Series: Time to talk about mental illness
Don’t we all know someone who is struggling with some form of mental illness or mental health challenge? Colorado Community Media has launched a series of articles and forums, entitled “Time to Talk,” on the state of mental health, specifically in Douglas County, but applying to all of us, to discuss the need to bring the issue of mental illness into everyday conversation.
Part Eight

Time to Talk: Employers putting more focus on mental health in the workplace

Caitlyn Grathwohl, a baker in a Castle Rock grocery store, has no reason to worry about being fired, yet the thought is always on her mind. The lonely hours on the night shift add to a feeling of …

Larger companies use EAPs to support employee mental health

One of the most prevalent mental health programs used by large businesses — including Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree; Douglas County School District; and Kroger, which operates King Soopers …

'A recipe to comfort your mind'

Douglas County School District — which with about 8,000 employees is the county's largest employer — believes using peer involvement to recognize and combat mental health issues its staff may be …

Daily stress of law enforcement work can build up

In law enforcement, having a sound frame of mind on a daily basis is paramount. Different agencies use different tactics to relieve stress or provide an outlet for an officer to talk through their …

Editorial: Taking time to talk produces a deeper understanding

Almost a year ago, we launched Time to Talk, an in-depth look at the state of mental health in Douglas County. The series has explored the effects of mental illness on law enforcement, youth, moms, …
Part Seven

Men and mental illness: Suffering in silence

Brett Zachman vividly remembers his first panic attack. He was driving at 10 a.m. on a Thursday morning, not long after the woman he'd been seeing for three months ended their relationship. That …

'You're supposed to be the hero'

As a husband and father, Hal Knight believed he needed to take care of everyone. To your children, "you're supposed to be the hero," he said. To your spouse, “you're supposed to be the guy taking …

Fear of judgment keeps men from talking about mental illness

Although one in five adults live with a mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, many fear speaking openly about their mental health. A Parker man, who spoke to Colorado …

Mental stability can be challenge for aging

Toward the front of a crowded conference room at Legacy Village senior community in Castle Pines, 82-year-old Marilyn McQueary sat quietly through a presentation on finding purpose in life after …

Report finds good variety of senior services, but gaps remain

Throughout recent years, Douglas County has made moves to address projections that the nation's senior population will boom over the next decade. The Partnership of Douglas County Governments (PDCG) …
Part Six
Community Forum
Help for mothers

Postpartum Support International — Call 1-800-944-4773, press #1 for Spanish or #2 for English, or text 503-894-9453. The organization has a Colorado chapter that provides local resources for mothers. Mary Schroeter, coordinator for the Littleton area, can be reached at 303-883-7271. Laurel Hicks is coordinator for the greater Denver area and can be reached by phone or text at 303-974-8295. The group's website is at http://www.postpartum.net/

Healthy Expectations Perinatal Mental Health Program — Call 303-864-5252 or email healthyexpectations@childrenscolorado.org. For mothers in the perinatal period, the program at Children’s Hospital Colorado offers medical and psychological evaluations, couples and individual counseling, and support groups. Some services, including a moms support group called MAMAS Connect, are offered at the Highlands Ranch campus, 1811 Plaza Drive.

You Are Not Alone Mom 2 Mom (YANAM2M) — Call 303-229-3678 or email nikki@yanam2m.org. The free support group for moms meets weekly at locations in Highlands Ranch. To view a calendar, visit www.yanam2m.org/calendar.

AllHealth Network — Call 303-730-8858. South metro Denver’s community health center offers behavioral inpatient and outpatient services as well as group and individual or family counseling. For a list of locations, visit www.allhealthnetwork.org/about-us/contact-us-locations.

Colorado Crisis Services — Call 844-493-8255 or text ”TALK” to 38255. You will be connected to a crisis-trained counselor who will provide immediate and confidential support. For in-person support, visit a walk-in location at 6509 S. Santa Fe Drive in Littleton.

Maternal depression: ‘When you feel connected, it changes everything'

Lissa Miller, 31, has a history of mild depression and anxiety — the conditions run in her family. She used to manage her symptoms with exercise and meditation. But two years ago, soon after Miller …

Moms ‘need to know that they are not alone’

Nikki Brooker describes herself as confident, able-bodied, a Type A personality. She has a master’s degree in education and taught various subjects in all grades for 20 years in school districts …

‘I felt like I was failing all the time’

Throughout her life, Lissa Miller experienced some depression and anxiety. The mental health disorders run in her family. She managed her symptoms by being mindful and exercising. In her early 20s, …

To take care of your child, you have to take care of yourself

As an infant, Maureen Lake’s daughter was restless, finicky. In her younger years, she was prone to tantrums, boisterous. When she turned 16, she had no interest in getting her license or dating. …

Pregnancy-related mood disorders affect the whole family

After Maria Ayers gave birth to twins, she struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety. Perpetually exhausted and overwhelmed, Ayers didn’t have the energy to give as much attention to her …
Part Five

Is marijuana addictive?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana use can lead to a marijuana dependency and, in extreme cases, addiction.

About 30 percent of marijuana users are believed to have some degree of a marijuana-use disorder. This is often associated with “dependence,” NIDA says on its website, in which a person feels withdrawals when not using.

Frequent users report symptoms such as irritability, difficulty sleeping, moodiness, low appetite, cravings and physical discomfort after quitting.

If a person cannot stop using marijuana and it is interfering with his or her life, he or she may be addicted.

“Estimates of the number of people addicted to marijuana are controversial, in part because epidemiological studies of substance use often use dependence as a proxy for addiction,” NIDA says, “even though it is possible to be dependent without being addicted.”

Time to Talk: Addiction, mental health ‘inherently linked’

Terry Schamberger took his last alcoholic drink on July 1, 2007, about 27 years after he drank his first beer at 13. Alcohol, he believes, was about to cost him his family. “I knew my kids were …

Binge drinking is deadliest form of alcohol consumption

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared binge drinking the most costly and deadly form of alcohol consumption in the country. The CDC also classifies it as the nation’s most …
Zac Hess is the director of health, wellness and prevention for the Douglas County School District.

‘He really still takes one day at a time’

For Kendra Rhoades, the problem was not convincing her or her husband that their teenage son Jacob struggled with substance abuse. The problem was convincing Jacob, even after his marijuana use …
Jennifer Tippett is director of the University of Denver's Graduate School for Professional Psychology's specialty substance use disorder program.

‘They told me if I had a house and a car I could afford it’

When Chrysta Reese’s daughter revealed she was struggling with a heroin addiction, Reese immediately sought help. “The first time she called me and was really sick, I thought she was dying. I was …

Coalition focuses on preventing substance abuse among county’s youth

The Douglas County Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition — which works to prevent substance use among young people — reports to the Douglas County Mental Health Initiative, a partnership of …

Editorial: It takes a unified front to treat a dual diagnosis

For Terry Schamberger, 51, a lifelong addiction to alcohol began when he was 13, triggered by emotional trauma caused by the death of his sister in a car accident and an unsettled family life. For …
Part Four
Community Forum

Time to Talk: 'There is help and hope'

Lora Thomas vividly remembers the day: a snowy February afternoon in 2012. She was Douglas County’s coroner then and she was standing in the kitchen of a home in Parker, talking with a father who …

After tragedy, father works to ‘capture the light’

On his right wrist, Johnnie Medina wears a black hemp bracelet with a multi-colored stone wrapped in the middle. Around his neck hangs a Hawaiian fishhook, a symbol of love and good fortune. The …
Kirstie June shares her experience of having an eating disorder at the Time to Talk community forum on mental health at the Lone Tree Library in April. “There is no snap of the finger,” she said, of recovering from a mental illness.

Suicide-prevention program in schools spreads hope, strength

At the end of the school year, Sierra Middle School in Parker hosted a parent-student community night in which guests traveled to different classrooms to learn about resiliency in the face of …
After her own experience with mental health challenges, Kristen Torres, a graduate of Chaparral High School in Parker, is now a mental health advocate and stigma fighter. Torres shared her story at the first Time to Talk community forum on April 26 at the Lone Tree Library, 10055 Library Way.  Mental health, she said, is

Mental health ‘is an OK subject to talk about’

Kristen Torres was home alone when she had thoughts of ending her life. She was 14 years old. Her parents were out of the country. Her older brother was away at college. She had experienced social …

‘Just know that it is going to get better’

Never in the popular social group in high school, she was constantly picked on for her weight, freckles and hair color. Kids would push her into lockers, call her fat and, she said, tell her to kill …

School tool kit, online screenings geared toward early intervention

Mental Health Colorado, the state’s leading mental health advocacy organization, offers two unique tools for the public to promote the prevention and early intervention of mental illness — one …
Part Three
About the series reporters
Social media often causes stress and anxiety for Jayden Parks, a junior at Highlands Ranch High School. “It puts so much pressure on your self-esteem,” she said.

Time to Talk: Sharing concerns about social media

Whenever she has free time, Jayden Parks pulls out her phone and checks Instagram or Snapchat. She scrolls through photos, comparing herself to other teens portraying what seem to be perfect lives. …
Delanie Vieira, a freshman at Rock Canyon High School, used to worry about what other people thought of her on social media. Now she has a different outlook. “At this point,” she said, “I don’t really care — I’m just sharing photos of my friends.”

Cyberbullying can take lasting toll on teens

Camryn Cowdin was checking her Facebook page when she saw hateful posts from a person she considered a friend. Her name was never used, but she knew the words were about her. “He would directly …

Sexting poses legal, psychological risks for teens

When Douglas County Deputy Jay Martin first started teaching about relationships, digital safety and substance abuse prevention, maybe one high school student in each of his classes would raise his …

How to help kids manage the digital world

The answer isn’t simple, but educators and mental health professionals agree that steps can be taken to combat the adverse affects of social media use. Setting screen time limits, along with …
In the corner of Bas Wolf’s classroom sits a coffee machine that is welcome to all students at the school. The sleeves of the coffee cups

‘Survive today and have an amazing future’

As students trickle into Bas Wolf’s classroom at Highlands Ranch High School, he greets each one by name, asks how they are. Sometimes, a hug accompanies the greeting. “Star Wars” posters, …

Schools test out cellphone, technology bans

Last year, after seeing students exchanging hurtful messages online, Kendra Hossfeld, principal of North Star Academy in Parker, challenged her eighth-graders to a “detox week” free of device …

The positives: keeping in touch, finding support

With an enrollment that surpasses 2,000 kids, it’s unlikely Brett Siebert will run into friends between classes as he rushes through the busy hallways at Castle View High School in Castle Rock. To …
Part Two
Leandra Montoya sits at her desk in the Castle Rock Police Department where she files notes for cases handled by the Community Response Team.

Mental health calls challenge police

In the dark, early-morning hours of New Year’s Eve, Douglas County Deputy Zackari Parrish pleaded through the closed door of a Highlands Ranch apartment with a tenant he believed to be experiencing …
Kevin Duffy, captain of detention at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office since 2014, has witnessed the growing number of mentally ill inmates in his county jail. “What is causing our society to be so mentally unstable?” he asked. “That is the million-dollar question.”

‘All of our jails are psychiatric facilities’

At 17 years old, Michael was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He also was battling an addiction to heroin. Through his father’s private insurance, he received treatment and medication for both. In …

Mental health holds weigh liberty vs. public safety

When a person in a mental health crisis is an imminent danger to himself, herself or others, or is gravely disabled by a mental illness, mental health and law enforcement professionals may place them …

Officers learn how to de-escalate situations involving mental illness

Jeff Santelli, a retired Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputy who now works as a CIT trainer, suggested that CIT should be a specialized presence in law enforcement, likening it to SWAT teams. Just like SWAT officers, CIT officers require a specific skillset, Santelli said. “It’s actually a very similar analogy to CIT,” he said. “It’s a specialized training of communication and not everybody is the best communicator.”
Fox

Culture shift affects jail population

Law enforcement and mental health experts point to a culture shift in the approach to mental health treatment in the 1960s for the drastic rise in inmates with mental illness. In 1963, President John …

Checkups mean ‘I’m more likely to stay sober’

Wearing an orange T-shirt and pants, Samuel Cardona sat at a round table in a small glass-walled room of the Douglas County jail, as he talked to a reporter. It was an afternoon in January. He had …
Part One

We all need to talk about mental health

There is one problem in society today that knows no boundaries, affecting rich and poor, conservative and liberal, young and old, all alike. It doesn't discriminate based on ethnicity or nationality or any other method by which we usually divide ourselves.

We all can suffer from mental illness. In fact, one in five of us will experience a mental health issue in our lifetime.

But for such a widespread problem, there is a strange silence that accompanies the problem. It isn't talked about, or if it is, only in hushed tones, or laughed off as a punchline to a joke.

Likewise, too often those actively searching for mental health medical care often find their calls for help met with silence too — a lack of funding, or insurance support, or adequate laws to blame. 

So it's time to talk about it, and really look at mental health in our communities. What's working? What's not? What can all of us do to make things better?

Where to get help
Our Papers

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