Mesa County holds day one of Mesa Talks summit

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. ( KREX ) – Lisa Mills, director of Mesa County Behavioral Health Department, states, “So talking about mental health is difficult in most communities. The stigma around having that conversation is tough, understanding when, when do I need help? When should I be seeking treatment?”

Thursday was day one of the second annual Mesa Talks event, where the community gathers together and discusses about the troubles of dealing with mental health and how to overcome those struggles.

Lyndall Young, a nurse and instructor with Western Colorado Area Health Education Center, states, “It is so important in our community to recognize not only substance use disorder, but mental health that they are definitely hand in hand. Going out there and learning all the resources that we have in our community and just bringing people together in collaboration to reach as many people as possible.”

She told WesternSlopeNow there are 190 people attending this two-day summit which is more than half of last year’s attendance.

“We’ve dialed it in now and realize the community really wants education. They want to have more of a full conference feel, and clearly, by the number that have attended this year, we see that’s the way we’ll go in the future,” Mills said.

The Mesa County Department of Behavioral Health called in a doctor to use the best kind of medication for treatment, laughter.

Dr. Brad Nieder, doctor and The Healthy Humorist, states, “To be able to smile and to be able to laugh is crucial because otherwise it’s a lot of compassion fatigue and burnout and even their own trauma from what they get involved in and what they witness. So, the ability to still smile, still laugh and still have a sense of humor, I think is critical.”

“Laughter is something that we don’t get to do much in this community around mental health and substance abuse. The truth is, the people who do the work every day, it’s often a day filled with heartbreak, often tough, tough answers to tough questions. Having someone start off this really intense training opportunity with laughter will make the whole day feel a lot lighter,” Mills said.

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