OTC: Problems On Mental Issues

Most of Obamacare is still in effect and I thought you can't be denied, or charged more, for pre-existing conditions.

In a nutshell, I like the Obamacare model better than single-payer. It keeps most of the structure in place so that you can choose your doctor without long waits and rationing. Since you daughter is in medical school, you probably wouldn't like to see MDs pushed into the middle class (which might happen under single-payer).

Mental health issues are like negative labels placed on folks. If you suffer from them - and you don’t get the help needed - it can lead to additional stress - and it can hurt you and your family too.

There’s also a stigma that once you have a mental health issue - it will be there for the remainder of your life. It’s important to find a psychiatrist who won’t start you on meds and keep you on meds forever. Mental health must be dealt with openly and honestly - in order for it to improve.

We need a better health care system. But - it needs to be a bipartisan effort. Obamacare was a democratic plan - and it wasn’t supported by the Republicans. The Trump proposal has had trouble just getting enough Republican support. So - until both sides come together - I think we will remain caught in our underwear.

Just my 2 cents -

Cato Institute and Heritage Foundation have both proposed interesting ideas that I would say are hybrid systems, but certainly not full-on national health care.

The problem in this country will always be sheer size and expense of that bureaucracy. National health in small European countries spending less on defense is easier to achieve than at the massive scale in the US.

The other issue is the sheer tonnage of people and corporations that make a lot of money from the current system, and have the money and influence to derail any attempt at a true reformation.

I'm not 100% against the idea, but I'm skeptical of its achievability.

Or...just suck it up and find other things to keep your mind and body occupied. If that doesn't work, then just go see a shrink on your own dime and pay cash. Sorry to say it rock, but your emotional problems are not sufficiently compelling to make me want to give the government control over my healthcare decisions, nor am I remotely interested in being forced to fund the killing of babies.

@Ishmael: "Cato Institute and Heritage Foundation have both proposed interesting ideas that I would say are hybrid systems"

Obamacare is a hybrid system. What are the details of the Cato plan? The real issue is that giving the poor health insurance subsidies is a redistribution of wealth, which would be anathema to any libertarian think tank.

I'm really curious how the Cato Institute would go about providing universal healthcare? You would think Ayn Rand would let those poor, lazy, undeserving poor people kick the bucket? Maybe @Burlington can explain?

The best medical procedure imo is to determine the cause of the problem and treat that. In many cases therapy and meditation can help a great deal. I've dealt with depression, anxiety, adhd my entire life and at this point I have a great handle on it. I realize I'll always be a little depressed because life does suck after all. We're all going to dye and spend plenty of time being sick while we're alive...The best medicine for me is human company and sharing with others my thoughts and feelings. And adjusting my expectations helped a lot too. Anti-depressant meds help slightly as best. adhd meds also are a minor help....You've got to figure out on your own really the best treatment....People can only make suggestions.

Ok, so according to the OP the solution to protecting privacy of mental health records is to have the government take over all health care. Riiight.

Private health insurance spends about 20% on management & profit; Medicare/Medicaid only 3%. I've been seeing a therapist for years and he keeps telling me that strip clubs & OTC are self destructive. I've tried 3 different anti-depressants and they each killed my libido and took the lead out of my pencil. I recently shared photos of my ATF & my CF. Ive almost talked my therapist into joining me at the club. Lol Both my ATF and a former CF are pregnant. The ATF has a 13 year old son and has had either 4 or 5 abortions. Medicaid has paid for all of them. If we did not pay through this government program, think of the unwanted, damaged (by her drug use) kids would be in foster care. The former CF is also on Medicaid and she and her BF want their second kid and both have low paying jobs and will probably be on public assistance for the rest of their lives. Face reality. Single payer, government health insurance is the only logical solution.

Rockstar; Physical touch increases levels of dopamine and serotonin, two neurotransmitters that help regulate your mood as well as help your body relieve stress and anxiety. Dopamine is also known to regulate the pleasure center in your brain that is a good counter to feelings of anxiety.

There is an old philosophical tradition that holds that the keys to the good life are to be found in moral sentiments such as gratitude, compassion and awe. The real good life rests in the simplest of actions: human touch. That is one of the reasons many look for a DS that can provide relief from stress after working long hours. I recommend you to find this kind of "medicine". Like a TUSCL member said "The best cure for ED (Erectile Dysfunction) is a beautiful 25 year old woman..." Enjoy the "god life" and don't worry about anything else, just be happy in the moment. Good luck.

Don’t forget, sucking”Cock”Star666 has admitted to all on this board his use of marijuana and alcohol. Now could it be that he doesn’t want to share his use/abuse of those substances which in turn are the likely cause of his depression from addiction?

If he isnt willing to share things with a trusted doctor, why would he be willing to share the truth to anonymous tuscl members? My guess is knowing his flakiness with his posts, he has been his own enemy and come here to promote a stupid liberal political agenda that has nothing to do with his own health issues. Remember, liberals want to level the results and are typically into reappropriating funds for those who do less.

Depression, like a clinical mental illness? No, there is no such thing as mental illness.

If people are depressed, they are depressed for good reason.

Like Peter Breggin writes in Toxic Psychiatry, "People are depressed because they are leading depressing lives." Usually this means employment and marriage.

Myth of Mental Illness amazon.com

And then of talking to psychiatrists, psychotherapists, NO! Not if covered by insurance, not for free, not even if they are paying you.

amazon.com

One of the lies of psychotherapy, and of life coaching, and all the rest of this, is that you are experiencing distress because of things which happened long ago and you need this 'healing'.

That is a total lie, and when they get people to believe it, often enough the results are suicide. Its just a way of turning injustice back against the survivor.

If you feel distress, it is because your social and civil standing are being threatened. This is in the present. And one of the abusers is the therapist / life coach. Psychotherapy and Life Coaching teach people to live by seeking pity, and Uncle Tom approach to living.

The way you restore your social and civil standing are by fighting back, by kicking ass, by taking scalps, and this being a civilized society, it often means in a court room.

SJG

Hope you're okay @RockStar -- you certainly have a lot to be proud of with your daughter.

This healthcare debate is my favorite subject. Trump knows he doesn't like Obamacare, but he's otherwise completely, fucking, clueless. By knocking out only one leg of the three-legged stool (getting rid of the individual mandate), poor people essentially get free, government-supported healthcare. The 2% or so (like @RickDugan who voted for Trump) who don't qualify for subsidies end up paying even more. Net effect is that it cuts out the free-market and makes Obamacare nothing more than a government program for the poor.

Recent article about success of Obamacare

vox.com

Randumb, you need to look at the off exchange purchases, which are also impacted by Obamacare rules, to get the complete picture. The vast bulk of the on-exchange purchases are subsidized, though even those are down about 1 million people since the peak two years ago. Unsubsidized people purchasing off the exchanges have been fleeing the market in droves, bringing down the overall number of insured significantly.

Here is an article that provides a more complete picture: nationalreview.com

We won't have the final numbers for off exchange purchases for some months to come as they must be compiled using state insurance filings, but pretty much every insurance industry pundit expects those numbers to show further significant decline once they are published. Net-net, the only people that Obamacare is benefiting are the heavily subsidized, at the expense of everyone else.

"the only people that Obamacare is benefiting are the heavily subsidized, at the expense of everyone else."

No it's not at the expense of everyone else. Most families get their insurance through their employer and the ACA had essentially no effect on their premiums. Something like 170M people (like myself) who get health insurance through their employer. Another 45M on Medicare and another 30M that benefit from Obamacare (including Medicaid expansion).

It's true that the ACA hurt people like yourself, but there's probably only about 5M people in your category. To add insult to injury, some of your capital gains are taxed to subsidize the poor. But a rich stud like yourself can afford that.

The point I was making is that the attempt by Trump to sabotage the ACA made your life more difficult: by repealing the individual mandate, young healthy people left the exchanges, leaving a sicker pool behind and higher insurance rates. Since you don't get subsidized, you pay the increase. That argument applies whether you use the exchanges or not. The guy you voted for is making your life more difficult because he's clueless and senile when it comes to these details.

Good look if you decide to use unregulated "Association" plans that may be available. I sure wouldn't want that for my family.

*luck