Latest / Aired Out / MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS AND BEYOND - Karen Kurrle - Washington County Mental Health

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MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS AND BEYOND - Karen Kurrle - Washington County Mental Health · Aired Out

1:51
Speaker 1: Look at a live picture of Waterberry this morning, Exit
1:58
Speaker 1: ten right there, as you can see, the roads are
2:02
Speaker 1: pretty clear going. There's Bethel, there's Brookfield, there's Hartford. Clear
2:10
Speaker 1: roads this morning. Another shot of Brookfield and Hartford. That's
2:17
Speaker 1: you know, a little bit of snow in the forecast,
2:20
Speaker 1: but again the roads are well this morning, in good shape.
2:25
Speaker 1: We do have some snow coming. Yeah, I guess you
2:28
Speaker 1: could say it's the first official winter storm, if you
2:35
Speaker 1: want to say, storm of the winter that is coming
2:39
Speaker 1: our way. But that looks like twenty eight degrees right now,
2:44
Speaker 1: nine oh four. Partly cloudy today, some snow showers, and
2:47
Speaker 1: around thirty degrees only for the daytime high, so not
2:52
Speaker 1: going to be warming up too much beyond where we
2:54
Speaker 1: are right now. Tonight cloudy and cold fourteen that's going
2:58
Speaker 1: to be a chilly one, and then tomorrow several inches
3:01
Speaker 1: of snow. How much snow it kind of depends on
3:07
Speaker 1: where you are. I've seen one to three, I've seen
3:09
Speaker 1: three to five, and i've seen you know, eighty inches
3:13
Speaker 1: in the hills. So just drive carefully tomorrow. Depended on
3:18
Speaker 1: where you need to be. I think you're going to
3:20
Speaker 1: be in pretty good shape, especially if you got the
3:23
Speaker 1: snow tires on. There is so much that needs to
3:30
Speaker 1: be and will be said this week. Here on aired
3:35
Speaker 1: out a long, long laundry list, and we're going to
3:41
Speaker 1: get to it. We are going to be chipping away.
3:43
Speaker 1: There's going to be a massive amount of content this week.
3:49
Speaker 1: It is a busy, busy time. Of course. Our community
3:53
Speaker 1: calendar is just chammed up with everything that's going on,
3:59
Speaker 1: not only the Toys for Tots event up at five
4:03
Speaker 1: Below up at the Berlin Mall on Saturday, but the
4:08
Speaker 1: coin drop with Christmas for Kids on Saturday. We've got
4:13
Speaker 1: Donnybrook Fight Promotions doing the Battle in Barry eighteen at
4:17
Speaker 1: the Burry Auditorium on Saturday night. Heartless is signed on,
4:23
Speaker 1: They're part of the bill. They're gonna be rocking out.
4:26
Speaker 1: It's gonna be a fantastic week. And again there's gonna
4:34
Speaker 1: be content that has come in your way that is
4:39
Speaker 1: all over the spectrum. This morning, a guest that I
4:44
Speaker 1: have had booked for quite a while, and I am
4:48
Speaker 1: so glad that we finally reconnected. Karen Curly. You were
4:54
Speaker 1: from Washington County Mental Health. You were on the air
4:57
Speaker 1: with me a time ago. Yes, well, welcome back. Thank
5:01
Speaker 1: you glad that you're here. We were just chatting off
5:06
Speaker 1: the air about the holidays and how mental health can
5:15
Speaker 1: be very, very challenging during the holidays, and I'm talking
5:19
Speaker 1: even well before Thanksgiving. Anticipatory stress of leading up to
5:26
Speaker 1: it can trigger all kinds of stuff. Some of us
5:29
Speaker 1: have had great years, some of us have had some
5:33
Speaker 1: unfortunate things that have happened to us. And this might
5:37
Speaker 1: be one of the first holidays that we're having without someone,
5:43
Speaker 1: whether it's another individual or a pet, or something that
5:49
Speaker 1: we love and have cherished in the past. And where
5:54
Speaker 1: do we begin to buckle up on stuff like this?
5:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks, first of all so much for having us
6:01
Speaker 2: here this morning to talk about mental health and suicide
6:05
Speaker 2: prevention and mental wellness and connection with others and supports
6:13
Speaker 2: for ourselves and others. So I just want to say
6:15
Speaker 2: thank you first of all for having us here. You
6:20
Speaker 2: are so right JD around. Holidays are complicated. Times, the
6:25
Speaker 2: end of the year are complicated. I think sometimes there's
6:29
Speaker 2: a stereotype that these are joyous times and festive times,
6:35
Speaker 2: and they certainly can be. They certainly can be very
6:39
Speaker 2: fun and can be about gathering and enjoying each other's company.
6:45
Speaker 2: And they also can be as you were talking about,
6:48
Speaker 2: really complicated related to reflecting on the year and potential loss.
6:56
Speaker 2: They can be times that trigger memories for folks that
7:00
Speaker 2: are unpleasant and complicated and complex related to potential trauma.
7:07
Speaker 2: They can be really stressful, stressful related to I may
7:11
Speaker 2: just event your introduction about this week and it's a
7:14
Speaker 2: really really busy time. They can be stressful in terms
7:18
Speaker 2: of your schedule. They can be stressful in terms of finances,
7:23
Speaker 2: in terms of conflictual relationships. There's a number of different
7:30
Speaker 2: stressors that also can be present. The other piece this
7:36
Speaker 2: time of year that you've also already mentioned is the weather,
7:39
Speaker 2: and in Vermont, while snow it can be really beautiful,
7:44
Speaker 2: it's also dark and cold and can be really isolating.
7:48
Speaker 2: And so we're really grateful for the opportunity to promote
7:53
Speaker 2: mental health resources for folks, to promote some ideas about
7:59
Speaker 2: healthy coping during this time of the year and let
8:05
Speaker 2: folks know we're here. We're here to help and to
8:08
Speaker 2: support people.
8:09
Speaker 3: We're going to put out.
8:10
Speaker 1: A whole ton of information here, but I don't want
8:14
Speaker 1: you to feel like you need to write any of
8:17
Speaker 1: this down, because we will have it in the comments,
8:21
Speaker 1: especially if you're driving. We'll have all this information put
8:24
Speaker 1: right in the comment section here on this episode to
8:28
Speaker 1: make sure that you have that available to you. But
8:31
Speaker 1: mental health is it's achievable, I think is the main
8:35
Speaker 1: message that Washington County Mental Health is trying to push
8:40
Speaker 1: here is that regardless of what time of year, regardless
8:44
Speaker 1: of whether there's a crisis that's going on in your
8:48
Speaker 1: life or not, there's resources available to you. You don't
8:52
Speaker 1: have to be a client of Washington County Mental Health
8:57
Speaker 1: to call any of these phone numbers or to speak
9:00
Speaker 1: with a real person on the other end of the line.
9:03
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely so, there are a few resources that are
9:07
Speaker 2: really important to highlight. And you're absolutely right. We're here
9:12
Speaker 2: to promote mental health for everyone, and so our line
9:17
Speaker 2: is available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
9:21
Speaker 2: Anyone can call. They can call about themselves, they can
9:23
Speaker 2: call about someone else. It doesn't have to be an emergency.
9:27
Speaker 2: And our number is eight oh two two two nine
9:30
Speaker 2: zero five nine to one. There is always somebody available
9:35
Speaker 2: to answer the phone and answer the call. They're also
9:40
Speaker 2: in our state now is a number nine eight eight
9:44
Speaker 2: that people can call, and you can also text that line,
9:49
Speaker 2: it's answered informont. We work really closely with the folks
9:53
Speaker 2: who answer that line where they provide the support, and
9:58
Speaker 2: then they also can transfer folks over to us for
10:02
Speaker 2: more localized resources in Washington County. Anyone can also call
10:10
Speaker 2: to say hey, I can call eight oh two two
10:14
Speaker 2: two nine zero five nine one to say I'm looking
10:18
Speaker 2: for services for myself or a family member related to
10:24
Speaker 2: mental health, related to substance use, services related to developmental services.
10:31
Speaker 3: Wow.
10:31
Speaker 1: And if you're a veteran and you call the nine
10:36
Speaker 1: eighty eight, there's a separate part of that. You press one.
10:41
Speaker 2: That's correct. That's correct. So veterans, first of all, thank
10:45
Speaker 2: you to them for their service for our country. And
10:48
Speaker 2: they absolutely can call our number any again, anyone can
10:52
Speaker 2: call our number because veterans don't always want to use
10:55
Speaker 2: veterans specific services, so they absolutely can call our number.
11:00
Speaker 2: Can call nine to eight eight and push one and
11:02
Speaker 2: they will get a specialized contact related to veterans or
11:07
Speaker 2: they could not. And then also there is a special
11:10
Speaker 2: line through the Veterans Association that is available for vet's
11:16
Speaker 2: twenty fourths of them as well.
11:18
Speaker 1: Some of us feel that just that that a person
11:26
Speaker 1: on the other end of the phone isn't going to
11:29
Speaker 1: solve our problems, so why bother calling you know that?
11:36
Speaker 1: That's the notion. I think that is counterproductive and we
11:43
Speaker 1: need to push against that. We need to we need
11:46
Speaker 1: to get people to realize that just beginning a conversation
11:53
Speaker 1: is the start of maybe gathering some resources or knowing
11:58
Speaker 1: which road you're going to go down, but also just
12:01
Speaker 1: having some conversation. There's a level of privacy that that's
12:07
Speaker 1: that's there.
12:09
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, and you're right j D. I don't know
12:13
Speaker 2: as though I can solve anybody's problems. I don't have
12:19
Speaker 2: magic answers to people's real, genuine stressors and hard feelings,
12:26
Speaker 2: So I don't pretend to have any of those things.
12:31
Speaker 2: What I what I will say is that sharing with
12:35
Speaker 2: someone else in whatever you're struggling through, that connection, uh
12:41
Speaker 2: makes the weight of that burden shared and therefore less heavy. Yeah,
12:50
Speaker 2: and you're not alone. And that's what we absolutely can offer.
12:55
Speaker 2: We also can offer some trained idea related to healthy
13:01
Speaker 2: coping strategies to deal with stressors. We also have connection
13:05
Speaker 2: to resources that can help people with lessening their burden,
13:11
Speaker 2: lessening their problems. All of our calls are confidential. So
13:17
Speaker 2: to your point about privacy, I am not interested in
13:23
Speaker 2: gossip or telling someone else's story. I feel very strongly
13:28
Speaker 2: that everyone has their own story. Everyone has strengths, and
13:35
Speaker 2: everyone has challenges, everyone has stressors they face. No one
13:39
Speaker 2: knows what it's like what another person is going through,
13:42
Speaker 2: And sometimes I think there's a perception that other people
13:46
Speaker 2: have everything together, they know what they're doing, and it's
13:50
Speaker 2: just me and I'm the only one by myself. And
13:54
Speaker 2: I can assure you after all these years that everybody,
13:59
Speaker 2: I think there's lots of quote out there now around
14:01
Speaker 2: everyone's carrying a burden you don't know anything about, and
14:04
Speaker 2: everyone has a story to tell that other people will
14:09
Speaker 2: never know the complications and intricacies.
14:13
Speaker 3: Of that story or even hear it.
14:16
Speaker 2: Exactly, yeah, exactly.
14:19
Speaker 1: Last night, first of all, an amazing weekend for me.
14:25
Speaker 1: Went to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. We got the
14:29
Speaker 1: Christmas Tree. I mean, it was just an incredible weekend.
14:34
Speaker 1: Last night, We're sitting on the couch, we got the uh,
14:38
Speaker 1: we got the tree all lit up for the first time,
14:41
Speaker 1: and we're doing the hot Coco, my wife and my
14:45
Speaker 1: little girl, and we're just we're having such a great time,
14:50
Speaker 1: and we got the music of course going and I'm
14:54
Speaker 1: a big, big Andy Williams fan, and the song came on,
15:01
Speaker 1: it's the most wonderful time of the year, and I
15:05
Speaker 1: got thinking about every time I hear that song during
15:12
Speaker 1: the holidays, how it's not the most wonderful time you
15:17
Speaker 1: hear for so many of us. It's the worst time
15:20
Speaker 1: of year. The music, the decorations. And I don't want
15:29
Speaker 1: to sound like Adebbie Downer here this morning, you know,
15:32
Speaker 1: first thing on a cloudy, dreary Monday, but it's it's
15:36
Speaker 1: hard for a lot of people. And there's almost this
15:40
Speaker 1: expectation that if your friends or your other family members
15:44
Speaker 1: or who your co workers, whoever, are feeling festive and
15:48
Speaker 1: feeling good, feeling happy, that you have to ride that wave,
15:55
Speaker 1: and if you don't, you might be called the grin
16:00
Speaker 1: or whatever.
16:02
Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying.
16:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think one of the things that you pointed
16:07
Speaker 2: out really well there is related to just a reminder
16:11
Speaker 2: for ourselves around what we're saying to others, and even
16:17
Speaker 2: in just even in joking around, like oh, you're being
16:20
Speaker 2: such a grinch, No one intends any sort of harm
16:26
Speaker 2: in saying something like that, but it is a great
16:29
Speaker 2: reminder that this time of year is complicated, and even
16:34
Speaker 2: when somebody enjoys the festivities and enjoys the busy schedule,
16:39
Speaker 2: it still also can lead to not sleeping as much,
16:44
Speaker 2: not eating in your usual way, not having your usual routine,
16:47
Speaker 2: not going out for a walk that you normally would
16:50
Speaker 2: because you're so busy. And so I think the message
16:55
Speaker 2: that I would promote is related to I don't know
16:59
Speaker 2: if this is the best time of the year necessarily,
17:02
Speaker 2: but we could say it's a time of connection and
17:05
Speaker 2: a time of kindness for others, related to accepting that
17:10
Speaker 2: people are in different places related to the holidays and
17:14
Speaker 2: they have their reasons for that, and being kind to
17:17
Speaker 2: them around It's good to see you, good morning, I'm
17:21
Speaker 2: glad you're here. Whatever type of little tincture of connection
17:27
Speaker 2: goes a really long way.
17:28
Speaker 1: And you don't have to overdo it and to overcompensate
17:34
Speaker 1: and wrap garland around their neck and you know, throw
17:40
Speaker 1: a bunch of decorations their way either, right, you know,
17:44
Speaker 1: just allow them to whoever they are, to have their
17:49
Speaker 1: space and explanations aren't really needed.
17:55
Speaker 2: Exactly exactly, And I think just having that bit of
17:59
Speaker 2: pati and that bit of thinking around. I guess what
18:06
Speaker 2: I would say is that would be the best way
18:08
Speaker 2: to share the holiday season is to have patients and
18:12
Speaker 2: kindness for others and small ways of connecting that are
18:17
Speaker 2: genuine and just remembering in those ways for each of us.
18:23
Speaker 2: I think we all always are grateful when somebody says
18:29
Speaker 2: something kind to us, does a small kind gesture, has
18:32
Speaker 2: patients for us in our own way. Again, we all
18:36
Speaker 2: have strengths, and we all have challenges, and people accepting
18:40
Speaker 2: each other for those, particularly during such a busy time
18:45
Speaker 2: of the year that can be filled with lots of stress,
18:48
Speaker 2: is super important.
18:50
Speaker 1: Washington County Mental Health has been serving this central Vermount
18:55
Speaker 1: community for I want to say, what sixty five years?
19:00
Speaker 2: I think so yes, so many many decades.
19:02
Speaker 1: We're talking about right around ten thousand plus Vermonors directly
19:11
Speaker 1: or indirectly every single year, and that number has been
19:15
Speaker 1: on the uptick since COVID. I'm told from Washington County
19:21
Speaker 1: Mental Health there's such a wealth of information here again
19:27
Speaker 1: two two nine oh five nine one locally, I say,
19:33
Speaker 1: locally anywhere anywhere in Vermont eight oh two two two
19:38
Speaker 1: nine oh five nine one that's the main, most important
19:42
Speaker 1: number that's available twenty four to seven yes, which is remarkable.
19:48
Speaker 1: And then we have the Pathways peer support Warmline. I'm
19:53
Speaker 1: going to post all of this. I'm going to get
19:54
Speaker 1: all of this up on the page here eight six
19:57
Speaker 1: six four eight eight seven eighty six for the for
20:02
Speaker 1: the Trevor Project.
20:03
Speaker 3: But I think we just need to.
20:07
Speaker 1: Remember that we're not alone, that there's others that can
20:14
Speaker 1: relate to us who maybe have a sense of understanding
20:19
Speaker 1: or even a remote sense of understanding of what it
20:23
Speaker 1: is that we're going through. That help is here. That's
20:27
Speaker 1: the message that we need to push and that you know,
20:34
Speaker 1: I can't imagine being a suicide, a mental health screener
20:39
Speaker 1: and someone who's who's taken a call from someone who
20:43
Speaker 1: is that depressed, at that level of despair. I mean,
20:51
Speaker 1: it's it's really really serious. We need to remember remember
20:57
Speaker 1: a lot more than look the others. There's so many
21:03
Speaker 1: others that love you. This goes far beyond that, This
21:08
Speaker 1: goes far beyond that. Of course, we all have people
21:12
Speaker 1: in our lives that love us, But the message from
21:17
Speaker 1: a screener, I can't imagine what it would be. Just
21:22
Speaker 1: I think the message of hope that things can really
21:26
Speaker 1: turn around. I mean, look at how many stories there
21:28
Speaker 1: are of people who have contemplated but held on and
21:36
Speaker 1: now they're happy and maybe they've got kids and a
21:42
Speaker 1: whole new life. Hope is a powerful word. Yes, really is.
21:51
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, So I'll go back and then I'll come
21:55
Speaker 2: forward related to the last piece you said, But just
21:58
Speaker 2: going back to your point about the Pathways Warm line.
22:03
Speaker 2: Pathways does a great job. They have a twenty four
22:06
Speaker 2: to seven peer based line where they also are available
22:12
Speaker 2: to folks throughout the state of Vermont and provide support
22:16
Speaker 2: through conversation to folks. The Trevor Project is a wonderful
22:23
Speaker 2: initiative specific to the LGBTQ plus community, and they have
22:30
Speaker 2: a specific line. They're just really quickly about that line.
22:36
Speaker 2: The current administration in the nation had discontinued funding for
22:43
Speaker 2: the Trevor Project. They have figured out currently how to
22:48
Speaker 2: keep their line available. If anyone runs into any trouble
22:52
Speaker 2: with that, please just call us at two two nine
22:54
Speaker 2: erh five nine to one and we will figure out
22:57
Speaker 2: what is happening there. But just wanted to promote those
23:00
Speaker 2: two lines as well, because they're incredibly important and vital
23:04
Speaker 2: resources that are also available to folks. So in terms
23:09
Speaker 2: of being an emergency screener, this is what I will
23:13
Speaker 2: say that I always say about our jobs, the person
23:16
Speaker 2: who's answering that phone twenty four hours a day, seven
23:19
Speaker 2: days a week. I always say that we have the
23:22
Speaker 2: most hopeful jobs in the world. And people can think
23:26
Speaker 2: that's a really strange thing to say as a crisis clinician,
23:29
Speaker 2: But from my perspective, I'm still talking to the person,
23:34
Speaker 2: and I'm still listening, and I'm still trying to have
23:37
Speaker 2: that connection, and that is such an honor and a
23:40
Speaker 2: privilege to be able to do that to the people
23:46
Speaker 2: trust us with in their hardest time, that maybe we
23:52
Speaker 2: could provide some kind of help and support. Is we
23:56
Speaker 2: have the best jobs in the world from my perspective,
24:00
Speaker 2: and I'm so grateful when people reach out and give
24:04
Speaker 2: us the opportunity to try to be helpful.
24:07
Speaker 1: There's a documentary that we have been promoting here on
24:13
Speaker 1: our page, but let's talk about it right now because
24:16
Speaker 1: it's coming I think a week from tomorrow, Yes, all right,
24:21
Speaker 1: at the Savoy Theater and it's called The S Word.
24:25
Speaker 1: Tell me about this.
24:26
Speaker 2: Yes, yep. So this is part of Washington County Mental
24:29
Speaker 2: Health is sponsoring this event next Tuesday, December ninth, six o'clock.
24:36
Speaker 2: The door is open at five point thirty at the
24:38
Speaker 2: Savoy in Montpellier. It's a free event and we will
24:42
Speaker 2: show a viewing of the S Word and then we
24:45
Speaker 2: have a panel discussion after with some folks related to
24:51
Speaker 2: We have a person on our panel who is a
24:55
Speaker 2: suicide experience survivor. We have people on the panel from
25:02
Speaker 2: the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Health,
25:06
Speaker 2: and we have folks from Washington County Mental Health Emergency
25:10
Speaker 2: Services on our panel. So that will be following the film.
25:14
Speaker 2: The film itself is a film that was made in
25:18
Speaker 2: twenty seventeen. The woman who came up with the idea
25:25
Speaker 2: for the film is a person who attempted to take
25:28
Speaker 2: her own life and felt really strongly that she wanted
25:33
Speaker 2: to ensure that people are not alone and they have
25:37
Speaker 2: connection and that they know there are people out there
25:41
Speaker 2: who understand what it's like to have thoughts about taking
25:45
Speaker 2: your own life, even when it doesn't make any sense
25:49
Speaker 2: to the person themselves. So she goes around and interviews
25:55
Speaker 2: folks who have attempted to take their own lives. And
26:00
Speaker 2: their different reflection reflections. One of the things that I
26:04
Speaker 2: love about the film is that it's a wide variety
26:07
Speaker 2: of people. So mental health, mental illness, mental stress, substance use,
26:15
Speaker 2: developmental disabilities do not discriminate, and every walk of life
26:22
Speaker 2: is touched by them. It doesn't matter what your socioeconomic
26:27
Speaker 2: status is, it doesn't matter what your ethnic background is,
26:32
Speaker 2: it doesn't matter who you are. Mental health does not discriminate.
26:39
Speaker 2: And so the film, we want to promote the film
26:41
Speaker 2: related to suicide prevention efforts and allow people the opportunity
26:47
Speaker 2: for connection and understanding of resources.
26:52
Speaker 1: My programming on Wednesdays is connect Did to Sweethearts and Heroes,
27:03
Speaker 1: incredible organization that is a student empowerment organization that was
27:11
Speaker 1: rooted here in Vermont and goes to schools everywhere. They've
27:15
Speaker 1: been to thousands of schools all over the region. And
27:19
Speaker 1: it was interrupted last week with a last minute guest
27:26
Speaker 1: that that had to come on to replace someone else.
27:30
Speaker 3: That was.
27:33
Speaker 1: My actual guest. They had a teenager in the school
27:38
Speaker 1: who committed suicide. So they're dealing with that, you know,
27:45
Speaker 1: the day before Thanksgiving. Yeah, so they're they're digging their
27:54
Speaker 1: their heels into that and dealing with that at the school.
28:00
Speaker 3: Today. But this is it happens everywhere. It happens everywhere.
28:07
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. Suicide is the second leading cause of death
28:12
Speaker 2: in young people ages ten to thirty, and the only
28:19
Speaker 2: other cause of death in teenagers that's higher is accidental
28:25
Speaker 2: deaths like car accidents. And I'm really sorry for that
28:29
Speaker 2: community's loss, for that young person's loss, for their family,
28:35
Speaker 2: and that community's loss. I'm familiar with the situation that
28:38
Speaker 2: you're talking about, and our sympathies and condolences certainly go
28:44
Speaker 2: out to that community. The school systems are they get
28:52
Speaker 2: training related to suicide prevention, intervention, and what we call postvention,
28:58
Speaker 2: which means what are doing today are considered postvention efforts.
29:04
Speaker 2: And we partner the local designated agency, which Washington County
29:08
Speaker 2: Mental Health is for our county. We partner with our
29:12
Speaker 2: school systems to work together to promote mental health, to
29:19
Speaker 2: promote healthy coping strategies, to promote connection, and trying to
29:25
Speaker 2: promote the message of you are not alone. Being a
29:29
Speaker 2: kid and a teenager is both wonderful and amazing and
29:34
Speaker 2: is also incredibly complicated and stressful and anxiety producing, and
29:42
Speaker 2: is a time of life that I feel like ignites
29:47
Speaker 2: in many people of you don't understand I am alone,
29:51
Speaker 2: I'm weird or a misfit, or even when I'm with people,
29:56
Speaker 2: I feel alone. And I think the school systems work
30:02
Speaker 2: really hard with their guidance departments, with their lots of
30:07
Speaker 2: them have social workers who work in the school systems
30:12
Speaker 2: to promote mental health resources and social connection and social
30:21
Speaker 2: acceptance for their student body. And it is really sad
30:26
Speaker 2: they Our school systems all have plans in place for
30:33
Speaker 2: responding to tragedies when someone dies by suicide.
30:37
Speaker 3: Again, the.
30:40
Speaker 1: Screening of this the S word is one week from tomorrow,
30:47
Speaker 1: so it's a Tuesday.
30:48
Speaker 3: What is the date on that day?
30:49
Speaker 2: December ninth, the ninth.
30:51
Speaker 1: Okay at the Savoy Theater in Montpelier, five point thirty doors,
30:57
Speaker 1: six o'clock showing. Yes, okay, what's the Do we know
31:02
Speaker 1: that the ticket price to get into it?
31:04
Speaker 2: It's free, It's free, free, absolutely, it's free. Yes, yes.
31:10
Speaker 2: We At Washington County Mental Health there's an initiative, a
31:14
Speaker 2: public health initiative called Zero Suicide and the mission of
31:20
Speaker 2: Zero Suicide is to reduce the goal is to reduce
31:24
Speaker 2: deaths by suicide to zero. And at Washington County Mental Health.
31:28
Speaker 2: We have a committee, We have received donations, we have
31:33
Speaker 2: received grants in order to promote events like our event
31:40
Speaker 2: next Tuesday the ninth at the Savoy, and so it's free.
31:47
Speaker 1: Is Washington County Mental Health able to get hold of
31:53
Speaker 1: this documentary and actually have it?
31:55
Speaker 2: We do?
31:56
Speaker 3: Okay, perfect, we do. Yes.
31:58
Speaker 1: This is you know, knee jerk here, but it's like,
32:03
Speaker 1: this is the kind of thing that should be shown
32:08
Speaker 1: more than just once a year. Yes, you know, if
32:12
Speaker 1: there's any conflict that someone's not able to make it
32:15
Speaker 1: or whatever, it should be something that you know, I
32:19
Speaker 1: think should be shown again.
32:20
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, So if anybody is listening to this and
32:24
Speaker 2: can't make it next Tuesday and wants information, they can
32:26
Speaker 2: call me at that same number two two nine zero
32:29
Speaker 2: five nine one, and I'm happy to problem solve with
32:32
Speaker 2: anyone around or happy to talk through. If someone isn't
32:37
Speaker 2: available to make it next Tuesday, someone could also rent
32:41
Speaker 2: the movie themselves on Amazon for three dollars. The only
32:45
Speaker 2: thing I will say about that is watching a movie
32:49
Speaker 2: by like that by yourself, just making sure that you
32:52
Speaker 2: have resources and supports available.
32:56
Speaker 3: It's heavy.
32:57
Speaker 2: It's heavy, it is, it is and so we just
33:00
Speaker 2: want to make sure that people are supported, and we
33:03
Speaker 2: will at our event, we have people there to ensure
33:07
Speaker 2: that people are supported.
33:11
Speaker 1: Let's also mention this morning that if you're going through
33:15
Speaker 1: a rough patch, Washington County Mental Health's Access Hub on
33:22
Speaker 1: Berry Street in Montellier is ready to help you. I
33:25
Speaker 1: think you've got to be eighteen plus yes to get
33:30
Speaker 1: some services there.
33:31
Speaker 3: But it's you'll walk in.
33:33
Speaker 1: Yes, no appointment needed, yep, absolutely, no matter what it is.
33:36
Speaker 1: You can talk about anything, yes, physical, mental, whatever, yes.
33:41
Speaker 2: Yes. So the Access Hub is a wonderful program that
33:46
Speaker 2: was developed a couple of years ago. It's located at
33:49
Speaker 2: thirty four Berry Street. It's meant to be a mental
33:53
Speaker 2: health urgent care clinic, and it's based upon a model
33:59
Speaker 2: called the living room model, which is meant to be
34:03
Speaker 2: really welcoming to folks to your point JD. For whatever
34:07
Speaker 2: stressor they're going through, whether it's mental health, whether it's
34:10
Speaker 2: substance use, whether it's physical resources that are needed. We
34:16
Speaker 2: want people. We welcome people to walk through our doors.
34:19
Speaker 2: We have peer support specialists who welcome folks in and
34:24
Speaker 2: say we're glad you're here. Come on in, let's talk
34:27
Speaker 2: through what's happening for you. We have access to case
34:31
Speaker 2: management through access Hub. We have access to brief therapy,
34:37
Speaker 2: to psychiatric services and also to nursing services there. So yes,
34:44
Speaker 2: anyone is welcome at any point in time to Monday.
34:47
Speaker 2: Access Hub is open Monday through Thursday from seven o'clock
34:51
Speaker 2: in the morning till seven pm on Fridays from seven
34:55
Speaker 2: to four and anyone is welcome to walk through our
34:59
Speaker 2: doors for supports.
35:01
Speaker 1: It's on the Downing Street side thirty four Barry Street.
35:05
Speaker 1: I think there's a sign right out there.
35:07
Speaker 2: There is.
35:08
Speaker 3: There is eighth two.
35:09
Speaker 1: Three oh one thirty two hundred and again I'm going
35:13
Speaker 1: to be posting all this stuff up up there, but
35:16
Speaker 1: you know, in even mental health providers themselves, my gosh,
35:23
Speaker 1: I mean, we can't forget about that.
35:25
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, that's a great point. It's really important. I'll
35:30
Speaker 2: tie this together to both mental health providers and also
35:34
Speaker 2: the holidays. It's really important to take care of yourself
35:37
Speaker 2: as well. And I think you know, our profession has
35:42
Speaker 2: a term for it called vicarious trauma, and what that
35:46
Speaker 2: means is when listening to other people's stories or being
35:49
Speaker 2: present with other people's stories of hardship and stress and
35:55
Speaker 2: heightened emotions. It can be really hard for the person
35:57
Speaker 2: and the mental health provider, or it can be very
36:01
Speaker 2: stressful and overwhelming, and so it's really important that mental
36:05
Speaker 2: health providers take care of themselves. And that's the same
36:09
Speaker 2: for all of us at the holiday seasons as well,
36:12
Speaker 2: related to sleep and eating and any way we can
36:18
Speaker 2: move ourselves. Physical movement is a healthy coping strategy, even
36:25
Speaker 2: if it's an even if it's in your own home
36:28
Speaker 2: and you're taking some steps from within your home from
36:32
Speaker 2: the couch to the kitchen to the bathroom, you're taking
36:34
Speaker 2: some steps, you're moving. Any way that we can help
36:41
Speaker 2: ourselves physically will also help us emotionally. That's just an
36:45
Speaker 2: example of a healthy coping strategy.
36:48
Speaker 1: Central fromont counsel on Eaching just posted a nice rite
36:53
Speaker 1: up in the world about caregivers and how difficult that
37:01
Speaker 1: can be. And man, the word caregiving is a massive umbrella.
37:09
Speaker 1: I mean, you could be caregiving for an elderly parent,
37:14
Speaker 1: or a sick patent at home, or a child in
37:17
Speaker 1: school that's having particularly difficult time. You could be trying
37:23
Speaker 1: to caregive for yourself and maybe not doing a great job,
37:27
Speaker 1: justifiably so, but caregiving is throw that into the mix,
37:34
Speaker 1: especially during the holidays. It's big stuff. And none of us,
37:42
Speaker 1: not all of us are walking around with cape song.
37:46
Speaker 1: I mean, we're trying to be superheroes, but some of
37:50
Speaker 1: us are just having a hard time. Yeah, this is
37:55
Speaker 1: a perfect example of another way, another resource from Washington
38:02
Speaker 1: County Mental Health where you can walk in there no
38:05
Speaker 1: appointment needed, to the access Hub and say, hey, here's
38:10
Speaker 1: what's going on, what advice do you have for me?
38:13
Speaker 1: And at the very least you're going to get pointed
38:16
Speaker 1: in the right direction.
38:17
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely so at the access Hub. That is true.
38:22
Speaker 2: I'll talk quickly about a few different resources that we had.
38:25
Speaker 2: So the access Hub is a place you can walk into.
38:29
Speaker 2: You can also call too to nine SERA five, nine
38:31
Speaker 2: to one and say i'd like I'm interested in some services,
38:38
Speaker 2: and we will then schedule you with someone. We have
38:44
Speaker 2: different programs available for folks who are having an urgent
38:48
Speaker 2: need for services. We also have access to appointments for
38:55
Speaker 2: folks who are looking for ongoing therapy or ongoing other services.
39:00
Speaker 2: And it really is as straightforward as calling that line
39:05
Speaker 2: and saying something like I'm interested in services, and then
39:10
Speaker 2: it's our job to get you to the right place,
39:13
Speaker 2: and that should happen for folks with welcoming. We're where,
39:20
Speaker 2: we want people, We're happy you're here. We want people
39:24
Speaker 2: to call, we want people to walk into access hub.
39:29
Speaker 2: We want to be helpful to folks, and so that
39:33
Speaker 2: is another way. That number is the door in to
39:39
Speaker 2: our service array for mental health, for substance use services.
39:43
Speaker 2: So we have a wide array also of substance use
39:46
Speaker 2: services for folks who are struggling with substance use, and
39:53
Speaker 2: also for our developmental service programs. We serve everyone babies
39:58
Speaker 2: through the geriatric population. So anyone is welcome to receive
40:06
Speaker 2: services from us, including to your point, caregivers. So caregivers,
40:11
Speaker 2: back to your point about caregiving, caregiving is an incredibly complicated,
40:20
Speaker 2: uh complicated thing. I don't know what else to call it.
40:24
Speaker 2: Related to uh, there's lots of love that goes into caregiving,
40:32
Speaker 2: and it also can be incredibly complicated, incredibly stressful, and
40:37
Speaker 2: then people feel guilty because they're stressed and it's complicated
40:41
Speaker 2: and they're exhausted. And yes, yeah, yes, absolutely, and so
40:49
Speaker 2: yes we are here to try to be helpful to
40:54
Speaker 2: anyone for whatever the reason that they are stressed, including caregiving.
40:58
Speaker 1: The Phoenix Recovery Group just real briefly on that. I
41:04
Speaker 1: know they meet what Saturday morning's over at the well
41:07
Speaker 1: Space building which is right behind us on Summer Street.
41:10
Speaker 2: They do they do that is an incredible initiative of
41:16
Speaker 2: a collaboration. I think. Actually it's through the Green Mountain
41:21
Speaker 2: United Way, who has organized the Phoenix program, and then
41:27
Speaker 2: it's housed in a Washington County Mental Health building on
41:31
Speaker 2: Saturday mornings over on Summer Street, our well Space building,
41:37
Speaker 2: And so I'm always excited when we're doing collaborative work
41:43
Speaker 2: together with community partners. They've done some extraordinary work related
41:48
Speaker 2: to the recovery community for folks who have experienced substance
41:52
Speaker 2: use struggles, and they do an incredible powerful job of
42:00
Speaker 2: supporting people in the recovery journey.
42:03
Speaker 1: That building, twenty three Summer Street is such a powerhouse
42:10
Speaker 1: in our community.
42:12
Speaker 3: If you're.
42:14
Speaker 1: Maybe going through a little bit of the winter blues,
42:19
Speaker 1: you need to take a step into discovering self care wellness. Wednesday,
42:26
Speaker 1: and the next one is going to be December tenth. Wednesday,
42:31
Speaker 1: December tenth, right there in the well Space building and
42:35
Speaker 1: it's free. Everything's free all the services, acupuncture, acupressure, yoga, massage, table, massage, chair, massage,
42:44
Speaker 1: sound healing. What am I forgetting? There's so much more,
42:51
Speaker 1: but I'm just scratching the surface here.
42:53
Speaker 2: Yes, so you're absolutely right here in very well space
42:58
Speaker 2: is probably our washing and Encounty Mental Health Hub. So
43:02
Speaker 2: and and folks can certainly walk in there and say hey.
43:05
Speaker 2: During the daytime hours, there's always our wonderful administrative professional
43:11
Speaker 2: is there Monday through Friday and the front and she's
43:13
Speaker 2: fantastic to greet people and she'll get you, Yes, Robin
43:19
Speaker 2: is amazing and we'll get you where you need to
43:21
Speaker 2: go for supports. That building is a super cool, eclectic
43:26
Speaker 2: project of every single one of our divisions, our clinical
43:30
Speaker 2: divisions has a presence in that building in a lot
43:34
Speaker 2: of different ways. There's a gym, which is what Phoenix
43:37
Speaker 2: Rising uses as well, but there's a gym there. There's
43:41
Speaker 2: also a lot of art that is in the building
43:47
Speaker 2: related to different people have made the art and now
43:51
Speaker 2: it is on the walls and in the spaces. It's
43:54
Speaker 2: really cool. It's a very welcoming atmosphere. And then to
43:59
Speaker 2: your point, on Wednesdays, uh, there are wellness Wednesdays meant
44:04
Speaker 2: for people who are served by Washington County Mental Health,
44:08
Speaker 2: people who are employees of Washington County Mental Health, and
44:11
Speaker 2: community members who have nothing to do with Washington County
44:14
Speaker 2: Mental Health to promote again, one of the things that
44:17
Speaker 2: I love about Wellness Wednesdays is it promotes healthy coping
44:21
Speaker 2: strategies for our to try to decrease our stress and
44:27
Speaker 2: increase our healthy emotional bank if you will. And there's
44:33
Speaker 2: a lot of different options available, like you said, like
44:37
Speaker 2: massage and acupuncture and sound tuning is another crazy Yeah,
44:43
Speaker 2: they do some really incredible work there for sure.
44:47
Speaker 3: Detox of mind and body.
44:51
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, yes, the mind body connection is incredibly important
44:56
Speaker 2: and incredibly valuable and powerful all UH and UH. That
45:03
Speaker 2: event does a great job of showing people there are
45:06
Speaker 2: lots of different options available for UH coping and it's
45:13
Speaker 2: a it's a great event. If folks haven't gone, they
45:15
Speaker 2: should go and check it out.
45:17
Speaker 1: It's my hope that folks will share this episode knowing
45:24
Speaker 1: that I think beyond that, and I know we all
45:30
Speaker 1: we all want to be happy and positive this time
45:32
Speaker 1: of year.
45:33
Speaker 3: Of course I get that, But share this episode.
45:38
Speaker 1: With with whoever that you think could or should or
45:44
Speaker 1: might benefit from it, Even even just a little can
45:52
Speaker 1: make a big difference. And you know I have I've
45:55
Speaker 1: always said, and I've always felt, if we can connect
46:02
Speaker 1: with one person, we've medical we're successful. And I'm hoping
46:13
Speaker 1: that just in my brief chat with you this morning,
46:16
Speaker 1: that we've we've done that. I really hope that. Is
46:23
Speaker 1: there anything else you can think of that we should
46:25
Speaker 1: that we should mention.
46:27
Speaker 2: The only other thing that I would say, I'll just
46:29
Speaker 2: piggyback on what you just said. So back to promoting
46:32
Speaker 2: suicide prevention efforts and what folks who have attempted suicide want.
46:41
Speaker 2: The number one thing they say is people connecting with them.
46:47
Speaker 2: Asking how they are is the most valuable thing that
46:52
Speaker 2: any of us can do. Yeah, And I think sometimes
46:56
Speaker 2: we're really afraid to ask those questions of how are
46:59
Speaker 2: you and genuinely asking it, because then we're afraid of
47:02
Speaker 2: what if they don't answer? What if they answer in
47:06
Speaker 2: a way that I don't know how to handle. And
47:08
Speaker 2: what I want to say to folks is please ask
47:12
Speaker 2: the question, and we're here to help you. You also
47:15
Speaker 2: aren't alone around If someone then gives you an answer
47:19
Speaker 2: that's scarier, they say, yes, I am feeling suicidal. We
47:24
Speaker 2: are here to help walk folks through that, to be
47:28
Speaker 2: with people, and so again it's connection is a bit
47:31
Speaker 2: of like a ripple effect in a positive way related
47:37
Speaker 2: to asking that question will never promote ideas in somebody's
47:45
Speaker 2: head related to oh, I hadn't been thinking about suicide,
47:49
Speaker 2: and now you've made me think about that. Their research
47:52
Speaker 2: absolutely shows that people already have those thoughts when they
47:58
Speaker 2: have endorsed them. And the number one thing we can
48:01
Speaker 2: do as people to help each other is to your point,
48:04
Speaker 2: the connection and the genuinely asking how are you, or
48:08
Speaker 2: if I'm worried about someone saying to them, I'm concerned that,
48:14
Speaker 2: you know, you seem down. I'm concerned that during the
48:17
Speaker 2: holidays you seem stressed. I'm concerned that during this time
48:23
Speaker 2: when we're going all these festivities, it seems to be
48:26
Speaker 2: exhausting you. How are you doing? Asking those questions related
48:30
Speaker 2: to question to connection is the number one thing we
48:34
Speaker 2: can do to be helpful to each other.
48:38
Speaker 1: One point two million people commit suicide every year. Yes, unbelievable.
48:46
Speaker 1: And the holidays are the uptick Yes, yes, yes, don't
48:53
Speaker 1: miss the screaming of the S word. Tuesday, the ninth
48:59
Speaker 1: of dis five point thirty at the Savoy Theater in Montpillier.
49:05
Speaker 1: It's free be there. We're going to go out this
49:10
Speaker 1: morning with the trailer of the S word. Thank you
49:17
Speaker 1: so much for coming in here. I really appreciate it.
49:19
Speaker 1: Let's do it again.
49:20
Speaker 2: That sounds great. Thank you for having me.
49:22
Speaker 1: It's and thank you to Washington County Mental Health for
49:26
Speaker 1: supporting this podcast for several years now. They've been one
49:30
Speaker 1: of my prime presenting sponsors. And I'm blessed to have
49:35
Speaker 1: you guys. There's always a great, powerful message. May not
49:42
Speaker 1: always be happy and laughable, but it's so profound and
49:48
Speaker 1: it needs to be said. It needs Everything that you
49:51
Speaker 1: guys do is remarkable and it should be pushed on
49:55
Speaker 1: everyone's social media, not just mine.
49:58
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for coming in here, Thanks for
50:01
Speaker 3: having me, and let's do it again soon.
50:02
Speaker 2: Sounds great.
50:17
Speaker 4: I remember thinking, God, just hold on because somehow, some
50:22
Speaker 4: way this is going to make sense.
50:28
Speaker 2: The reaction of people around me was just shut up.
50:42
Speaker 5: Anybody who has lost anyone through suicide, you always say
50:47
Speaker 5: what did I miss? Why couldn't I say him?
50:54
Speaker 1: Suicide?
50:55
Speaker 2: That's scary word, isn't it. I just always felt like
51:01
Speaker 2: an alien, like a burden.
51:05
Speaker 3: I started to look for other people like me, and
51:08
Speaker 3: I couldn't find anything, Like where were these.
51:11
Speaker 4: People to say? I'm an attempt survivor, and you can
51:16
Speaker 4: say the word suicide is a record stopper.
51:20
Speaker 5: I just want people to look into these people's eyes
51:22
Speaker 5: because we've always looked away, you.
51:26
Speaker 2: Know, hashtag suicide so white. My name is Leah Harris,
51:31
Speaker 2: and I am a survivor. When I'm grumpy, I'm an
51:34
Speaker 2: activist and I'm nice.
51:35
Speaker 3: I'm an advocate.
51:38
Speaker 2: It's a project about suicide, but I'm focusing on life.
51:42
Speaker 1: It's not the word suicide that is the problem.
51:44
Speaker 2: It is the deafening silence around it.
51:52
Speaker 5: We lose one hundred and twelve people every day.
51:55
Speaker 4: That's bigger than a small jet airplane.
52:00
Speaker 2: I'm not doing well.
52:02
Speaker 5: I find myself wanting to hurt myself.
52:05
Speaker 2: I just don't really know how to handle it. The
52:08
Speaker 2: revolution and mental health is happening, and we are at
52:11
Speaker 2: the forecrost. Suicide is still an option for you.
52:18
Speaker 4: I don't want it to be what change a culture.
52:23
Speaker 5: More and more it becomes clear to me that I
52:25
Speaker 5: am never alone, that we are never ever alone.
52:28
Speaker 3: What would you say to suicide or was a thing.
52:30
Speaker 2: If it was a person, I'd say, suck it.
52:35
Speaker 4: This S word.
52:36
Speaker 1: It's only scary if you give it this sort of
52:39
Speaker 1: boogeyman weight.
52:41
Speaker 4: I used to think, man, maybe life just isn't for everybody.
52:45
Speaker 4: I was done, and I was wrong.