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Mental Health

What Is Adult ADHD?

Adults with ADHD often have less hyperactivity than children. However, they still struggle with paying attention, feeling restless, and acting impulsively. This can create stress in their roles as a parent, employee, and community member. …

Is It a Bad Mood … or Childhood Depression?

Your easy-going child might unexpectedly argue, burst into tears, or not want to talk at all. They may lose their appetite or eat double their normal amount. Are these behaviors normal, or are they warning signs of depression? …

How Your Child’s Behavioral Health Medication Can Help Them at School

For students with anxiety and depression, medicine can help stabilize their mood, reduce symptoms, and improve overall well-being. Students with ADHD may rely on medicine to improve their focus, attention, and impulse control. …

Back to School Jitters? Here's How to Help.

Whether they are preschoolers leaving home for the first time or preteens facing a change of teachers or schools, children of all ages may struggle with back-to-school “jitters.” Here’s how you can help to ease their way into a new school year. …

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) – What you need to know about this member benefit

Parkland Community Health Plan offers Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services to HEALTHfirst (STAR Medicaid) members diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This benefit is available through the Texas Health Steps-Comprehensive Care Program. See below for some common questions about these services.…

Managing Your Mental Health When You Have Asthma or Diabetes

When it comes to overall wellness, it is important to understand both mental and physical health concerns. Living with chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes can be tough – especially when your physical health starts to affect your mental well-being. …

Get Help for Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Parkland Community Health Plan has partnered with Carelon Behavioral Health to offer mental health and substance use benefits. People of all ages and backgrounds become addicted to drugs and alcohol. This includes illegal drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. It also includes abusing prescription drugs, such as opioid pain medication or stimulants.…

Top Medicaid Benefits for Children and Pregnant Women

Medicaid has a long list of services to help you—and your family—stay healthy and well. Just a few examples of benefits are dental care, allergy medicine, vaccinations (shots), birth control, hearing tests, rides to the doctor and more! …

Does My Child or Teen Have Bipolar Disorder?

For people with bipolar disorder, shifts in moods, activity levels, energy, and thinking are extreme. Bipolar disorder may also be called “manic depression.” It usually starts in the late teens but can happen earlier or later. This mental illness usually presents with extreme “highs and lows” that can be difficult to manage and cause challenges for your child’s relationships and functioning at home, work, and school.…

What New Moms Should Know About Depression

Depression is a medical illness that affects the way you think and how you feel and behave. It is a serious illness that can make it very hard to care for and enjoy your new baby.…

Does Your Child Injure Themselves? Here’s How to Help.

Many parents are shocked when they learn that their child has been harming themselves—especially if it has been happening for long periods of time. That’s because pre-teens and teens usually try to hide these behaviors from adults.…

Help Your Child Stay Healthy with Preventive Care

If your doctor sees you on a regular basis, they will be more likely to find health issues quickly and keep them from getting worse over time. They can also identify chronic conditions that may require additional care throughout your child’s life.…

Have Anxiety? Here’s How to Feel Better

Need help with depression, anxiety, or other concerns? Life can be challenging. If you are worried about loved ones or have problems at work or home, you might have times of feeling upset, frightened, or anxious.…

What to Expect at Your Postpartum Checkup

New moms should schedule a postpartum checkup within three weeks after giving birth, followed by a 12-week postpartum checkup. Depending on how you are feeling, your doctor may want you to schedule additional appointments.…

How to Manage Your Behavioral Health

Many people worry that others will judge them or discriminate against them if they have mental health issues. This fear can stop someone from getting the help they need – and that can severely affect their life. …

Mindfulness for Lower Stress and Better Health

Mindfulness is free of charge and you can practice wherever you are. Best of all, the exercises can lead to lower stress and better health. …

All About Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD)

Most children act hyper, impulsive, or distracted at times. Sometimes, they may just be reacting to a stressful event or situation. A child with ADHD will show these behaviors more often and to a greater degree. It is important for your child’s doctor to rule out other potential causes first. …

A Pediatrician Explains: What Parents Need to Know About Eating Disorders

During the puberty years, a child’s emotional, mental, and physical identity is being defined. This process brings about many changes, and that can cause turmoil. As teens develop, they are fragile and can be susceptible to self-doubt about judgment from other teens. They want to fit in, and some will do whatever it takes to look and act like others. When that means losing weight, the pressure can lead to eating disorders. …

Everyone Needs Help Sometimes

If you have mental health needs, it’s important to deal with them, especially before they get worse and become a crisis. No mental health journey is the same – but the information below can help you lead a peaceful life. …

PCHP Explains: What is Autism?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition that may cause children to have limited and repeated behavior, interests, or activities. People with ASD can also have trouble communicating or interacting with others. In most cases, symptoms will start to appear in early childhood. …

Do You Have Diabetes? Here Are Five Steps You Can Take to Control Your A1c.

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, you should check your A1c level every three to six months. Most people with diabetes have a target A1c level of less than 7%. Some special groups like pregnant women or older adults may have a different goal based on what their doctor recommends.…

Five Easy & Fun Activities That Don’t Feel Like Exercise

When families exercise together, they can develop healthy habits that last a lifetime. But exercise doesn’t have to be boring or feel like a chore! Here are a few ways to get in shape – and have fun doing it.…

Children with Disabilities and Bullying: What Parents Should Know

People of all ages can bully others. Almost everyone will experience it at some point in their lives. However, it is not a healthy or “normal” stage of development. About one in five children and teens report being bullied. If your child has a disability or special health need, they are more likely to be bullied, according to stopbullying.gov. …

How to Stay Healthy After Giving Birth

After your baby is born, the first days and weeks back home can be exhausting. It’s important to take extra-good care of yourself as you recover from childbirth. …

Reward Yourself—It’s Good for Your Health

It’s important to celebrate your successes often. Try out a few of the rewards mentioned. Keep yourself on track during the holidays—and into the new year. …

Childhood Fear of the Dentist: Here’s How to Help

Does your child have anxiety at the dentist? Here are a few ways to help them feel calmer and more confident. …

Suicide in Children and Teens: What Are the Warning Signs?

Children and teens often keep their thoughts and feelings private. But the things they say and do can be clues about their inner struggles. While many young people might show the following behaviors, pay attention to how many are true for your child—and how often you notice them …

How to Balance Screen Time and Non-Screen Time

When does screen time become unhealthy? When your child spends too many hours on their favorite devices. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), too much screen time may lead to:…

Keep Your Child’s Brain Active During Summer Fun

Are you looking for no-cost or low-cost educational activities in Dallas and nearby counties? You’re in luck. Families in North Texas have many resources for in-person and online learning.…

Plan Now for Back to School Health Checkups, Vaccines—and More

It’s time to get your child ready for back to school. Whether that means daycare, preschool, or K-12, Parkland HEALTHfirst (STAR Medicaid) and KIDSfirst (CHIP) can help!…

American Heart Month Series: Heart Health Tips for Families

If you want to help your children avoid heart disease when they grow up, read this blog. We give you tips on how to start them on the right track while they are still young.…

Teen Dating Violence: How to Help Your Child

Teenage relationships can also be heartbreaking—and even violent. The good news is you can help your teenager to protect themselves from unhealthy dating relationships.…

Better Sleep Means Better Mental Health

People with these mental illnesses and disorders can have a hard time falling or staying asleep. They also might sleep many more hours than other people.…

Common Milestones for Your Child to Reach by Age Five

At Parkland Community Health Plan, we want to help you to help your children be as healthy as possible, every step of the way. Below, we’ve listed a few of the developmental milestones to watch for by age five.…

How To Quit Smoking

It can be very hard to quit smoking — but it’s one of the most important things you can do to help your baby to be healthy, before and after they’re born.…

How to Help Your Child Succeed with ADD / ADHD

North Texas Pediatrician Dr. Mary Strength diagnoses and treats children of all ages with ADD / ADHD. …

10 Health Tips for First-Time Mothers

After those long months of pregnancy, your baby is here at last! Take a look at the tips below for ideas to ease the first few weeks and months of motherhood.…

COVID-19 and Mental Health Services – Are You Covered?

We’ve all had to make a lot of changes to our daily lives since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Many people are feeling overwhelmed – and not just about the virus. If you need to seek help for mental health treatment, Parkland Community Health Plan has you covered. …

All About Pyx

All expecting moms can use a little extra support. That’s why Parkland Community Health Plan is happy to offer the free Pyx mobile app to our pregnant members age 18 and older. …

Have the Spring Blues? These Tips Can Help

Even though that change is positive, it can be stressful too—especially if you have the “spring blues.” Self-care is important, and knowing a few tips can help. They are simple, but they are not always easy to do.…

Managing School During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, managing your child’s schooling was easier. You got them to the bus stop—or the school—on time. You checked their homework. Did they need extra help? If so, you called…

Four Stress Management Tips

The cause of stress is different for everyone. For one person, it could be from trying to pay rent. For another, it could be a result of a health issue. No matter the reason, keeping the negative effects of stress in check is important for your overall health. …

Welcome to the Living Well Blog!

What does Living Well mean? It’s more than just a healthy diet and exercise. It includes all aspects of life. Our goal with the Living Well blog is to share information and resources to the community…

We’re in this Together

COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. The “normal” we were used to is a distant memory as we work to learn how to navigate our “new normal.” And, with change comes uncertainty. At Parkland…