Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced the agency is expanding the services available with a my Social Security account, a personalized online account that people can use beginning in their working years and continuing throughout the time they receive Social Security benefits.  More than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients can now access their benefit verification letter, payment history, and earnings record instantly using their online account.  Social Security beneficiaries also can change their address and start or change direct deposit information online.   “We are making it even easier for people to do their business with us from the comfort of their home, office, or library,” Commissioner Astrue said.  “I encourage people of all ages to take advantage of our award-winning online services and check out the new features available through an online my Social Security account.”   Social Security beneficiaries and SSI recipients with a my Social Security account can go online and get an official benefit verification letter instantly.  The benefit verification letter serves as proof of income to secure loans, mortgages and other housing, and state or local benefits.  Additionally, people use the letter to prove current Medicare health insurance coverage, retirement or disability status, and age.  People can print or save a customized letter. Social Security processed nearly nine million requests for benefit verification letters in the past year.  This new online service allows people to conduct business with Social Security without having to visit an office or make a phone call, and very often wait for a letter to arrive in the mail.  It also will reduce the time spent by employees completing these requests and free them to focus on other workloads. People age 18 and older can sign up for an account at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. Once there, they must be able to provide information about themselves and answers to questions that only they are likely to know.  After completing the secure verification process, people can create a my Social Security account with a unique user name and password to access their information. People age 18 and older who are not receiving benefits can sign up for a my Social Security account to get a personalized online Social Security Statement.  The online Statement provides eligible workers with secure and convenient access to their Social Security earnings and benefit information, and estimates of future benefits they can use to plan for their retirement.  In addition, the portal also includes links to information about other online services, such as applications for retirement, disability and Medicare.  “Given our significantly reduced funding, we have to find innovative ways to continue to meet the needs of the American people without compromising service,” said Commissioner Astrue. “These new enhancements will allow us to provide faster service to more people in more places.” For more information, please go to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.

Parallels Between Mental Institutions & ‘Normal Life’ Keep Adding Up, Says Former State Hospital Doctor

"Insane” has a clear meaning when we can look at it next to “sane” in the real world. Unfortunately, that has become more and more difficult to do, says Mike Bartos, former chief of staff at a state psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. “It’s not just because the media rely so much now on bizarre behavior to entertain their audiences,” says Bartos, author of “BASH” – Bay Area State Hospital – (www.mikebartos.com), a fast-paced tongue-in-cheek novel that stems from his decades of experience as a mental health-care professional. “Take a look at what have become the ‘normal’ problems in modern America – some of them could be textbook examples of psychological dysfunction.” Case – or rather, cases – in point:

• Obesity epidemic: Denial, compulsion, addiction and sublimation are just a few mechanisms at work in the psychology of a largely obese population. Sublimation is the mature defense activity perpetrated when socially unacceptable impulses, such as sexuality, are redirected, in this case to the consumption of salty, fatty and sugary food. With more than two thirds of the U.S. population either overweight or obese, there is nothing sane about this health crisis.

• Banking: The financial crisis that changed the world in 2008 can be largely owed to a cluster of “too big to fail” U.S. banks and their employees who thought they could continuously repackage terrible debt loans. Meanwhile, unqualified customers snatched up properties they couldn’t afford. This was an undiagnosed mega-scale gambling addiction. Many in the financial world knew it simply could not be sustained but the players continued to ante up.

• Climate change: Denial, denial, denial. The raw data from objective scientists overwhelmingly tells us man is largely responsible for warming global temperatures, yet we continue to use fossil fuels and to fill landfills with methane-producing waste. It’s a classic case; we completely ignore symptoms and evidence to maintain the status quo.

• A drugged nation: Marijuana, a natural relaxant, is outlawed in most states while tobacco and alcohol – responsible for incalculable violence and sickness, as well as tens of thousands of accidents and deaths each year – are lucrative and legal vice industries.  Meanwhile, some pharmaceutical companies and physicians encourage substance abuse and chemical dependency by promoting pills to ease the inevitable emotional and physical pains that come with life.  “Many of my psychiatric patients suffered from addiction to both legal and illegal drugs. Sometimes it was hard to tell which came first, the addiction or the other mental health issues,” Bartos says. “The legal or illegal status of certain drugs seems to be completely arbitrary -- much like the behavior of a patient suffering psychosis,” he says. • Spoiled-brat adults: Narcissistic Personality Disorder isn’t only now accepted in society, it’s widely encouraged and celebrated, Bartos says. Reckless driving and road-rage are just two examples in which individuals are so self-absorbed, they believe their time and sense of entitlement are more important than the lives and safety of others. Throw on top of that our obsession with plastic surgery, need for constant attention on social media, and pre-occupation with consumer brands and we have pandemic megalomania.

• War: America has been at war for 10 years now, and leaders cannot say with any precision what we are doing with our current campaign in Afghanistan, nor what we accomplished with our last one in Iraq. It’s as if government leaders have a masochistic, sociopathic relationship with one percent of the U.S. population – the military, and their families. Young men are shipped off in the prime of their health, and often return physically or mentally damaged, if they come back at all. “Is this sane?” Bartos asks. 

With reports of flu widespread across Texas, state health officials urge people to get a flu shot now and take other steps to protect themselves from the flu and its possible complications. “Texas, like much of the country, saw an early start to the flu season and continues to experience a high level of flu and flu-like illness,” said DSHS Commissioner Dr. David Lakey. “The best thing people can do to protect themselves is to get a dose of flu vaccine now. There is plenty of vaccine available.”  Each season’s vaccine provides protection against three strains of flu. Researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say this year’s vaccine is well matched with the strains now circulating. While the number of flu cases in Texas is high, DSHS has no indication that cases have been more severe than usual this season. DSHS recommends vaccination for everyone six months old and older. It’s especially important for those in high-risk groups like children, people 65 and older, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions. People in those groups are more likely to experience serious or life-threatening complications from flu such as bacterial pneumonia, ear and sinus infections, dehydration and worsening of chronic conditions like congestive heart failure, asthma or diabetes. Flu symptoms usually start abruptly and include fever, body aches, chills, a dry cough, sore throat, runny nose and extreme fatigue and can last a week or longer. There is an adequate supply of antiviral medications that can help lessen the severity and duration of the flu when started within 48 hours after symptoms appear. “I encourage people who have a sudden onset of fever along with a cough or sore throat to talk to their doctor as soon as they can about possible treatment,” Lakey said. In addition to getting vaccinated, people should remember to protect themselves and others from flu and other respiratory illnesses by washing their hands frequently, covering all coughs and sneezes and staying home if they’re sick. There is more information on the flu, including a vaccine finder, at TexasFlu.org. People can also contact their health care provider, local health department or dial 2-1-1 to find out where to get a flu shot.