All Indians to the UAE Are Officially Demanded To Get A Travel Insurance by The Indian Diplomatic Mission

There’s now a travel insurance advisory for Indians visiting the UAE. This was issued by the Indian Diplomatic Mission. Motivated by two back-to-back instances of medical emergencies of Indian tourists in the UAE in less than two months, this travel insurance advisory is applicable to all visit and tourist visa applicants from India to the UAE.
The advisory demands that “Indians travelling to the UAE for visiting or tourism purposes are advised to take adequate medical insurance to cover up any expenditure on medical exigencies".

What Motivated The Issuance of The Travel Insurance Advisory

It has been said earlier on that the insurance of The Travel Insurance Advisory was motivated by two back-to-back instances of medical emergencies of Indian tourists in the UAE in less than two months. Specifically, these are the cases of the father of an Indian national working in the UAE (who requested that her name be undisclosed and thus we’ll refer to her as Jane Doe here) and the 61-year-old mother (Suchitra Pratap) of Navdeep Pratap.

Jane Doe brought her parents for a trip to Dubai. Her father, who is a diabetic patient, suffered a brain stroke as a result of blood pressure after arriving in Dubai on January 15. He has been admitted to a hospital in Sharjah since January 20.
She didn’t imagine or expect that her father would be admitted into a hospital a week into his visit, nor would she face stiff financial difficulty from this. She says: "I booked my parent's tickets through a travel agent and he did not suggest I take an insurance policy for them. You can't predict these things would happen."

Jane Doe told Khaleej Times she is now suffering the brunt of not availing herself of a travel insurance policy for her aged parents as her hospital bills have now surpassed Dh130,000. She says the hospital's social service team promised to help them with a payment structure. But that notwithstanding, she still has to pay the complete Dh130,000, an amount she said she can’t afford.

In the case of Navdeep Pratap's mother, the 61-year-old, Suchitra Pratap, slipped into a coma after an accident in Discovery Gardens on February 6th. Suchitra Pratap was frolicking in the evening in the community when a horde of children playing football rammed into her. She loses her balance and falls. Consequent upon this fall, she, a retired teacher, suffered severe internal haemorrhage (internal bleeding). She was operated upon after which, she was put on a ventilator and lapsed into a coma.
Unfortunately, just like Jane Doe’s case, Navdeep hadn’t taken a travel insurance policy for his mother. In this way, his hospital bill has risen to Dh180,000 — a 35 percent discount notwithstanding.

As regards his mother’s health, in his words, "Her condition is currently stable; however, she would need long-term hospitalisation and therapy. I have procured the permissions to move her to KIMS Hospital in Hyderabad, India, on February 27."

His resolution was: "I will be travelling with my mum [who was hospitalized at Al Zahra Hospital] in a few days. I have collected some funds from well-wishers and taken some advances from banks. Though the hospital has provided a 35 per cent discount, there is still an outstanding on Dh180,000 to be paid. If I can save on this amount, then I can spend towards her treatment in India. She needs long-term hospitalisation and therapy."

Why Has The Travel Insurance Advisory Been Issued?

The travel insurance advisory has been issued in order to offset high costs of medical treatments in the UAE for Indians, as well as instances of Indian travelers meeting with unexpected accidents which would involve huge medical bills the traveler or their relatives might find difficult to pay.
In the words of Vipul, the Consul-General of India to Dubai, "If there is a medical emergency case, money from the Indian Community Welfare Fund is used to relieve the family or the patient. However, that is on a means-tested basis and in some of the cases, it is difficult. Ultimately, we have to establish whether they have the resources to spend the money or not."

"In the second case (Jane Doe’s), she does not have financial means to support a heavy medical bill. In this case, we write to the hospital to waive off the charges.  Mostly, hospitals also consider these requests on humanitarian grounds." The consulate does provide stretcher costs, air tickets and a medical escort to the patient in these cases so they can avail themselves of further treatment in India.
Vipul says, where hospital expenses are so huge that the consulate can’t handle them, the case is referred to Delhi. He added that “in many cases, the community comes to help as well”.

The Demand on Travel Insurance

Vipul insisted that Indians should apply for a travel insurance before setting out of India, as the process to procure one is easy, and the costs fairly affordable. He says, "Sometimes people don't realise that medical treatment here is very expensive. Hospital bills run into several thousand dirhams in Dubai."

Praveen Kumar, a social worker and volunteer of the CGI community volunteer team, says they come across such cases a lot and that the consulate helps residents but that people must go for an insurance policy: "We come across a lot of such cases. This is the second case I am coming across this month. Normally, the consulate helps these residents in whatever capacity they can. However, people must take insurance as it does not cost over Rs1,000 for individuals."

Source: DubaiTourPro.com

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Anxiety and smart phones

Anxiety and smart phones

Smartphones are causing some users to experience heightened anxiety when used for social interactions, new research from Britain shows.

The distress stems from the persistent need many users feel to repeatedly review and immediately respond to any incoming email, text, tweet or alert. Such compulsive behavior has lead researchers to suggest that the mushrooming use of smartphones to sustain social connections, friendships and personal networks is associated with increased stress.  

The research, conducted by British psychologist Richard Balding, MSc, of the University of Worcester, England and his colleagues, was presented at a conference of the British Psychological Society in Chester, England on January 12, 2012.

Surprisingly, though, the investigators found that the devices, including iPhones, Blackberries and Androids, did not result in a rise in stress levels when used for professional purposes. Instead, the added stress was found in social settings. Despite the ability of the phones to provide instant connections with friends and family, the handheld gadgets were actually contributing to stress, rather than alleviating it when used to manage personal contacts, the results revealed.

More than 100 people were recruited to participate in Balding’s study, responding to questions about their phone usage in surveys and completing a psychometric stress test. The participants included university students, retail industry employees and government workers.

The findings revealed that the multi-purpose phones were initially utilized to manage work obligations but ultimately became tools to control social networks. And as that type of usage increased so did the stress levels. Also, the results showed that 37 percent of adults and 60 percent of teenagers considered themselves addicted to their phones.

Additionally, those reporting the greatest increases in anxiety stated that they experienced phantom vibrations of new incoming messages even when no such alerts actually arrived. Many also reported feeling unhappy or stressed when their phones were turned off or when they did not receive any new messages.

As noted by other researchers not involved in the study, more research is necessary before a cause-and-effect relationship can be confirmed. It may be that people who are already stressed are more prone to repeatedly check their devices and always keep them turned on. On the other hand, many people are able to moderate their usage to ensure it is helpful, time saving, convenient and enjoyable, rather than a source of stress, tension and disappointment.

Nevertheless, the study, considered preliminary as it has not yet been published in a scientific journal, lead investigators to suggest that employers be aware of the added stress and negative impact smartphones may have on their employees.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than one-third of American adults have a smartphone, with an overwhelming majority using the devices to access emails or to search the internet daily.

Additional uses include gaming, watching videos through such sites as YouTube, and managing social networks via Facebook. With the rapid influx of new apps introduced to the public, and the devices' ability to provide constant information, instant news and ongoing entertainment, smartphones are expected to continue proliferating rapidly throughout the world.

Anxiety and smart phones

Anxiety and smart phones

Smartphones are causing some users to experience heightened anxiety when used for social interactions, new research from Britain shows.

The distress stems from the persistent need many users feel to repeatedly review and immediately respond to any incoming email, text, tweet or alert. Such compulsive behavior has lead researchers to suggest that the mushrooming use of smartphones to sustain social connections, friendships and personal networks is associated with increased stress.  

The research, conducted by British psychologist Richard Balding, MSc, of the University of Worcester, England and his colleagues, was presented at a conference of the British Psychological Society in Chester, England on January 12, 2012.

Surprisingly, though, the investigators found that the devices, including iPhones, Blackberries and Androids, did not result in a rise in stress levels when used for professional purposes. Instead, the added stress was found in social settings. Despite the ability of the phones to provide instant connections with friends and family, the handheld gadgets were actually contributing to stress, rather than alleviating it when used to manage personal contacts, the results revealed.

More than 100 people were recruited to participate in Balding’s study, responding to questions about their phone usage in surveys and completing a psychometric stress test. The participants included university students, retail industry employees and government workers.

The findings revealed that the multi-purpose phones were initially utilized to manage work obligations but ultimately became tools to control social networks. And as that type of usage increased so did the stress levels. Also, the results showed that 37 percent of adults and 60 percent of teenagers considered themselves addicted to their phones.

Additionally, those reporting the greatest increases in anxiety stated that they experienced phantom vibrations of new incoming messages even when no such alerts actually arrived. Many also reported feeling unhappy or stressed when their phones were turned off or when they did not receive any new messages.

As noted by other researchers not involved in the study, more research is necessary before a cause-and-effect relationship can be confirmed. It may be that people who are already stressed are more prone to repeatedly check their devices and always keep them turned on. On the other hand, many people are able to moderate their usage to ensure it is helpful, time saving, convenient and enjoyable, rather than a source of stress, tension and disappointment.

Nevertheless, the study, considered preliminary as it has not yet been published in a scientific journal, lead investigators to suggest that employers be aware of the added stress and negative impact smartphones may have on their employees.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than one-third of American adults have a smartphone, with an overwhelming majority using the devices to access emails or to search the internet daily.

Additional uses include gaming, watching videos through such sites as YouTube, and managing social networks via Facebook. With the rapid influx of new apps introduced to the public, and the devices' ability to provide constant information, instant news and ongoing entertainment, smartphones are expected to continue proliferating rapidly throughout the world.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

OCD

The main symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is the presence of obsessions or compulsions (or both), so to understand what OCD is, it is first necessary to define what obsessions and compulsions are.

Obsessions

Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that repeatedly come into a person’s mind and are experienced as intrusive and distressing. The following are examples of some common obsessions in OCD:

• Becoming contaminated with germs

• Worrying about having done something bad by accident (e.g., accidentally running someone over with a car)

• Worrying about having forgotten something important (e.g., forgetting to lock a door)

• Needing to have things in a particular order (e.g., having things arranged symmetrically)

• Impulses to do terrible or embarrassing things (e.g., harming a child or yelling out profanities in church)

• Graphic or disturbing images

Obsessions are described as being “ego dystonic” which means that even though the person who experiences them recognizes them as their own thoughts, they feel the obsessions are outside of their control. Someone with OCD also often recognizes that their obsessions are unreasonable but feels they cannot put them out of their mind. Obsessions can provoke significant anxiety, leading the person experiencing obsessions to seek ways to counteract them. This attempt to reduce the anxiety of an obsession by counteracting it may lead to the development of compulsions.

Compulsions

Compulsions are repetitive physical or mental actions that a person engages in to reduce anxiety. Often, the compulsion is designed to counteract or undo an obsession. For example, a person who has an obsession about being contaminated with germs might develop a compulsion to wash their hands over and over. The following are examples of some other common compulsions in OCD.

• Checking (e.g., to make sure doors are locked or to make sure some type of mistake wasn’t made)
• Counting
• Repetitive praying

Often, compulsions can be clearly associated with a specific obsession, such as repeatedly checking to make sure a door is locked to reduce the anxiety of an obsession about forgetting to lock the door. However, many people with OCD develop compulsions that have no logical connection to the thing they are intended to prevent. For example, a person with an obsession involving thoughts about something bad happening may have a compulsion to touch each shoulder three times that they feel somehow makes the bad event less likely to happen. People with OCD often recognize that their compulsions are unrealistic but find it very difficult not to engage in them.

In order to qualify for a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, someone must have either obsessions or compulsions (or both) and these must interfere with their daily functioning. The person must also recognize, to some degree, that the obsessions and/or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable. This recognition is called “insight” and it varies widely among people with OCD. Some people with OCD have good insight and usually understand that their obsessions and/or compulsions are excessive and unlikely to be true, while others have poor insight and do not often question whether their obsessions and/or compulsions are true. The amount of insight someone has into the symptoms of their OCD can also change quite a bit depending on the situation, and even someone with very good insight most of the time may find it difficult not to believe in their obsessions and/or compulsions when they are stressed or anxious.

OCD treatment

OCD can be treated with both therapy and medications and usually responds best when both are combined. The type of therapy with the most evidence supporting its efficacy for OCD is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This is the type of therapy that the myAnxietyApp self-help program on this website is based upon.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for OCD

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) involves helping the individual suffering from OCD to see the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Once this connection is understood, CBT uses a variety of techniques to change the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that underlie and perpetuate the OCD. The doctors of Anxiety.org have created a CBT-based self-help program called myAnxietyApp that can be used for free on this website. Anxiety.org also has a directory of mental health care providers that can be searched for therapists who specialize in the treatment of OCD.

Medications for OCD

Medications are used very frequently in OCD treatment. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most frequently used class of medications for OCD. These are the same medications that are used to treat depression, but they are usually prescribed at higher doses for OCD. SSRIs work by increasing the amount of serotonin in the space between neurons called a synapse. Psychiatrists generally consider all SSRIs to be equally effective for OCD, but the SSRIs that have an FDA indication for OCD treatment are fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), and fluvoxamine (Luvox).

Anxiety and Children

Anxiety and Children

Anxiety is a normal experience that serves protective functions throughout a person’s development.  However, sometimes the anxiety in anticipation of or in response to a situation is consistently exaggerated and may interfere with functioning or cause significant distress.   We expect to find a certain level of fear and anxiety in children; however, anxiety disorders in children are different from normal childhood fears in that they tend to be more intense and maladaptive, and they tend to last longer.  Most childhood fears are usually not very serious, they vary by age, and they don’t last long. 

Anxiety disorders are some of the most frequent childhood and adolescent disorders, occurring in about 20% of children and adolescents during any stage of their development.  Some children may continue to experience anxiety disorders into adulthood.  Children with any anxiety disorder may experience excessive anxiety that causes distress and interferes with normal functioning; however, the differences among anxiety disorders center around the feared situation itself and the anxiety reaction produced by it.  For example, in the context of social anxiety disorder in children, the fear focuses on being judged in social situations; whereas the anxiety in obsessive-compulsive disorder in children is a product of obsessions, which are generally unpleasant thoughts, images, or impulses that are repeated frequently and seem uncontrollable.  Compulsions are carried out in an effort to avoid or decrease the anxiety produced by obsessions and they are physical or mental acts that are repeated a given number of times or until the anxiety subsides (Please see the section on OCD symptoms for further detail). 

Symptoms of anxiety disorders, including OCD, in children usually manifest in the same way as in adults, sometimes with minor variations.  You can find detailed descriptions of the different anxiety disorders, including information about symptoms and treatment, in the corresponding sections.

Causes of Anxiety

What causes anxiety disorders? 

Multiple factors play a role in the development of anxiety disorders.  As in other disorders, genetic factors seem to play a role, particularly when it comes to individual characteristics, such as temperament or how a person reacts to a situation, and neurobiological determinants or how the brain and body react to stress.