Pet bearded dragon on young woman's shoulder

Bearded Dragons as Emotional Support Pets

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is any pet that is legally certified to offer support for emotional of psychological conditions. They help people by providing support during difficult times and are mostly commonly utilized by people suffering from conditions such as anxiety or depression. Usually dogs are trained for this task. However, diversity of ESAs…

Healthy Holiday Eating – Go Ahead, Indulge a Little

Healthy Holiday Eating – Go Ahead, Indulge a Little

The holidays are here. The season of giving, spending, celebration, and for many, the season of high calorie overeating. According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the average American gains about a pound between Thanksgiving and the beginning of January. Even though the weight gain isn’t as high as…

Finding an Employer That Truly Cares About Mental and Physical Health

Finding an Employer That Truly Cares About Mental and Physical Health

Everybody wants to find a workplace that values its employees and provides a healthy working environment. However, 93% of Americans suffer from work-related stress and millions more live in constant financial anxiety due to inadequate access to disability coverage. If this combination of stress and inadequate support sounds familiar, then you should know that you’re…

How Mindfulness Empowers Us to Skillfully Engage in Difficult Conversations

By Cheryl Jones, Director of Mindfulness at Aetna As if the intensity of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic with its health and economic implications wasn’t enough, we now find ourselves in the midst of rising racial and political tensions. It feels as though our sanity and our humanity are at risk. I believe mindfulness (awareness that…

Working man dealing with mental health challenge

Psychosocial Factors and Disability Claims Management

Editor’s Note: The Council for Disability Awareness’ research consultant Fred Schott recently completed a third stint as host of The CDA’s Financial Health and Income Network podcast. This time, his guest was Ian Bridgman, executive director of The Claim Lab and a member of The CDA’s Board of Directors. Their topic was psychosocial factors and…

Substitute Perks: How To Give Your Employees Benefits Even When You’re Apart

As the effects of COVID-19 caused offices to close and send workers home, they lost access to many of the perks they might have relied on for comfort and well-being. Given that employees routinely say that benefits play a large role in their job satisfaction, this deficit can lead to a loss of productivity, especially…