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Mental health … it’s not just a buzz word

by Wellness Champions, Concordia Plans
Mental Health and Mental Illness Blog
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18

Mental health: A foundation for emotions, thinking, communication, learning, resilience and self-esteem. We all have mental health. It’s one of our greatest assets, helping us:

  • Focus on work.
  • Overcome obstacles.
  • Get along with others.
  • Understand that we need to get well and stay well.

Mental Health America points out that our mental health changes daily, and many things, including our physical health, have an impact. There is quite a difference between mental health and mental illness.

Mental illness involves a prolonged negative change in mental health that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, behavior or mood. Another indicator is the impact it has on day-to-day living.

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, poor mental health and mental illness are not the same things. A person can experience poor mental health and not be diagnosed with a mental illness. Likewise, a person diagnosed with a mental illness can experience periods of physical, mental and social well-being.

I think a good way to compare these two is to look at our physical health. Healthy eating habits, physical activity and sleep are all components of physical wellness that affect our overall physical health. However, even when we’re focusing on these components and making good healthy choices, we can experience moments where we sneak an extra sweet, or miss a walk, or aren’t sleeping well. It’s more about the big picture and prolonged effects of these moments occurring on a consistent basis.

Vitality offers three “Mental Well-being Reviews” to support assessing our mental health, which can provide initial insight into where we are in comparison to our optimal state. Head over to Vitality to get started. You’ll be taking an important first step in improving your personal mental health awareness AND you’ll earn Vitality Points – 225 possible points available.

Check out your new, enhanced mental health support solutions!

Enhanced EAP with expanded mental health care solutions

Concordia Health Plan and Evernorth Health Services are partnering to bring you Evernorth Confide – an enhanced Employer Assistance Program (EAP) with expanded mental health solutions tailored to your initial mental health assessment.

Take an assessment to start your mental health care

Confide Behavioral Health Navigator focuses on providing you with personalized navigation to break down the most common barriers to getting mental health care.

Common barriers Evernorth Confide features
Mental health care is hard to navigate, complicated and tough to access.
 
  • Immediate 24/7 access to clinical help.
  • Care provided within three days of outreach.
  • Continuous support throughout your care from a Care Navigator.
People don’t recognize their need for help and/or know where to start.
Finding the right therapist is difficult, especially if you want a Christian counselor.
  • Schedule in-person or virtual therapy with an in-network, licensed support professional.
  • Pre-filtered link to Christian counselors.
People don’t want anyone to know they’re seeking mental health care.  
 
  • Confidential access to discreet care.
  • Virtual, phone and chat care.
  • Digital tools for self-guided support for resiliency.
EAP therapists are not always in-network for affordable, continuity of care after initial EAP sessions.
 
  • Eight free sessions per topic (from family to financial issues to substance abuse, emotional health and stress), per year.
  • Seamless coordination with your medical insurance to continue beyond the eight sessions.
  • In-network providers guaranteed – which generally means lower costs if you continue after your sessions.
Confide includes everything you had previously with your Cigna EAP and more!

Important: To register online or in the mobile app, use the Employer ID: CONCORDIA. For the Pastoral Support Network through Evernorth, use Employer ID: PASTOR.

You may also find these EAP Webcasts from Evernorth helpful:

  • April 3 – Sleep
  • April 17 – Emotional Fitness
  • May 22 – Minding your Mental Health

Visit evernorth.com/EAPWebcasts to view recorded and/or register for upcoming webinars.

More mental health care options with Teladoc

Teladoc Health offers you a convenient, virtual connection to get the mental health care you need via phone, video or app. You’ll get quality, personalized care from board-certified therapists who can diagnose, recommend treatment and prescribe medication virtually.
Use registration code CONCORDIA to sign up.
  • CHP members in Cigna HMO plan options can access mental health care options through MDLive.
  • Mental health care for CHP members in Kaiser Permanente plan options is available at KP.org.

ICYMI: Worker Wellness Webinar ‘Supporting Mental Health’ 

Seeking mental health care can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate. Learn the importance of self-care according to the Bible, how you can support your mental health and how to focus on mental health awareness by watching a recording of the May 9 webinar, “Supporting Mental Health.”

Rev. Marty Hasz (Director of Church Worker Support, Missouri District) joined Concordia Plans Health and Wellness Educator Kelly Menke to offer insights on working with a counselor and details about the newest mental health care solution: Confide.  

The recording is available here: Health and Wellness Webinars.