The Official Newspaper for Foster County

May we talk about mental health?

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s time to get real.

Here in the newsroom, we struggle too.

No matter how many positive stories we publish, the “bad news” stories seem to rise to the top for readers.

Yes, we must report on these topics, however unpleasant. It’s our job as journalists to read through the police reports and court filings and help citizens make sense of the crazy in our world. And when we do publish all the details, we know those stories will get read.

However, it’s the weeks when there isn’t much hard news that has us shaking our heads. When our pages contain a lot of good news, it’s often the obituaries that become the most-read stories online.

A couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to see that our front page feature stories in the Transcript about the renovations at two local businesses, Route 281 and the Loco Ketchup Cafe, were the two most-read articles on our website that week. Yes, there was struggle in both of those stories, but there was also success and triumph. Two local businesses came back better than ever, and that matters in a small community.

As I write this, our story about two local girls who won accolades in the annual PBS Kids Writers Contest, Raegan Harildstad of Carrington and Jaelyn Timm of Kensal, is among the most-read on the Independent website, fosterconews.com. If either one of those girls wants to write for the newspaper, we’d be happy to have them!

It’s great to get a break from the hard news, because it definitely weighs on us.

That’s why mental health in the media was a focus of educational sessions at the NDNA/SDNA Joint Convention last weekend.

My fellow newspeople and I had the opportunity to participate in two sessions with Mr. Brian Piatt (pronounced PIE - at), a former anchor on KARE 11 TV in the Twin Cities. Piatt has obsessive compulsive disorder, and he left his role as news anchor in the height of his struggles with mental illness.

He’s now pursuing a master’s degree in mental health counseling. He also hosts a powerful podcast, “Take What Serves. Leave the Rest.” It provides a safe space to talk about mental health.

His podcast episodes can be found online at https://takewhatserves.podbean.com/.

During our sessions last Friday, Piatt talked about how important mindfulness is to our daily routine. Mindfulness is defined as “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”

We wrote down things that were on our mind, then performed some breathing techniques to help us become more mindful. We were taking deep breaths, and we had just started to relax … Then, all of a sudden, the fire alarm went off in our conference room!

Piatt was a master. He spoke to us calmly and told us to go outside. We filed out of the room and outside into the beautiful spring day. The false alarm was deactivated within a few minutes, and we returned to our mindfulness techniques.

What that experience taught me is that anytime is a great time for a mindfulness exercise. Piatt encouraged all of us to choose an activity on which we can focus our mind solely, such as art, music, yoga or journaling. Any activity that relaxes you and allows you to quiet your mind is a step toward mindfulness.

One of the statistics Piatt shared was jarring: one in five of us is living with some form of mental illness. Look around the room where you are right now and think about that. There is someone right in front of you (or maybe it’s you) that is struggling.

“What can I do? I’m not equipped or trained to help,” you might ask.

Well, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, online at samhsa.gov, there IS something we can do for someone struggling with mental health issues.

In fact, there’s a lot we can do.

Friends and family can be important influences to help someone get the treatment and services they need, by:

• Reaching out and letting them know you are available to help

• Helping them access mental health services

• Help them learn self-care and coping techniques, such as the mindfulness exercises Piatt recommends

• Learning and sharing facts about mental health, especially if you hear something that isn’t true

• Treating them with respect, just as you would anyone else

• Refusing to define them by their diagnosis or using labels such as “crazy,” instead use person-first language

Also know that when it gets serious, you’re not alone. If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, call 988, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Actress Glenn Close said it best, “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.”