Brittany Ritter with the Lincoln County Preventing ATODS Abuse Coalition called into the Weekday Wake-Up on SVI Radio to discuss mental health resources that are available specifically for men.

(0:00) Plenty of flap in our jaw this morning. (0:02) You guys are crazy. (0:03) Here’s some more from Duke Dallenton on the weekday wake up.

(0:06) When’s the last time you had a bath? (0:08) It’s 837 this morning live on Swift 98 and the spur (0:11) heading into our guest interview segment this morning. (0:14) And Brittany Ritter with the Lincoln County Preventing a Todd’s Abuse Coalition (0:17) on the weekday wake up with us this morning. (0:20) Brittany, good morning.

How are you today? (0:22) I’m good, thanks. (0:24) Absolutely appreciate your time today. (0:26) And you know that we wanted to have you on maybe on a regular base (0:29) moving forward to to talk about the the abuse coalition (0:32) with a Todd’s in Lincoln County.

(0:34) And there’s there’s so many different angles and aspects that that you provide. (0:38) And maybe if you could just remind our listeners with a (0:43) 12000 foot view and a real brief general overview (0:46) of what the Preventing a Todd’s Abuse Coalition does. (0:51) Sure.

So our coalition and the program for Lincoln County (0:55) is funded through grants, both state and federal grant funding. (1:01) And we concentrate on different areas such as alcohol, tobacco, (1:06) other drugs, including opioids, marijuana, methamphetamine. (1:10) And then we also focus services (1:14) on suicide and mental health awareness.

(1:18) And so those are all resources available locally right in Lincoln County. (1:22) And so we’ll we’ll talk about a lot of those different aspects in the future. (1:26) Today, I wanted to really focus on the mental health side of this (1:29) and the resources specifically for men.

(1:32) I know there’s a campaign for this right now on mental health awareness. (1:36) Why don’t you go ahead and tell us what this is about? (1:39) Right. So one of the strategies that we picked out for Lincoln County (1:44) to concentrate efforts on during this current grant cycle (1:47) is mental health awareness for our male population.

(1:52) In the state of Wyoming, some of our highest risks of suicide (1:58) is our middle aged man. (1:59) So that’s about 35 to 55 years of age. (2:04) We see some of our highest suicide completion rates with them.

(2:07) And we know that mental health affects everybody. (2:10) About 80 percent of our population struggles (2:14) with some sort of depression at some time in their life. (2:17) But with our male population, you know, we’re we live in Wyoming (2:22) where we’re very independent and strong and have a hard time asking for help.

(2:27) And so this campaign helps decrease the stigma on men getting help (2:32) because we know that unfortunately, we we struggle at times (2:37) and there are resources for our guys to utilize. (2:41) The man therapy dot com is a venue that we use (2:45) because it’s specific just for men. (2:47) It uses male lingo.

(2:49) It talks to them in ways that they understand and resonates with them. (2:55) And it’s a little untraditional. (2:57) It’s more inviting.

It’s easier to use. (3:00) It feels more natural for the male population to use this resource. (3:05) So we’ve rolled this campaign out.

(3:09) There is a social media platform on it. (3:11) It’s available online. (3:13) We have some of our local workplaces utilizing this campaign (3:17) and sending things out to their employees.

(3:20) But we’ve really seen a lot of success with it. (3:23) And it seems like more men are eager and willing to get help (3:28) because it is specific to the male population. (3:31) You know, and you talk about the reasons that the men (3:36) in the male population not reaching out.

(3:38) I mean, there’s there’s a million different different reasons. (3:40) And so at what point should it should a guy be like, OK, (3:46) I really should go get some help. (3:47) I mean, I’m sure it’s different for everybody.

(3:49) But at what point does someone say this is a little more than just a rut that I’m in? (3:54) Sure. And you’re so right, Duke, like it is different for everybody. (3:59) But my advice is if you have (4:05) tried to cope with things on your own (4:08) and you’re just not getting anywhere and you’re still struggling, (4:12) at that point, it’s time to get some help.

(4:15) And it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go to a counselor per se (4:19) or you need to go to your doctor to (4:23) get on a medication or anything like that. (4:25) But even utilizing an online resource like we have with the man therapy, (4:29) there’s tips and tricks and different ways to cope with (4:33) struggles that you’re having, everything from anxiety to proper (4:37) storage of your firearms to how to be more effective at the workplace. (4:42) So everybody is different.

(4:45) Everybody needs to take a different approach. (4:48) But my advice is if you’re struggling for a few weeks (4:52) and you’ve been trying to take care of things on your own, (4:56) things still are not turning around. (4:59) Maybe it’s time to take the next step.

(5:01) And using the man therapy dot com is a great place to start. (5:05) Like I said, you can use it independently. (5:07) You don’t have to have anybody else involved, which for a lot of men, (5:10) that’s a great way to get started with their mental health awareness, (5:15) just because we do struggle with wanting to go to other people for help.

(5:20) The other great thing about the man therapy dot com is (5:23) if you get to the point where you do need counseling services (5:26) or you need a little bit more intervention, we have that available (5:30) so that you don’t have to utilize a local resource (5:33) if that’s something that you’re uncomfortable with. (5:35) We connect you with someone that’s not from our area, (5:39) but still provide the resources that you need to get you the help that you need. (5:42) Brittany Ritter, Lincoln County Preventing ATOTS Abuse Coalition (5:45) on the weekday wake up today.

(5:46) So you’re mentioning man therapy dot org. (5:49) That’s the website man therapy dot org. (5:51) If someone were to go there, kind of what’s that process like (5:54) and how do they get started with it? (5:57) Sure.

(5:58) Obviously, it’s an online platform and. (6:02) It’s titled man therapy, therapy away the way that a man does it. (6:07) Super awesome.

(6:09) You can kind of just navigate through the website, but there are all different topics. (6:16) Like I said, from anger and depression to dealing with trauma (6:20) or difficulty sleeping at night. (6:22) There’s tons of different things that you can click on.

(6:25) Get some advice on how to cope with those. (6:28) There’s also pull down tabs. (6:31) If you need, excuse me, direct crisis support at that time.

(6:36) The other cool thing is there’s an option if you’re worried about another guy in your life (6:41) and you don’t know how to approach that or you feel like you need some talking points. (6:46) There’s an option that you can utilize to go get those resources (6:50) to help somebody else out in your life, too. (6:53) Brittany, this is a great insight.

(6:55) Thank you. (6:56) Mantherapy.org is the website again, and you can find more resources, of course, (7:01) on the Lincoln County ATODS Abuse Coalition website. (7:04) What is the cost structure for something like this for someone to get? (7:09) Because that’s what I’m sure a lot of guys are going to be worried about, too, (7:12) going down this path is, well, I don’t want to drain the bank just trying (7:15) to take care of something like this.

(7:17) Right. (7:18) It’s free. (7:19) It’s a free service.

(7:20) Yes. (7:21) And if for some reason this particular platform doesn’t work out and they need (7:30) an onsite counseling services or they need to be referred to somebody else (7:36) and that is an out-of-pocket fee, please contact me. (7:39) We have ways to help people out to get those services so that it’s (7:43) not a financial burden to them.

(7:45) Mantherapy.org. (7:47) That’s Brittany Ritter with the Lincoln County Preventing ATODS Abuse Coalition. (7:50) Brittany, thanks for your insight and time on this. (7:52) Anything else we missed you’d like to mention today? (7:55) I don’t think so.

(7:56) Just check us out. (7:57) And if you have questions, shoot me an email or give me a call. (8:00) Excellent.

(8:01) It’s all part of the weekday wake up this morning and Mantherapy.org. (8:03) That’s Brittany Ritter with the Lincoln County Preventing (8:05) ATODS Abuse Coalition. (8:07) It’s all part of the weekday wake up here on SBI radio.