SEIL offers mental health support services

Brain health is mental health. It encompasses psychological, emotional, and social well-being. An unhealthy brain can affect how we think, feel, act, make choices, and relate to others. An unhealthy brain can lead to mental illness. Brain health is more than the absence of a mental illness. When your brain is not feeling good, a person’s overall health and quality of life suffers. Taking care of yourself helps a person to maintain their mental health while they seek support and treatment.

Taking care of yourself is taking the time to do things that can improve both your physical health and mental health. Taking care of yourself can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Sometimes a person does not realize that stress is the reason you have headaches, insomnia, or trouble completing your work.

Ways to take care of yourself include getting regular exercise, eat healthy, stay hydrated, make sleep a priority, try a relaxing activity like yoga or reading a book, focus of being positive, and connect to those who can provide emotional support. Taking care of yourself looks different for everyone. It is also good to note that self-care is not a cure for mental illnesses. I encourage everyone to try to understand what triggers your mental health symptoms and then seek those coping techniques that work for you to manage your mental health.

Southeast Iowa has a mental health region of eight counties, Des Moines, Henry Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, and Van Buren. As a mental health region, we are called Southeast Iowa Link (SEIL). The SEIL Region “facilitates open, quality comprehensive services to people with multiple issues. We strive to be welcoming, hopeful, and helpful to people who have complex MHDS challenges, including trauma.” This information is found on the SEIL website, SEIowaLink.org.

When a person does not know who to turn to, you can call the SEIL office in any of our counties and the coordinator of disability services will be there to help you with finding the services that are best for you. These can be found on the website, or you can call my phone number at 641-472-8637 and I will help you get connected.

This does not mean that every single person who experiences a mental health issue needs our help. Many individuals who have mild symptoms can either manage on their own, or with the help of a medical professional if medication is needed. But what if that is not enough? SEIL has created many services with the goal to help those who reach out. The times you may want to think about reaching out to a medical professional or therapist include symptoms of sleeping difficulties, changes in appetite, weight changes, difficulty getting out of bed, difficulty concentrating, loss of interest in anything, and overall, the difficulty performing day to day activities and responsibilities. The idea is to not wait until your symptoms are overwhelming.

I want to highlight our Peer Wellness Recovery Centers and our Peer Support Specialists. A recovery Center is a place where individuals experiencing mental health issues can work on their recovery with trained peer support specialists. The peer support are staff who also have lived experience as they help individuals to work through their symptoms, or to maintain stability.

SEIL has available Wellness Recovery Centers and Peer Specialists across the region that can work with you. We do not charge for these services. The goal of the centers is to have a safe place where everyone is welcome and respected. The Peer Specialists can help each person discuss concerns and worries, or just be available to chat. It can sometimes be scary to try to venture into something new, but I encourage those in need to reach out to these centers.

If going into the center is to stressful, then you can ask the peer specialist to meet you somewhere that is comfortable for you. If you do not have transportation, then again, just reach out to the peer specialist. Remember, someone is there for you!

As a reminder, if you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to communicate with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or email 988lifeline.org. This service is confidential, free, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In life-threatening situations, call  911.

  Buy Photo