Climate-related pre-traumatic stress disorders and other anxieties.
Before we get to our next climate-related piece, we have to note that akin to the climate-related condition of solastalgia, stress and anxiety is also rampant right now due to the coronavirus pandemic, producing a double whammy of anxiety. In fact, some virologists think that the global warming is enhancing the spread of some dangerous viruses.
Just about everyone by now knows about post-traumatic stress disorders. That occurs when there are psychiatric symptoms that emerge after a major trauma, sometimes soon after, but sometimes months or years after. There is also acute stress disorder, with milder symptoms that can occur right after trauma, but dissipate rapidly with enough support and help with practical needs.
With pre-traumatic stress disorder, not an official diagnosis yet, we have the anticipation of major trauma that is causing undue anxiety and worsening everyday functioning. A majority of Americans are worried about climate change, and about a quarter are very worried. Such worry can be appropriate, and good functioning continues. The best kind of anxiety, I would submit, is that which spurs one to appropriate action, including that which might help to prevent future trauma. Then there is so-called eco-anxiety, which includes the climate, but goes beyond it, to other environmental concerns.
Take Sarah. She’d heard about many young women like her who did not want to have children. Sarah was a marketer in her early 30s who just got married. In anticipation of having a family, she started to worry more about the future climate, pollutants like plastics, and viral epidemics. She decided to get couples’ therapeutic help to try to find answers to these questions:
Was she right that they shouldn’t try to get pregnant?
Most importantly, what if she still wanted to have kids, no matter what?
Little did she know that her therapist was having some eco-anxiety too! He was having a frightening recurring nightmare that takes the general form of giant waves crashing close to a house or property, associated with a realization of a desperate need to escape. He grew up by the sea in New Zealand, and took many vacations to a very wild and very remote island and beach area where the waves were sometimes truly mountainous; maybe that was enough of an explanation for his recurrent nightmare? He thought so, until he heard of something similar from a climate activist. She dreamt that she found herself in a house with many people. Suddenly she looked outside and saw that they were surrounded by the open sea. Huge waves crashed in the distance. The end of the world! Water was seeping through the windows. She interpreted this dream and others as being reflective of her awareness of the earth’s fragility, including threats to climate, wildlife, and agriculture. She argues, as I would, that this is not just a dream anymore, but that we need to wake up to the grave implications of climate change.
And we do. After next month’s talk on climate activists, we will close in June with what to do about all these climate-related conditions.
But, right around the corner, April 22, is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, an anniversary to renew our marriage vows to the planet.
Programming Note: Listen to Dr. Moffic report this story live during today’s Talk Ten Tuesday broadcast, 10-10:30 a.m. EST.
Hospitals are about to hit a perfect storm of two powerful climate conditions set both hit in 2026; the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)
Since Halloween is this week, it is a good time to talk about what scares us. I’m not talking about a masked character with a
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Denials continue to delay reimbursement, increase administrative burden, and threaten financial stability across healthcare organizations. This essential webcast tackles the root causes—rising payer scrutiny, fragmented workflows, inconsistent documentation, and underused analytics—and offers proven, data-driven strategies to prevent and overturn denials. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen documentation and coding accuracy, engage clinicians effectively, and leverage predictive analytics and AI to identify risks before they impact revenue. Through real-world case examples and actionable guidance, this session empowers coding, CDI, and revenue cycle professionals to shift from reactive appeals to proactive denial prevention and revenue protection.
Sepsis remains one of the most frequently denied and contested diagnoses, creating costly revenue loss and compliance risks. In this webcast, Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, provides practical, real-world strategies to align documentation with coding guidelines, reconcile Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 definitions, and apply compliant queries. You’ll learn how to identify and address documentation gaps, strengthen provider engagement, and defend diagnoses against payer scrutiny—equipping you to protect reimbursement, improve SOI/ROM capture, and reduce audit vulnerability in this high-risk area.
Only ICD10monitor delivers what you need: updates on must-know changes associated with the FY26 IPPS, including new ICD-10-CM/PCS codes, CCs/MCCs, and MS-DRGs, plus insights, analysis and answers to your questions from two of the country’s most respected subject matter experts.
This third session in our 2026 IPPS Masterclass will feature a review of FY26 changes to the MS-DRG methodology and new technology add-on payments (NTAPs), presented by nationally recognized ICD-10 coding expert Christine Geiger, MA, RHIA, CCS, CRC, with bonus insights and analysis from Dr. James Kennedy.
Federal auditors are zeroing in on Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and hospital rehab unit services, with OIG and CERT audits leading to millions in penalties—often due to documentation and administrative errors, not quality of care. Join compliance expert Michael Calahan, PA, MBA, to learn the five clinical “pillars” of IRF-PPS admissions, key documentation requirements, and real-life case lessons to help protect your revenue.
During this essential RACmonitor webcast Michael Calahan, PA, MBA Certified Compliance Officer, will clarify the rules, dispel common misconceptions, and equip you with practical strategies to code, document, and bill high-risk split/shared, incident-to & critical care E/M services with confidence. Don’t let audit risks or revenue losses catch your organization off guard — learn exactly what federal auditors are looking for and how to ensure your documentation and reporting stand up to scrutiny.
Learn how to navigate the proposed elimination of the Inpatient-Only list. Gain strategies to assess admission status, avoid denials, protect compliance, and address impacts across Medicare and non-Medicare payors. Essential insights for hospitals.
RACmonitor is proud to welcome back Dr. Ronald Hirsch, one of his most requested webcasts. In this highly anticipated session, Dr. Hirsch will break down the complex Two Midnight Rule Medicare regulations, translating them into clear, actionable guidance. He’ll walk you through the basics of the rule, offer expert interpretation, and apply the rule to real-world clinical scenarios—so you leave with greater clarity, confidence, and the tools to ensure compliance.
Prepare for the 2025 CMS IPPS Final Rule with ICD10monitor’s IPPSPalooza! Click HERE to learn more
Get 15% OFF on all educational webcasts at ICD10monitor with code JULYFOURTH24 until July 4, 2024—start learning today!
CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 2 with code CYBER24
