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Hope is local: Columbiana County prepares for Suicide Prevention Month

Every month, a dedicated group meets to tackle a critical mission: preventing suicide. The Columbiana County Suicide Prevention Coalition brings together a diverse group of voices from behavioral health professionals to suicide attempt survivors and family members who have lost loved ones. By combining professional knowledge with personal, lived experience, members work together to reduce stigma, promote hope, and connect local families with real help. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows rural suicide rates are nearly double those in major cities. Living in a ...

Approach of Columbiana County Fair prompts memories of those past

Sometime in the late 1830s or 1840s, an agricultural “fair was held on the site of a woolen mill on East Washington Street in Lisbon across the street from the R. Thomas & Sons plant. It was a small beginning to what would become a major annual event. It wasn’t until 1846 that a meeting ...

When trauma is also grief

Recognizing that June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, we are challenged to look at PTSD not only as a clinical disorder, but as a form of traumatic grief. It is the body, mind, and spirit carrying profound losses that have not yet found a safe place to be fully mourned. After a traumatic event, individuals certainly grieve the person or people who died, but they also grieve their own sense of safety, trust, identity, innocence, faith, or the future they once thought they would have. This reframing matters deeply. Too often in our society, symptoms are treated ...

Understanding depression: Why a sinking boat needs more than a strong sailor

The Sinking Boat Analogy To understand what Depression might feel like, imagine taking a boat out on a lake. The boat can coast along the water and get where it needs to go easily. When the wind picks up and the waves become higher, it makes the ride a little bumpy and may slow you down, but you can still get to where you need to go. This is like the stress of normal life. Some turbulent times, and some smooth sailing, but you still make it back to shore. For someone with depression, it’s like having a hole in the bottom of the boat. The hole may be small at first, so you may not ...

Walking can be dangerous

Wherever you are, and no matter what time of day it is, if you look around, it’s likely you will see someone out for a walk. Take a trip through any neighborhood, and it’s a sure bet you will come across someone who’s enjoying being outside. Some people like to walk in the evening, some in the morning and some hearty souls like to be out in the heat of the day. It’s a great way to get some exercise and to interact with your friends and neighbors, things that we all too often forget should be important parts of our lives. But while it’s hard to underestimate the benefits ...