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SARASOTA – The coronavirus pandemic brings to light a unique public health crisis and a potential epidemic of mental health disorders.

“I was really depressed. I couldn’t get out bed, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything,” Amber Aikman.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  A new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals more than half of Americans say coronavirus-related stress has harmed their mental health and well-being.

Chief Inpatient and Residential Services Officer for First Step of Sarasota, Tracey Weeden says her staff has never been busier with the addition of new patients reaching out for help. “While our inpatient stays in our residential admissions have decreased,” she said. “However, those who have been able to seek the help that they need definitely have had an increase in need.”

Weeden says they’re seeing patients with a higher sense of anxiety, an increase in uncertainty, and a decrease in normalcy. She says stigma associated with mental health can affect asking for help.

“In recognizing and addressing the stigma, I think it’s important for us to call it what it is, and recognize that it’s much more common than we think,” said Weeden.

Chief Clinical Services Officer Phillip Brooks says the pandemic has been a blessing and a curse.

“What I mean by that is that actually, we looked at our no-show rates from having to shift from face-to-face and to telehealth and our no-show rates for our agency improved by 9%,” said Brooks.

Amber Aikman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as an 18-year-old. She says it wasn’t an easy journey to get her mental illness under control, but she did so simply by…

“It’s so important to talk and be honest and be truthful about this,” said Aikman. “If you’re going through something just so you know it’s getting better, it’s changing. If you think in your head that it’s never going to get better, it’s never going to change trust me it does.”

According to the Mental Health America website Florida spent a mere $37 per person on mental health resources and care in 2019.

To find the right help for you with Firsts Step of Sarasota visit fsos.org/contact/. Other resources for those struggling with mental health disorders include….