and parent of two, knows when the quality of care is poor. I found a similar situation about what is covered when I spoke to a friend this week who explained that her shoulder surgery is not covered until it reaches a level of urgency driven by a more advanced level of pain and problematic functioning. Even if this is not the most accurate understanding of the issue, it is the one that is delaying her surgery and possibly complicating her subsequent recovery. One thing that she is certain of is that her health care plan will not pay for the surgery if it does not meet the guidelines for what is covered. Eye glasses are another high cost item for those without a health care plan that covers optical. Drug store “readers” might be the one option. Affordable options for eye glasses have become a bit more accessible since the time when I worked at an eye glass establishment in Jamaica, Queens during my undergraduate years back in the 70’s when the “mark-up” was very high. People can now find low cost glasses online, but this option leaves other important aspects of eye care such as cataracts or other needs unaddressed.
Just like housing in this city and the country, health care is at a crisis level. In a land of plenty, why are we seeing so much scarcity and lack at the consumer, patient care end?
Back in 1965, a new program called Medicaid helped a dining car waiter and his wife, who were parents of five children, access dental care. That development was the story of my family and likely saved our teeth. During my recent dental checkup at the ripe old age of seventy-one, my dentist told me that my teeth “look good.” It distresses me to think that all these years later, we cannot support a general regard for oral health through accessible dental care. I have not even mentioned hearing aids or mental health that are part of a comprehensive regard for keeping people healthy and sound.
1965 was also the year that Medicare was signed into law under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 2023, an endless stream of television “hucksters” flood commercial breaks with claims that address the convoluted alphabet game that explains the Part A, B, C, D’s of Medicare, vying for our attention; claiming to deliver everything that we need. It feels like the American public is the target of a big-time hustle that degrades a commitment to health and well-being for its people. It is shameful to think that such advertising and promotion could be unleashed on the public, but it is not surprising considering how far we have come from a unified governmental commitment to the welfare of people in our city and country.
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I never like to leave an issue without a hopeful resolution or a strategic plan, so I will end where my quest began. On February 17th, 2023, I read an op-ed piece entitled: “The City Must Clean Up Healthcare Pricing Now.” The article represented the collective agreement among the borough presidents of “The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.” It opened by stating: “Spanning hundreds of diverse neighborhoods, more languages and cultures than any other State, and interests more vast than Central Park, it’s hard to imagine any one issue that could be so important, so omnipresent throughout our communities that our collective conscience demand we speak out in one unified voice. But we found it: health care and hospital affordability…From being a barrier to accessing quality care to making it harder for businesses and the city to afford health coverage for their employees, unfair and unnecessary hospital pricing is a threat to all New Yorkers…That is why we have joined together to support the Healthcare Accountability & Consumer Protection Act. This bill, which is currently moving through the Council’s hearing and legislative process, and has the support of more than 75 percent of its members, would tear down barriers to pricing transparency and build real accountability on rising health care and hospital prices…The bill would create a new Office of Healthcare Affordability, the first of its kind on the municipal governmental level, nationally. This Office will give the City a powerful audit and data collection tool for consumers, businesses and the City itself to make better and more informed health care purchasing decisions, which in turn will lead to better outcomes for workers, families and our City’s government.”
While this proclamation of intent by these borough presidents confirms the reality that every New Yorker already knows all too well, I will have to wait to be convinced that another layer of governmental bureaucracy will be the remedy. Remember the “Small Business Jobs Survival Act” (File #: Int 0737-2018) which languishes in the City Council as an effort to address requirements for lease renewal agreements. In speaking with a small business owner this week, I was told that the landlords are often forced to go up on the rents for small businesses because of the excessively high rates of taxes that they must pay; so solutions must be comprehensive and coordinated, not narrowly defined and finite. The health and hospitals are simply playing the game that corporate entities play all the time as they exploit the vulnerability and absence of choice that has become the hallmark of monopolies and capitalism gone wild. For the conclusion of this story, I advise you to call or write your Council person and Congress member to begin your own campaign to demand accountability and accessibility of comprehensive health care in the greatest city and country in the world. Just like our clocks, it’s time to spring forward to a new season of how we care for people’s health and well-being.
by Rix Quinn
