Mental Health Help is Available

This is Mental Health Week and in Belize, anxiety and depression are the most prevalent challenges. According to Mental Health Coordinator in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Nurse Iveth Quintanilla, COVID-19 also has a significant impact on people’s mental health.

Nurse Iveth Quintanilla

Nurse Iveth Quintanilla, Mental Health Coordinator, Min. of Health & Wellness

“As we go through the pandemic, we see that more people have been coming into the clinics reporting that they are suffering from anxiety. We know that the lockdown, the loss of family members, all the changes that we’re going through, closure of schools, the home-schooling – all of this is having an impact on the mental health of our people and this is being expressed through anxiety and depression. We have mental health clinics in each district. Anybody who experiences any symptoms of anxiety for example, if you are having excessive worried thoughts that disrupt your normal function, you might experience sweating, restlessness, tenseness, rapid heartbeat, these are symptoms of anxiety. On the other hand, we have depression if at any point you start to feel sad, you see that somebody becomes withdrawn, loses their interest in activities that they used to do before, there might even be changes in appetite, in sleep. You can seek help at the mental health clinics. We have psychiatric nurse practitioners and we have psychiatrists who can provide the support to you all.”

Nurse Quintanilla says the services and medication at the public mental health clinics are free of cost.