Elevate Discussion encourages 'Resiliency'

SIDNEY -- A public meeting, a discussion, was held on suicide, PTSD and resiliency.

The discussion was opened with Lauren Northrup, LPMHC, Cheyenne VA Suicide Prevention, Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator. In her presentation, Northrup discussed the connection between PTSD, resiliency and suicide prevention. 

She said suicide is a social health issue. In addition to the traumas that can occur in life, some that are connected to PTSD, men and women in or were in military service have a higher rate of dying by suicide than the general population, she said. Northrup discussed how safety plans can help veterans manage and decrease suicidal feelings, and help them stay safe when suicidal feelings do occur.

"We as a community can instill hope, to help create resiliency amongst members of our community who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide or feeling helpless, and that we can do that as a community to bring hope to them in a number of different ways and through a number of different resources," Northrup said in the June 27 public meeting.

One of the talked about is hope, hopelessness, and how does a person define hope. She said veterans experiencing PTSD may have the following symptoms: flashbacks, worsening of cognitive function, change in emotional reaction, and arousal or reactivity in trauma. 

"Not universally, but I think that it is something that we all know what it feels like, and being able to instill that might look different for each person, but that's what we're striving for," she said.

Also speaking at the event, Cheryl Cameron, LCSW, Rural PACT social Worker, talked about how some people process trauma differently than others; one person might take an experience "to a different level" and turn it into a positive experience and another struggles. She said research is being done on why people process similar experiences differently.

"Why is it that some people can go through traumatic events or tragedies and they take it to the next step. They don't get what the symptoms are of a disorder, but they use it in a positive fashion. An example would be maybe someone who has a child who has cancer. They lose the child and then they go on to develop a foundation to honor that child," Cameron said.

Elevate Community Conversations schedules community events once per quarter, four times per year. Elevate Community Conversations started with two people concerned about issues in the Sidney community, which grew into a committee that promotes discussions on a variety of topics.