Miami Faces Mental Health Crisis

Although mental illness and mental health issues have always been a challenge faced by society, they are now more widespread than ever.

Suicide rates have increased, and overall mental health has deteriorated as a result of pandemic-era difficulties and other ongoing obstacles faced by many, in particular minority and LGBTQ+ populations.

Almost three million adults in Florida – more than six times the number of people living in Miami – have a mental health condition, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).

NAMI has chapters across the country and its Miami outpost has grown significantly. The group’s mission is to educate, support and raise awareness about mental illness, while welcoming diverse backgrounds and perspectives and encouraging confidence, self-efficacy and service.

NAMI held its “NAMI Walks Your Way” Miami-Dade walk May 21, 2022, to bring together the community to share stories and open up the conversation about the shame surrounding mental illness in order to help eradicate it.

Lisa LeSueur, a suicide prevention coordinator for NAMI, says one of her goals is to encourage discussions about mental health to educate and support families and individuals struggling with mental health conditions. Her own experiences led her to NAMI, as her former partner of seven years had severe mental health challenges, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.

While her partner was going to therapy and undergoing treatment, there were still many struggles in their relationship. One day, LeSueur came home to find her girlfriend with a weapon in her hand, ready to take her own life.

LeSueur battled with what the best thing to do in that moment was; she’d long felt lost “trying to get her help and trying to navigate a broken mental health system.”

She ultimately called 911 and her partner was Baker Acted (for the first time). LeSueur – not always a religious person – went to church the next day to pray. She later returned to religion and is now the pastor of Coral Gables Congregational Church.

Today LeSueur works with her church and other houses of worship to chip away at what she feels is the faith-based community’s tacit support of maintaining the stigma around mental health through its silence on the subject.

The suicide prevention coordinator urges those who aren’t sure where to start when dealing with mental health issues to reach out to NAMI, as it offers many resources for individuals, families, students and more.

‘I Don’t Feel Like I’m Any Less’

Celia, a mother of five, also turned to NAMI when she felt lost. Out of her five children, four have mental health conditions and three have been Baker Acted.

Celia grew up in a strict, religious Hispanic household, where mental health issues are often ignored and pushed aside. She didn’t know what to do when her oldest daughter began exhibiting problems. Celia now says she’s ashamed to admit that she thought her daughter was faking anxiety to get out of school.

When her youngest daughter, Maria, turned 9, she was reading a book called “Ivy & Bean.” Celia says Maria used to tell her, “Look, Mommy, they’re riding the bike next to us,” while they were in the car, referencing the book’s title characters. She assumed her daughter was simply entertaining imaginary friends, as many children do at that age.

But one day, Maria listened to Ivy and Bean when they told her to jump out of a second-story window in their home.

Her sister, Sofia, who managed to catch Maria when she attempted to take her life, expressed that the experience is painful to reflect on, because she feels sad knowing that her younger sister was suffering so much at such an early age.

Maria was taken to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. She spent a week in psychiatric care and was diagnosed with major depressive disorder with psychotic features. Diagnoses of anxiety, anorexia and body dysmorphia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and, recently, borderline personality disorder, have followed.

Now 17, Maria, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, began struggling with her mental health at around 7 years old. She said she was hallucinating and hearing voices telling her to harm herself. After being bullied in middle school, she developed severe depression and an eating disorder. She became addicted to cutting herself, at one point requiring stitches as a result.

“Sometimes that would play into the OCD, like how the cuts would look and if they were even. If they weren’t, I had to continue,” she shared.

Maria says her life has felt like a roller coaster. There was a time when she felt she didn’t deserve to have a good life. She’s still struggling, but says her perspective has changed as she’s gotten older, and she’s no longer harming herself.

“I don’t feel like I’m any less because of my mental health. I think it’s just another thing that I have to cope with,” she said with optimism.

The Difference Between Sad & Depressed

Michelle DeVos, 27, a “NAMI Walks Your Way” participant, says the cause is personal to her, as she is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and has suffered with major depressive disorder most of her life. Just recently, she was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

DeVos expressed that people can’t fathom her struggle as they don’t comprehend the distinction between sad and depressed.

“People don’t understand that I can’t help the way I feel,” she said.

Huston Ochoa, social worker and counselor, began struggling with mental health issues when he lost his parents. He didn’t know where or how to begin to deal with his grief. Talking through his issues helped him understand and accept them; he says it’s time to have the conversation about mental health because there are systemic issues affecting the community. However, those struggling also need to be open to getting help.

Maria agrees and says it’s the only way she’s been able to change her perspective.

Walk participant Samantha Ligeti, 29, says it’s important to raise awareness and support causes like NAMI because everyone knows someone who struggles with mental health issues.

“Mental health is health,” Ligeti emphasized.

The stigma surrounding mental illness has been an obstacle for many.

DeVos said that it has affected her whole trajectory in life, as people assume she is either incapable of working or is trying to bring attention to herself. This has also affected her romantic life. She shared that she attempted to utilize dating sites, but they were not good for her mental health and she eventually deleted their apps from her devices.

She wants people to know that regardless of what mental health conditions she, and others, may have, they are still capable human beings. And she is confident in what she brings to the table – whether that’s for a partner or a job – and won’t change who she is for others.

DeVos, an attorney, graduated at the top of her class at University of Miami Law School with a Juris Doctorate and two additional graduate law degrees.

Changing the Mental Health Mindset

Maria shared that recently, while playing volleyball at school, a team member saw her self-harm scars and told the entire group. Since then, she feels that everyone looks at and treats her differently. For this reason, she has always been private about her mental health struggles and doesn’t share them with even her closest friends.

It’s important for people to “analyze what fundamental concept of mental illness they’ve developed,” said Maria, because although some people do turn to negative coping mechanisms, others don’t and “just need somebody to hold their hand through it.”

Sofia says that growing up in a Hispanic-dominated community like Miami, she felt that therapy, depression and other mental health issues were looked down upon.

Their goals, by telling their stories, is to change that mindset and help others who are afraid to share their stories or seek help because of the way they might be perceived.

Many parents, partners, friends and siblings also tend to feel responsible for the issues their loved ones are facing.

Celia’s arduous journey as a mother of four children with mental health issues took a toll on her. She attempted therapy by herself and with her family but always felt that her kids’ issues reflected her shortcomings as a parent.

Realizing her quality of life was nonexistent, she forced herself to undergo a process of radical acceptance and educate herself on the problems her children were facing. She hopes that others in similar situations can do the same.

Celia’s best advice to those in a similar position is to be involved in the lives of their loved ones – whether children, spouses or others – to make sure that those they care about know they are loved and don’t need to be perfect, and to not dismiss any mental health warning signs you may see in others.

To find out more about NAMI Miami’s programs and resources, or to get involved, visit NAMIMiami.org.