1st Moment Thoughts

The Number Nobody Puts in the Benefits Brochure

We keep measuring mental health benefits by what they cover. The number that actually decides whether they work is how long someone has to wait — and the national average is 48 days.

Read Full Post →

Behavioral Health July 2026

The Number Nobody Puts in the Benefits Brochure

We keep measuring mental health benefits by what they cover. The number that actually decides whether they work is how long someone has to wait.

Bryce P. Allen · Health Karma July 2026 · 6 min read

Academic June 2026

The Students Who Aren't in the Counseling Center

Mental health on campus is improving — for some students. The trendlines also reveal which students the improvement isn't reaching.

Bryce P. Allen · Health Karma June 2026 · 5 min read

Responders May 2026

My Best Friend Was a Cop. Here's What He Won't Tell You.

Some of the people in my life signed up to run toward what everyone else runs from. Years later, two of the calls he still carries.

Bryce P. Allen · Health Karma May 2026 · 5 min read

Behavioral Health May 2026

The Things We've Stopped Calling "Just a Bad Week"

Somewhere along the way, "I'm just tired" became the most common sentence in the workplace. It's worth asking what we've all quietly agreed not to look at.

Bryce P. Allen · Health Karma May 2026 · 4 min read

Workers May 2026

The Part of the Job That Doesn't Show Up on the Incident Report

There's no checkbox for "carried it home with you." But for the people doing the work, that's often where the real damage happens.

Dr. Ann Hawkins · Health Karma May 2026 · 5 min read

PersonalCare April 2026

He Needed a Prescription. He Got It the Same Day.

A real member called in with a UTI and expected the same runaround he'd gotten before. What happened instead is exactly why PersonalCare exists.

Health Karma Inc. April 2026 · 4 min read

PersonalCare

She Was Out of Her Medication. By the Next Day, She Wasn't.

A personal story about what happens when someone without insurance finally has access to real care — and why $27.95 a month changed everything.

Bryce P. Allen · Health Karma April 2026 · 5 min read

Workers

Only 2% of Claims — But Driving the Cost?

Mental health barely shows up in your claims data. So why is it quietly driving some of your biggest costs? The answer starts with what nobody is tracking.

Dr. Ann Hawkins · Health Karma April 2026 · 5 min read

Academic

The Call That Doesn't Come During Office Hours

College students aren't struggling on a schedule. So why do we keep building support systems that only work 9 to 5?

Dr. Ann Hawkins · Health Karma April 2026 · 5 min read

Behavioral Health

They Showed Up. But Did They Really?

The surprisingly relatable reason your team is physically present — and mentally somewhere else entirely.

Dr. Ann Hawkins · Health Karma April 2026 · 4 min read

Responders

The Help Is There. They Just Won't Ask For It.

The EAP exists, the awareness campaign ran, the posters are up — and still nobody calls. Here's why that's not a failure of your people.

Health Karma Team March 2026 · 6 min read