FOX WESH 2 NEWS. GREG, THANK YOU. AND IN A CASE LIKE THIS THAT IS SO HEARTBREAKING, WE ARE JUST JUST LEFT WITH SO MANY QUESTIONS RIGHT? WESH 2’S MICHELLE. MEREDITH. TALK TO A MENTAL HEALTH EXPERT TODAY TO TRY TO BRING AS BEST WE CAN, SOME PERSPECTIVE. GUT WRENCHING CASE. CASES LIKE THIS CANNOT POSSIBLY BE EXPLAINED, BUT WE WANTED TO TRY TO BRING SOME PERSPECTIVE BY TALKING TO A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. MIMI HALL IS A LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST. MY FIRST QUESTION OFTEN IN TRAGEDIES LIKE THIS, WHY DOES A PARENT FEEL COMPELLED TO KILL THEIR OWN CHILDREN? FROM THE MOTHERS PERSPECTIVE. LIV SHE MAY IN FACT THINK SHE WAS DOING THE CHILDREN A FAVOR AND WE SEE THAT ALL TOO OFTEN WHERE THE MOTHER SAYS, I’M GOING TO DO THIS BECAUSE I WANT TO PROTECT THEM FROM WHAT COULD HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, OR MAYBE I’M GOING TO COMMIT SUICIDE AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE CHILDREN AN AFTER THAT. HOW CAN MONEY ISSUES FACTOR INTO DECISIONS THAT ARE LIFE ENDING WHEN THEY HAVE FINANCIAL ISSUES? IT’S NOT JUST THE MONEY ITSELF, BUT HOW DO I TAKE CARE OF THIS CHILD? HOW DO I PROVIDE THEM FOOD? HOW DO I PROVIDE THEM SHELTER? HOW DO I TAKE CARE OF THEIR BASIC NEEDS? HOW DO I AFFORD TO GO TO THE DOCTOR? SO ALL THOSE THINGS PLAY IN. AND WHEN A PARENT FEELS LIKE THEY JUST CAN’T DO IT AND THEY DON’T HAVE THE MONEY TO DO IT OR THEY CAN’T BORROW ANY MORE MONEY, THEY FEEL AT WIT’S END. AND FINALLY, WHY WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES LIKE DEPRESSION, ARE FAMILIES CAUGHT OFF GUARD WHEN THEIR LOVED ONE DIES BY SUICIDE? THAT IS NOT UNUSUAL. MOST OF THE TIME PEOPLE AROUND YOU NEVER THINK YOU’LL DO THAT BECAUSE YOU PUT ON A HAPPY FACE. YOU LET PEOPLE THINK IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY AND THEN YOU DON’T SHARE THE HARD TIMES WITH THEM. YOU SHARE THE GOOD TIMES. AND SO PEOPLE AROUND DON’T SEE JUST HOW MUCH YOU’RE SUFFERING. MIMI SAYS. WE DON’T QUESTION PHYSICAL ILLNESSES LIKE CANCER OR DIABETES, BUT WITH MENTAL ILLNESS WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO. MICHELLE MEREDITH. WESH 2 NEWS. AND REMEMBER, IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH HELP IS AVAILABLE, REMEMBER THIS EASY THREE DIGIT NUMBER 988, EIGHT. THAT IS THE NUMBER FOR THE NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH AND CRISIS LIFELINE. YOU CAN CALL OR TEXT 24
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Florida psychologist discusses mental health awareness
Updated: 6:22 PM EDT Oct 20, 2023
Gut-wrenching cases, such as the deaths of a mother and her two children in Sanford, can not be explained, but we want to bring some perspective as best we can by talking to a mental health professional. Mimi Hull is a licensed psychologist. Our first question: In tragedies like this, why does the parent feel compelled to kill their own children? “From a mother’s perspective, she may in fact think she was doing the children a favor, and we see that all too often, where the mother says, ‘I’m going to do this because I want to protect them from what could happen in the future or maybe I’m going to commit suicide and I don’t know what’s going to happen to the children after that,’” Hull said. Another question was how can money issues factor into decisions that are life-ending? “When you have financial issues, it’s not just the money itself but ‘how do I take care of the child, how do I provide them food, how do I provide them shelter, how do I take care of their basic needs, how do I afford to go to the doctor?’ So all those things play in when a parent feels like they just can’t do it, they don’t have the money to do it, and they can’t borrow any more money, they feel at wits in,” Hull said. And our final question was why, with mental health issues like depression, are families caught off guard when their loved ones die by suicide? “That is not unusual. Most the time people around you never think you would do that because you put on a happy face,” Hull said. “You let them think, ‘It’s going to be OK’ and you don’t share the hard times with them. You share the good times. So people around just don’t know how much you are suffering.” Hull says when it comes to physical illness, like cancer or diabetes, we don’t question it. But when it comes to mental health, we still have a long way to go. If you or someone you know is struggling, there are resources available:Harbor House of Central Florida 24-hour confidential crisis hotline: 407-886-2856Victim Service Center of Central Florida 24/7 helpline: 407-500-HEALNational Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 and in English and Spanish: 1-800-799-7233United Way of Central Florida 2-1-1 services: Call or text 211 for confidential domestic abuse support, and other services.If you or someone you know may be contemplating suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.orgNational Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Orlando: click here.Mental Health Association of Central Florida: click here.
Gut-wrenching cases, such as the deaths of a mother and her two children in Sanford, can not be explained, but we want to bring some perspective as best we can by talking to a mental health professional.
Mimi Hull is a licensed psychologist.
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Our first question: In tragedies like this, why does the parent feel compelled to kill their own children?
“From a mother’s perspective, she may in fact think she was doing the children a favor, and we see that all too often, where the mother says, ‘I’m going to do this because I want to protect them from what could happen in the future or maybe I’m going to commit suicide and I don’t know what’s going to happen to the children after that,’” Hull said.
Another question was how can money issues factor into decisions that are life-ending?
“When you have financial issues, it’s not just the money itself but ‘how do I take care of the child, how do I provide them food, how do I provide them shelter, how do I take care of their basic needs, how do I afford to go to the doctor?’ So all those things play in when a parent feels like they just can’t do it, they don’t have the money to do it, and they can’t borrow any more money, they feel at wits in,” Hull said.
And our final question was why, with mental health issues like depression, are families caught off guard when their loved ones die by suicide?
“That is not unusual. Most the time people around you never think you would do that because you put on a happy face,” Hull said. “You let them think, ‘It’s going to be OK’ and you don’t share the hard times with them. You share the good times. So people around just don’t know how much you are suffering.”
Hull says when it comes to physical illness, like cancer or diabetes, we don’t question it. But when it comes to mental health, we still have a long way to go.
If you or someone you know is struggling, there are resources available:
- Harbor House of Central Florida 24-hour confidential crisis hotline: 407-886-2856
- Victim Service Center of Central Florida 24/7 helpline: 407-500-HEAL
- National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 and in English and Spanish: 1-800-799-7233
- United Way of Central Florida 2-1-1 services: Call or text 211 for confidential domestic abuse support, and other services.
- If you or someone you know may be contemplating suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
- National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Orlando: click here.
- Mental Health Association of Central Florida: click here.