WASHINGTON - Americans struggling with mental illness, depression or addiction often face an added burden: limited insurance coverage compared with people suffering physical ills.

Those days may be numbered, but changing the situation will take approval of the massive economic bailout bill heading for consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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There is plenty of research about how animals and pets affect our lives and our health. One CDC study says that having a pet can have positive effects on your blood pressure, your cholesterol and your triglyceride levels, can reduce feelings of loneliness, and can increase your reasons to exercise or socialize.

Here's an about.com article on how pets reduce stress:
http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslife...

And here's a great piece on WebMD on Five Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health:

In the last dozen years, my husband and I have moved from Austin to Phoenix to Washington, D.C. to Atlanta to Kansas City, and we are getting ready for a move back to Texas. While I love getting to know new cities, I've just begun to realize the toll that so much moving creates.

Fibromyalgia

Serotonin Cluster of Symptoms = Depression, anxiety / panic, obsessive / compulsive, and Procrastination.

If you have these symptoms, and they came with the FMS, it indicates a problem with Serotonin Reuptake.

Signals from your brain to your body are not moving correctly.

We found that taking a small amount of any good SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) relieves the symptoms.

We take it in the evening, so that signals are optimal while the body does maintenance during sleep.

Can't fall asleep or can't stay asleep?

When is it time to go to marriage counseling?

I have Attention Deficit Disorder, and I am 50. I was diagnosed when I was 44. The disorder, which some say is overdiagnosed in the United States, affects about 5% of the population. Adults are often diagnosed when their children are, ironically, because there is a genetic component to the disorder.

While there are many things that can influence the mental health of an individual, either through genetics, events or social life, the environment in which people live in can have one of the greatest, lasting effects on a person for the rest of their life. Adults and children alike are affected by the living conditions in which they are living, though possibly in different ways.

For people who may be suffering any form of poor mental health, it may feel like they are alone and that no one else around them can understand what they are going through. The other difficulty is that they might believe there is something wrong with them that can’t be known to anyone else for fear they might be rejected by others, as a result of their condition. It is because of these difficulties, and possibly for other reasons, that many people with mental health problems, such as major depression, will in many cases withdraw from society and exhibit anti-social behavior.

Believe it or not, physical health can have a large influence on a person’s mental health. In fact, it is found that people who are more active and more physically fit tend to be happier people overall. While this may not be true for everyone, good physical health can certainly increase the chances of better mental health. Does this mean that better physical health can cure depression?

Hello:
Just wondering if anyone has read any inspirational mental health/spiritual books lately. I have a book club http://www.completecounselingsolutions.c... and I would like to add some books and get a book club going on a monthly basis with discussions. So, if anyone has read anything good, please let me know. thank-you

Dr. Jennifer Baxt
jennifer@completecounselingsolutions.com
http://www.completecounselingsolutions.c...