As a photographer, I learned early on that what I see through my lens can look completely different from another photographer. It’s all about the perspective of the person.
I have loved riding motorcycles ever since I was 15. I especially enjoy long-distance rides and this month I was reminded of something special. While on a rather long ride I found that I had so much inner noise that it was difficult to focus. It took me nearly 200 miles before the noise of the word began to slip away. The endless notifications, constant conversation, and a nonstop stream of information began to finally leave. I was able to regain silence in my inner self.
Rural American communities often pride themselves on resilience and self-reliance. However, this led to a growing crisis of the stigma of mental health. Small communities experience anxiety, depression, substance use disorders, and trauma just a little more than the rest of the country. However, those living in small towns and farming communities often face additional barriers that make seeking help more difficult. Eliminating the stigma of mental health in rural America is not simply a matter of compassion. It is an issue of public health.
As a 57-year-old man standing before my bathroom mirror, I see silver strands of hair, cracks around my face and clothes that hang loose because of muscles I no longer seem to need at my age. The face looking back at me, eyes heavy from years of memories of good times and bad times. I often just stare back at the stranger in the mirror, I no longer recognize the man staring back at me. What the reflection doesn’t show is that there still lives a young man behind eyes that seemed to be failing me more each year as time rolls on; the person inside me is still full of energy, ambition, and the sense that life is still unfolding.
Natural disasters happen and communities see the destruction immediately. Homes, businesses, stores, schools are damaged, flooded, or just gone. The power lines are down, neighborhoods are left with debris and in some cases parts of other people’s properties are found in your front yard where the family car once parked. Long after roads are cleared and buildings are rebuilt another form of damage remains. This is the unseen psychological impact on survivors.
213 E. Main St.
PO Box 577
Olney, Texas 76374
Phone: (940) 564-5558
Fax: (940) 564-3992