Brief Chat
Last year , as the pandemic ’ s grip on the globe tightened , more Guam residents sought out the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center ’ s crisis hotline . The government of Guam regularly promoted the hotline , reaching out to “ those feeling anxious , stressed , overwhelmed ” and needing to talk to someone .
GBHWC estimated it fielded an average of 15 calls a month before the pandemic . During March 2020 and September 2020 , the crisis hotline received an average of 15 to 25 calls per day .
Nationwide , anxiety and symptoms of depression spiked during the pandemic . The Centers for Disease Control in April published its study which found adults with recent symptoms increased from 36.4 percent to 41.5 percent .
Symptoms of anxiety include having a sense of impending danger or doom , feeling nervous , restless or tense , rapid breathing , having trouble sleeping and difficulty controlling worrying .
Anxiety that persists for at least six months can be diagnosed as general anxiety disorder , according to Mao Beckett , a licensed clinical social worker and therapist currently on Guam .
Gastrointestinal issues can also be a symptom of anxiety , Beckett said .
“ Anxiety kind of gets a bad rap . And we ’ re like , oh , my gosh , we don ’ t want to have these feelings . We don ’ t want to feel nervous . But anxiety is actually a very natural response that keeps us alive ,” said Beckett , who owns Reset and Resilient Wellness .
Beckett said she works with people to manage those feelings , and recognize and examine them .
Originally from Boston , Beckett ’ s husband is a mental health technician at Andersen Air Force Base and they ’ re stationed on island . Beckett , the child of immigrants from Cambodia , said she grew up in an inner-city . She joined the U . S . Air Force serving in the public health field , of preventive medicine . Her experiences led her to social work .
“ A driving force for me was being the person to provide hope ,” Beckett said .
She now works with clients on Guam and in Massachusetts and Hawaii . providing therapy for individuals , families and couples .
“ I never wanted to be a fixer and healer , because that ’ s not my place to fix or heal people . They have that within themselves . I wanted to be the person to sit with them and let them know — there ’ s a way out ,” she said .
Beckett urges people who have symptoms of anxiety to get outside help
Mao Beckett ,
Understanding anxiety By Jasmine Stole Weiss
“ I never wanted to be a fixer and healer , because that ’ s not my place to fix or heal people . They have that within themselves . I wanted to be the person to sit with them and let them know — there ’ s a way out .”
“ I would definitely recommend seeing someone who is a professional to help support you in that journey of learning what anxiety is , and how to get out of it . Because what happens with mental health disorders … it ’ s hard to get out of yourself when it becomes that intense ,” Beckett said .
With her clients , Beckett said she lets them know the work they will do in therapy will be akin to rewiring their brains , which is not easy and not immediate but will have transformative , long-term , positive effects .
“ We ’ re rewiring how you respond to situations , how you think about situations ,” she said . “ Not that what you ’ re doing is wrong . It ’ s just not helpful anymore . So that ’ s why it ’ s important to have that professional support because they ’ re trained to do that .”
Beckett said her job is to provide people with the tools they need . “ My job is not to have a job anymore ,” she said .
The GBHWC crisis hotline can also be a starting place for residents . The agency can steer callers to other agencies that can help .
Locally , mental illness is tracked alongside deaths-by-suicide data .
Guam ’ s State Epidemiological outcomes workgroup reported that cumulative data from 2010 to 2020 showed that 14 percent of people who have died by suicide had a history of previous mental illness . In 2020 , 27.5 percent of people who died by suicide had a history of prior mental illness . Forty people died by suicide last year , an increase over 31 in 2019 .
In the nation , suicides decreased last year .
“ This trend was not seen in Guam and the suicide rate increased significantly for the island ,” the workgroup report stated .
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