Holiday season can trigger mental health emergency

*MEDIA RELEASE*

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  CONTACT: Michael J. Yates

DATE: December 4, 2019                          PHONE: 865-719-7221

Holiday season can trigger mental health emergency

-Do you know where to turn?

Oak Ridge, TN – During the holidays, we’re reminded this is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year.” While for many that may be true, for others the holiday season is a triggering landscape of painful memories, complex grief, chilling loneliness, and ongoing mental health or substance abuse issues.

The truth is that the holiday season can worsen our ability to successfully manage our mental health due to amplified stress, anxiety, and depression. Claudia Werner, Ridgeview’s Director of Mobile Crisis Team, cautions that a mental health emergency can manifest in a variety of ways, which may include: inability to complete daily tasks; saying, writing or insinuating that they’d no longer wish to live;  withdrawing from friends and family; exhibiting risky behavior that may put themselves or someone else in harm’s way; being aggressive; or having dramatic shifts in mood, sleeping or eating patterns.

The Mobile Crisis Team encourages people to be proactive in getting help for themselves or a loved one who is experiencing a mental health emergency. The team is comprised of licensed mental health clinicians with specialized training. The crisis program is designed to help people who are experiencing a mental health crisis and provide them with support in getting timely access to the care they need. The Mobile Crisis Team is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week serving Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, Roane, and Scott counties and can be contacted at 865-481-6175.  This Mobile Crisis Team specifically works with adults who are 18 years or older.

An extension of fulfilling the Crisis Team mission and to help more people directly, Mobile Crisis also has a walk-in clinic that is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Ridgeview’s main location in Oak Ridge at 240 W. Tyrone Road – signs will direct you to the Mobile Crisis entrance in the rear of the building. These expanded hours also allow family members to be involved with an individual’s care outside of typical business hours.  Although the team’s primary focus are individuals with TennCare or the uninsured, they will see anyone regardless of insurance in both the walk-in center and in the local community.

For people in less critical need of care, Ridgeview offers Same Day Access hours at most clinic locations – in Anderson County the hours are weekday from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Same Day Access allows a person to walk-in without an appointment to receive a mental health evaluation and to determine what type of care may best treat their needs and promote their hope, healing, and recovery. Many emotional and behavioral concerns can be treated by a therapist or other psychiatric interventions and care. However, some emotional and behavioral pain is so acute and severe, waiting to access the regular walk-in hours may be unbearable, and that’s when Mobile Crisis can help. 

So, if this holiday season is especially hard for you or someone you love, know that Ridgeview is here to provide timely access to quality mental health emergency services and to promote hope, healing, and recovery to the people impacted by a mental health condition.

*END*

Picture: Members of the Mobile Crisis Team