Mental Health Awareness Month

Will you help shine a light during Mental Health Awareness Month?

About the 2025 MHAM Theme: Shine a Light on Mental Health

Isolated. Hopeless. Surrounded by darkness.

Oftentimes clients in our mental illness recovery programs share this is how they felt before finding Peace River Center. Thankfully there is a way to shine a light into the darkness of mental health challenges, untreated mental illness, and stigma. During Mental Health Awareness Month, you can be that light!

Mental health discussions are much more common than before, and many people feel more comfortable talking and sharing about their mental health challenges. However, it can still be overwhelming to know where to start or how to help yourself or a friend while you wait on professional mental health services. During Mental Health Awareness Month, Peace River Center is joining other organizations to Shine a Light on Mental Health. If you’re unsure where to start, join us on May 21 for our Community Symposium.

Learn how to navigate anxiety associated with the unknown and gain coping skills.

Educate ourselves and others on how trauma impacts our lives and how trauma-informed interactions can help us better understand loved ones, friends, and coworkers.

Advance community mental health organizations like Peace River Center by learning about our mental illness recovery services and supporting our efforts to extend care to all who need it.

Awareness and Education

Mental Health Awareness Month is an excellent time to increase your awareness and understanding of mental health challenges, mental illness diagnosis, stigma and how to reduce it, local resources that help, and more. Peace River Center is offering a few opportunities throughout May to help you learn more and increase awareness.

Wednesday, May 15| All Day

Wear Green Day

Show your support and share resources like our 24-hour Emotional Support and Crisis Line, 863.519.3744, on your social media channels. Upload a photo wearing green, plus the crisis line and use hashtag #PRCwearGreenDay. Let’s shine a light on mental health by wearing green on May 15. Be sure to let your friends know and invite others by sharing our Facebook event.

Wednesday, May 21| 8:30 am to 11:30 am | Black Swan Venue, Lakeland

Mental Health Community Symposium

Peace River Center is once again shining a light on mental health by hosting a Community Symposium during Mental Health Awareness Month. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 21 at Black Swan Venue. Check-in will begin at 8:30 am followed by networking and light refreshments. At 9 am we will begin our program featuring Peace River Center’s mental health experts presenting on a variety of topics, including:

Thresholds of the Mind: Identifying Your Limits – Alexandra Taylor, MSW, Community Mobile Support Team Supervisor
This presentation will explore how many adults feel self-aware, yet struggle to escape emotional patterns like anger, depression, or burnout. If we can recognize our thresholds, we can potentially mitigate long-term damage to mental health, relationships, and work.
Finding the Calm in the Chaos – Sarah Smith, LMHC, Intake Specialist Therapist
Dig into how to understand stress and worry, plus identify when anxiety is becoming more “out of control.” We will explore how anxiety manifests in the brain and nervous system and gain strategies for increasing regulation and reducing anxiety. These tips can be useful for yourself or those around you. Finally, we will help attendees identify and challenge negative thoughts and beliefs that contribute to anxiety, and figure out a framework for setting boundaries. Consider this a quality check-up for your mental health and walk away with practical tips you and your loved ones can use!

Please register today. If you have any questions or to submit questions in advance of the Community Summit, please email CommunityRelations@PeaceRiverCenter.org.

Thursday, May 22 | Club Success Haines City | 10 am – 12 pm

Club Success Open House

Club Success Haines City is hosting an Open House on Thursday, May 22, 2025. Swing by any time between 10 am – 12 pm to learn more about the Clubhouse, mental health recovery and meet club members! Drop-ins are welcome, RSVPs are encouraged. Please RSVP to: Christine.Foley@PeaceRivercenter.org. To learn more email CommunityRelations@PeaceRiverCenter.org.

Ways you can shine a light on mental health

Share Resources

Peace River Center has more than 25 behavioral health and victim services programs. Be aware of what's available and share with those in need: PeaceRiverCenter.org.

Help Others Access Care

Not everyone who needs behavioral health services can afford them. Help support these individuals by donating to Peace River Center.

Initiate Meaningful Conversations

Use person-first language (he has bipolar disorder NOT he is bipolar) and reduce stigma by sharing facts like how mental illness is common and treatable.

Need Help?

Peace River Center's Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day by calling 863.519.3744. Our appointment line is 863.248.3311. Share these resources too!

Encourage Others

You have the power to help others learn, reduce the stigma, and support community behavioral health.

Individuals like Leah are shining a light on mental health

For years, Leah felt like she had to hide her mental health struggles.

She had survived “horrifying experiences.” She lived with painful symptoms she couldn’t explain. And she carried the weight of silence—afraid of being judged, misunderstood, or seen as something less than human.

“My entire life, I felt like I had to hide what I was going through. People see those with mental illness as broken, violent, or incapable. But that’s not who we are. We’re not monsters. We’re human.,” said Leah.

At just 21, Leah was struggling to hold on to hope. She had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals. Leah had moved out of her parents’ home but was overwhelmed, alone, and unsure where to turn.

That’s when she found Peace River Center.

Leah’s healing journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s been transformative. Today, Leah shares her story to help others know that they don’t have to suffer in silence—that healing is possible and hope is real.

Will you help shine a light into the darkness today?

Community Summit Resources

Unable to attend our Community Summit? Learn some key takeaways from our experts!

While there are many skills that are helpful for coping with intense moments of anxiety, one we recommend is TIPP Skills.

TIPP Skill, which stands for temperature, intense exercise, paced breathing, progressive muscle relaxation skill, is used for instances when something has happened that has overwhelmed your coping skills and caused an intense spike in anxiety. TIPP Skills are not designed to fix the problem, just to get back into being able to manage things.

Temperature Modification

When we experience anxiety, it tends to produce heat in the body. We may feel hot, or we may not even realize we are hot, but the body often produces heat. One great way to quickly modify your temperature is to stand in front of a freezer for 10 seconds or so. Another way is to run cool water over the inside of your wrist, drink cool water or even a cool shower.

Click here to read the rest of the coping skills.

We encounter difficult people all the time. Whether at work, school, or even in public, difficult people can be challenging. But there are several things you can do to help de-escalate situations before they become worse. Remembering to implement the steps in NEAR is a great way to encourage conflict resolution.

Trauma is when we experience very stressful, frightening, or distressing events that are difficult to cope with or out of our control. It could be one incident or an ongoing event that happens over a long period.

How someone responds to a traumatic experience is personal. How an individual deals with trauma depends on if there is a strong support system in place, if the person has experienced prior traumatic events, and if the individual has resilient qualities.

Some helpful coping strategies include acknowledging that you have experienced trauma, maintaining a healthy diet and sleep patterns, exercising, and committing to something meaningful every day. For additional support, contact our appointment line today. 863.248.3311.

Additional Resources

Finding Their Voice: OnTrack Empowers Young Adults to Shine

May 12, 2025/by Tatiana Phillips

Peace River Center Achieves Behavioral Health Care National Accreditation from The Joint Commission

March 7, 2025/by Tatiana Phillips

Annual Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM) Themes

Every May Peace River Center selects a different theme to focus on during Mental Health Awareness Month. Sometimes we come alongside other well known mental health organizations like Mental Health America or NAMI and amplify the message by using their theme. Click below to explore the previous MHAM campaigns (coming soon!)

Previous Themes

2023 and 2024: Shining a Light on Mental Health
2022: Together for Mental Health
2021: Make It OK
2020: Mental Health During COVID
2019: Let’s Talk Mental Health
2018: Fitness #4mind4body

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You Are Not Alone. Get Help Today!

Emotional Support & Crisis Line: 863.519.3744

Domestic Violence Crisis Hardee/Highlands County: 863.386.1167

Domestic Violence Polk County: 863.413.2700

Sexual Assault Crisis Line: 863.413.2707

You Are Not Alone.
Get Help Today!

Emotional Support & Crisis Line: 863.519.3744

Domestic Violence Crisis Hardee/Highlands County: 863.386.1167

Domestic Violence Polk County: 863.413.2700

Sexual Assault Crisis Line: 863.413.2707

Mental Health Awareness Month

Will you help shine a light during Mental Health Awareness Month?

About the 2025 MHAM Theme: Shine a Light on Mental Health

Awareness and Education

Wednesday, May 15| All Day

Wear Green Day

Wednesday, May 21| 8:30 am to 11:30 am | Black Swan Venue, Lakeland

Mental Health Community Symposium

Thursday, May 22 | Club Success Haines City | 10 am – 12 pm

Club Success Open House

Individuals like Leah are shining a light on mental health

Community Summit Resources

Additional Resources

Finding Their Voice: OnTrack Empowers Young Adults to Shine

Peace River Center Achieves Behavioral Health Care National Accreditation from The Joint Commission

Client Testimonial: George’s Story

Survivor Testimonial: Samantha’s Story

2024 Annual Awards

Peace River Center Receives $6,000 Art Therapy Grant

Events to Educate and Engage Community During Mental Health Awareness Month

Volunteer Spotlight: Ronda Abel

SOARing Through Challenges

Tracing Trauma through the Generations

Gratitude Gallery 2023 Holidays

AP/Payroll Coordinator

Annual Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM) Themes

You can make a difference.

You can make a difference.

Sign up for updates!

You Are Not Alone. Get Help Today!

You Are Not Alone. Get Help Today!

You Are Not Alone.
Get Help Today!