We’re in one of the best months of the year, July. It’s when mid-year celebrations reach a high—between national holidays, birthdays, vacations and family gatherings—July has a lot to offer. If you remember correctly, it’s also the month when we highlight mental health and education for people of color. Without getting into statistics and opinions, I do want to at least acknowledge all of the mental health advocates, practitioners (eh em!, lol) and educators who work diligently to support the growth, health and healing of marginalized people—Blacks, Latinx, Native Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, as well as people who intersect at more than one racialized identity.
As a blogger, but also a podcaster, I want to introduce you to a valuable conversation I had not-so- very long ago on my podcast, Black People Heal. It’s with my colleague and friend, Dr. Tana M. Session. Dr. Session and I sat down to talk about the incredible amount of health information at our fingertips that we often know little about—and it comes in the form of our health insurance-ease. But, thanks to 30 years of expert education in human resources, Dr. Tana broke it down in very simple terms for us.
This may not be the most exciting episode you want to tune in to on your day off, but if you don’t listen, you will miss details about your investments that could devastate your mental health in the long run, so I highly recommend it. For an easy find, click here– Episode 2 -” Maximizing Your Health Benefits in a Pandemic with Dr. Tana M. Session” – YouTube .
And for those of you who like to know the highlights, here’s a few:
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- Don’t allow age—young or old—to determine when you will start making financial investments into your health. Waiting until you’re dealing with a crisis is the worst time to learn about the type of medical coverage you have or will need to heal yourself. Listen to the show to understand the multiple ways to maximize your pre-tax income.
- If you have a mental health advocate or practitioner in your life who can assist in coordinating care with your medical provider, the better you are for it, because these folks can be your linkage between health benefits and wellness recovery. Tune in to learn what specific advocacy they provide.
- You may work for an employer that offers FMLA (Family Medical Leave), which protects your job while you’re on a leave of absence, but that may not be sufficient when you are paying for a host of mental health providers. What can you expect your job to pay and what will you be required to pay?
- Don’t allow age—young or old—to determine when you will start making financial investments into your health. Waiting until you’re dealing with a crisis is the worst time to learn about the type of medical coverage you have or will need to heal yourself. Listen to the show to understand the multiple ways to maximize your pre-tax income.
Take a listen to the ENTIRE show (I know some of you out there may be skippers! LOL)– Episode 2 -” Maximizing Your Health Benefits in a Pandemic with Dr. Tana M. Session” – YouTube–and share it within your networks. We are STILL living in unprecedented times, and this information could LITERALLY save a life, possibly yours. As Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “when you learn, teach.” These are the times to learn as much as we can about mitigating loss; as you learn, teach, share, tell someone what we’re doing over here.
Until next time Village,
Asha…
*This blog is about becoming free. It’s a reflection of introspective thoughts and experiences that have crossed miles of self-discovery. I created this blog to inspire others to live life with less self-criticism, judgment and openness to new experiences. May you find that you learn how to live a life by design and on your own terms!*