Applause for Garrison’s focus on Floridians’ mental health

By Dr. Christine Cauffield

As CEO of one of Florida’s seven managing entities providing behavioral health care to more than 320,000 uninsured or underinsured Floridians, I’m thrilled to see the priority that House Speaker-designate Sam Garrison has committed to give mental health as a “first-tier issue” during his speakership over the next two years.

At a recent Florida Chamber Leadership Conference, Garrison repeatedly referred to behavioral health as much more than just a health care issue, but rather as a public safety, workforce and infrastructure problem as well.

Garrison’s comments sync with new research showing how much pressure Florida families are under right now. Today’s families are navigating much more than most of us realize, according to a report from Common Sense Media.

What may look like a collection of separate struggles is really one interconnected story about a generation under pressure, the report shows. The country’s mental health crisis is often tied to socioeconomic factors impacting our economic security such as housing costs, low wages and medical expenses.

We cannot fully address the mental health crisis without talking about economic pressures. Access to safe housing, adequate health care, stable income and quality childcare are not just financial issues; they are our mental health infrastructure. We know from decades of research that poverty is one of the strongest predictors of mental illness.

We need to recognize that living wages, affordable housing and accessible health care can all be mental health interventions. Clinicians can do important work in the therapy room, but we can’t therapize our way out of systemic problems.

More than half of respondents in the Common Sense Media survey said they feel they’re just one crisis away from financial disaster. Chronic financial stress is one of the most under-acknowledged mental health crises we have. It’s not just feeling worried; it physically changes how the brain functions. When you’re in a constant state of financial scarcity, your nervous system stays in survival mode. You can’t think long-term, you can’t regulate emotions as well, small problems feel catastrophic.

Financial stress can temporarily reduce cognitive capacity. Your brain is so busy managing the stress of scarcity that it has fewer resources left for problem-solving, patience and parenting. The emotional toll shows up as shame, which is one of the most isolating emotions. Families who are struggling financially often don’t talk about it. That silence breeds disconnection.