While the focus has been more on physical health in the past few years, your mental health might be the more significant concern. According to the Bellin Psychiatric Center newsletter published earlier this month, over 36 percent of Wisconsinites have anxiety or depression, and approximately 18 percent could not get the help they need. Through his work in the schools and in the department, Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski says finding balance is a great way to help promote strong mental health in your life.
Mental health issues are often considered a risk factor for suicide. Joski will present his Question, Persuade, and Respond (QPR) training course for suicide prevention on May 10th at 7 p.m. at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds. You can find Sheriff Joski’s thoughts on mental health awareness month and details on the QPR course below.
FROM SHERIFF JOSKI
Each year in the month of May, I write an article or even a series of articles related to mental health awareness month. This year’s awareness campaign is probably more important than any of the past, as we are seeing our communities struggle as never before in recent years.
We are all aware that our overall wellness has multiple components, each just as important as the other. The primary wellness components are Physical, Mental, Spiritual. Many times we also consider the aspects of financial and social wellness to have great impact as well. These are all truly interdependent on each other, as a struggle in one component puts added pressure to the others, but also strength and stability in one can also serve to support the others.
For the past few years, there is no doubt we have placed a large emphasis on the Physical Health component. With good intentions, we embarked upon practices and measures not seen before in our nation’s history. When I say physical health, I need to be more specific in that we focused our concerns on preventing the spread of a virus, and not necessarily physical fitness, or nutrition. Again, all of this was done with good intentions, but we are now seeing the implications to the other components of wellness, specifically mental wellness.
This month and its designation as mental health awareness month is a great time to establish balance in our lives, and search for opportunities to once again connect with others and share stories and experiences that have and continue to impact us. It is in the sharing of experiences that we strengthen those bonds and in essence become each other’s personal therapists. As human beings, we are hard wired for human connection; we thrive when we feel part of something bigger than ourselves. Our mental wellbeing is tied directly to our sense of personal purpose, and part of that purpose is being there for each other. I am by no means downplaying the value of professional help when needed, but the fact is, there are not nearly enough of those valuable resources available on any given day, so it is up to each of us to support and sustain each other.
Although we always need to consider the many risks that we face in all aspects of life, each of us needs to determine that level of risk we are willing accept, as well as how our actions impact the lives of others. In a society where fear is and anxiety seems to be the dominant force, we need to counter those fears and anxieties with Hope and Optimism. Life was not meant to be tipped toed through, but rather to be embarked upon with courage and hope. As I have written in previous articles, as adults our greatest gift to the next generation is Optimism and Hope. Our greatest legacy in our personal lives are the relationships we leave behind. These relationships take effort and come with risks, but their impact to our collective mental wellbeing is immeasurable.
As we enter into another amazing spring and summer season here in Kewaunee County, let’s take the opportunities to strengthen not only our bodies but our minds and souls in re-connecting with those who have been in our lives, as well as those new to us and get beyond superficial conversations regarding politics, or headlines and instead share thoughts and feelings. We need to be comfortable in being vulnerable to each other and realizing that in one way or another we all have our struggles and that in sharing those struggles we help sustain each other’s wellbeing’s.
