The sluggish economy has people so troubled that almost one-third of the population is losing sleep because of job concerns, debt problems, health care costs etc. The 2009 Sleep in America™ poll conducted for the National Sleep Foundation revealed that 16% of Americans were unable to sleep properly due to the state of their personal finances, with another 15% worried over the general state of the economy, 10% concerned about jobs and 8% anxious about health care expenses.

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We all know how difficult it is to keep your head straight when things are going down. Even if you do want to be upbeat there might be so much bad news all around that it makes it almost impossible. Constant mood swings can not only affect your health badly, it puts you at risk of becoming chronically depressed and other worse problems. Here are three mood shifts you need to be on your guard against.
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Is the recession affecting your health? It can be extremely hard to stay balanced with so much news of gloom and doom everywhere. The poor state of the economy has everyone looking at extreme cost-cutting measures. Unfortunately many of these measures can directly impact a person’s health. It’s one thing when you give up little luxuries like expensive dinners or long vacations but many are having to make choices between making their mortgage payments on time, paying their gas & heating bills, meeting food costs and getting adequate health care. Faced with such difficult choices, one of the first things people begin to cut down on is taking care of their health.

Let’s take a look at the top four negative habits that people adopt which can have serious long-term consequences for their health.

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If you’ve been feeling the strain of maintaining a proper budget for health care then you could consider ways to reduce the cost of the medications you need. In some cases, people have even stopped taking medicines because they couldn’t afford to do it anymore. This is something you must simply never do! Others either skip taking the recommended dosage in their efforts to make the medicine last longer or take half or quarter of the recommended dose. This is harmful again because it doesn’t give your body the required dosage it needs for the medication to truly do the job. All these cost-cutting measures can have severe ill effects.

There are a couple of safe methods to reduce the amount you need to spend on prescription medications without harming your health in any way. Let’s take a look at four measures you can implement effectively.

1) Free Samples
Most physicians have a storehouse of free samples, which they may be quite willing to part with. Ask your doctor if he/she would be willing to spare some of those samples the next time you drop in for a visit.

2) Altering Dosage Strength
In some cases it may be possible for your doctor to prescribe an extra strong dosage of the required medication, which could help you to cut costs in the long run. You may be able to stretch out your existing batch of medications for double the time if all you need is half a pill of a double strength dose.

3) Check For Generic Medications
Is it possible to use generic medications instead of brand names? Ask your doctor if that is a possibility. You could easily get a supply of medication for about $10 in generic form that could last for up to 3 months. Unless your doctor insists on brand names for a very specific reason you could use generic medication as an alternative.

4) Insurance coverage
Are certain drugs covered by your plan? Quite a few insurance companies have different coverage options for different levels of medication. You might be able to find similar medication on a different level that could cost way less, which you insurance plan covers.

If you do run into any difficulties, contact your doctor before making any decisions to discontinue your medication. Remember that physicians do want to help and if your budget is stretched really tight, they may be able to help out by suggesting alternatives. It’s important at all times to be in touch with your doctor and follow up on your health care program.

Are your stress levels getting too high? How do you know when it’s time to see a doctor? With so much bad news everywhere, skyrocketing stress levels come as no surprise. Doctors are seeing increasing instances of patients suffering from stress-related complications like irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, mood disorders, panic attacks, anxiety, constipation, depression, diarrhea and even psychotic episodes. High stress levels can lead to major complications which need expensive treatment so the best way you can avoid paying hefty health-care bills is not get sick in the first place.

How do you manage that when all you hear about is friends losing their jobs, homes being foreclosed, massive debt and rising food costs? It’s very difficult to stay calm in the face of a slew of stressful news. Chronic stress is extremely bad for the body and has a negative effect on the immune system. It not only increases the production of hormones in areas of the brain related to fear, it also inhibits the functioning of a protein that act as a break on your body’s stress response, allowing the stressful state to continue. Chronic stress can keep your body in a state of perceived threat, which can eventually push a person over their limit. Studies have shown many major illnesses like anxiety disorders, depressive episodes and signs of psychosis to be preceded by very high stress levels. It’s easy to get sick when your immunity goes down.

How can you tell if you are stressed out? Just answer the following checklist:

1) Are your personal relationships suffering?
2) Do you feel increasingly exhausted most of the time?
3) Do you find it difficult to concentrate or recollect something?
4) Are you lethargic, irritable and moody more than usual?
5) Do you indulge in more alcohol or cigarettes to combat stress?
6) Are you suffering from headaches, constipation or other physical complaints?
7) Do you have great trouble sleeping?
8) Are you obsessively thinking about your problems? Can’t turn it off?
9) Do you feel hopeless and powerless most of the time?
10) Do you check your bank accounts all the time or call your financial advisor repeatedly?
11) Are you constantly negative?
12) Are you suffering from a low sex drive?

If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, then it may be time to see a doctor. There are two things that you can do straightaway however to reduce your stress levels.

1) Make it a point to eat properly, get lots of exercise and adequate amounts of sleep. Focus on taking care of yourself first. Even though this may sound simplistic it will bring your stress levels down and keep your immune system healthy. Take vitamin C too.

2) Completely avoid predicting how things will be in the future. When things start to look bad one of the ways that people push themselves over the edge into mental illnesses is to obsess about what might happen. If you feel that ‘your life is over’ or that you’ll never be able to ‘turn the corner’ then you need help! It’s easy to make self-fulfilling prophecies out of these types of statements especially when you stop taking care of yourself, don’t act and feel helpless. No one reacts well to uncertainly but some people have lower thresholds when it comes to their ability to deal with uncertainty for long periods of time.

If your worries are beginning to eat away at you then every situation is a potential cause for more worry. Instead of feeling grateful for having a job you may obsess about getting the axe anytime, perform less effectively as a result, which people begin to notice and from then on it can snowball into exactly the result you were terrified about. So avoid negative self-talk, unrealistic expectations, pessimism, and obsessive thinking and making catastrophic predictions. Get pro-active and focus on altering your spending habits, eating right and gaining new skills instead. Talking to close friends, family members and having a strong social support system in place will help you to combat stress effectively.

Doesn’t it drive you crazy? You’re trying to lose weight and improve your health, and then someone comes along to sabotage your efforts. Whether it’s jealousy, misunderstanding, or just plain being mean this is something you should expect, even within your own family.

There are several ways you can handle a saboteur in your life:

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Unfortunately one of the top health concerns today is having adequate insurance – if any – to meet the needs of your family. Men and women skip regular doctor appointments and ignore symptoms often because mounting medical bills and lack of cash to pay them.

In fact an estimated 40 million + Americans simply do not have any health insurance coverage at all.

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Recent reports show that for all top 10 causes of death, men die at higher rates, as reported by *Web MD. The main reason is because men will not see their doctors regularly or as needed, like more women, do for help. However, many women don’t go or head advice, either, often because of high medical costs combined with poor insurance coverage. And that’s sad, because many of these causes of death are treatable with early detection and proper care.

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There are many quick and easy snacking options out there which honestly do not have our best interest in mind. It may be easier to pull a bag of chips out of the cupboard than to slice and dice some fresh fruits or vegetables, but the potato chips are going to do nothing for your health. Many people do not really realize how many healthy snack options are available to them, because chips and crackers just seem so much easier. Next time you are at the supermarket, prepare to stock your kitchen with some of these healthy snack choices instead, and your body will surely thank you!

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There are many different ways to help your budget out when it comes to buying groceries from the supermarket, such as clipping and using coupons, or searching weekend advertisements for sale items. But did you know that simply by eating healthily, you can save yourself a lot of money at the supermarket — and help yourself to lose weight in the process?

Here are 3 ways you can lose weight without losing money:

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