Maureen Dunleavy, regional senior vice president for the Guidance Care Center of the Florida Keys, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about mehtal health.
Mental health can be affected by a wide range of circumstances, including weather, storms, flooding, work-related stress and relationships.
“So we all have mental health, and of course, you manage your mental health depending upon what’s going on in your life,” Dunleavy said. “We have a lot of things that can impact our mental health, and we all have it, just like physical health. So we have to take care of it throughout the year.”
The Guidance Care Center has served the Florida Keys for 53 years and operates three sites throughout the Keys. The organization provides services ranging from prevention and school-based counseling to crisis stabilization and substance-abuse treatment.
The center also operates a mobile crisis response team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The team can help people experiencing a mental health or substance-use crisis determine what type of intervention or service they need.
“We can do everything from prevention to crisis stabilization for those adults that are feeling suicidal,” Dunleavy said. She added that the center’s mobile crisis response team can help people dealing with a mental health or substance-use crisis determine what services they need.
The center serves thousands of people each year, including approximately 4,500 adult client treatment contacts and 848 children and adolescent client treatment contacts.
Mental health challenges can affect people of any age.
“Very, very young children can pick up on tension and anxiety, and so no one is immune from mental health,” Dunleavy said.
World Mental Health Day will be observed October 10, providing another opportunity to raise awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health conditions.
Dunleavy said people should not be afraid to talk about mental health or ask someone directly if they are struggling with suicidal thoughts. Asking the question does not put the idea of suicide into someone’s head.
“I can assure you that you’re not going to put the idea of suicide in anyone’s head,” Dunleavy said. “However, if someone is struggling and feeling suicidal, it will open the door for them to be able to tell somebody before they make a decision they can’t take back.”
Simply reaching out to someone can make a significant difference.
“Something as simple as a text can save lives,” Dunleavy said.
Dunleavy also encouraged people to focus on what they can control during stressful situations. She pointed to recent flooding in Key West as an example, saying residents could not control how much rain would fall or how quickly floodwaters would rise, but they could take practical steps to protect themselves and their property.
“We can’t control if how hard it rains or how much flooding there is,” Dunleavy said. “But what we can control is to recognize, okay, this is happening. What can I do right now? What is the next right thing?”
Focusing on the next step can help prevent people from becoming overwhelmed by anxiety about circumstances they cannot control.
Dunleavy also warned that turning to alcohol to cope with stress can make matters worse.
“Alcohol is a depressant, so if people are drinking to be able to say, ‘I’m stressed out. I need to drink more,’ that can actually exacerbate all of those feelings,” she said.
People can reach a point where their problems seem overwhelming and they cannot see a way forward.
“We all can get to that dark place where we don’t see a way out,” Dunleavy said. “We all have stressors that come in our lives, and there are a lot of tools, and connecting with other people and talking about it is one of the best things that we can do, for ourselves and for other people.”
The Guidance Care Center provides services regardless of a person’s ability to pay. Dunleavy encouraged anyone who is struggling — or simply unsure about what resources may be available — to reach out and ask questions.
“Even if people are unsure about what can I benefit from what’s available, calling or coming in and asking those questions is not just getting information,” Dunleavy said. “We don’t turn anyone away if you can’t pay for it. Mobile crisis response is free.”
The center’s main number is 305-434-7660. Dunleavy said callers can follow the prompts to reach specific services, including mobile crisis response. The center’s website is guidancecarecenter.org.
Dunleavy closed with a simple message for anyone struggling.
“Just to hang in there and know this too shall pass, and we will all get through this together,” she said.