Mental Health Download: Exploring Mental Illness, Suicide, Homelessness and Incarceration

"I talk about suicide all the time. I say, 'You know, we're not talking about death. We're talking about survival and hope and recovery. This doesn't have to be a bleak and depressing conversation. We're talking about saving lives. ' "

Shelby R. Rowe

On today’s episode, we celebrate National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month with our guest, Shelby R. Rowe. Shelby is a proud citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, inspirational speaker, nationally recognized suicide prevention expert, mother of three sons and a self-taught bead artist.

A suicide attempt survivor with over 20 years experience in public health, Shelby dedicates herself every day to fighting the prejudice and discrimination that affects those affected by suicide.

Shelby is the suicide prevention program manager for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. In 2016, Shelby was honored as the Chickasaw Nation Dynamic Woman of the Year.

Today, we’re going to talk to Shelby about her Zarrow Mental Health Symposium session titled “Save the Indian, Save the Man.” You can register for the Symposium at zarrowsymposium.org.

Real quick, if you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time of day or night or chat online.

And the Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.

To read Shelby's USA Today story, visit:

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/surviving-suicide/2018/11/28/native-american-suicides-coping-historical-trauma-suicide-prevention/972282002/

"The people who built Greenwood did so in an era where, you know, their options and their opportunities were very limited, but they were able to take, you know, something, and in many cases it was literally nothing, you know, it was bare ground, and turned it into a place that they were really proud of." -- Randy Krehbiel, author of "Tulsa, 1921: Reporting a Massacre"

On today’s episode, our special guest host is Hannibal B. Johnson, Zarrow Mental Health Symposium keynote speaker and author of "Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District." And our special guest for this episode is acclaimed author and Tulsa World newspaper reporter, Randy Krehbiel.

Hannibal and I asked Randy to be on the show today to talk about his book, “Tulsa 1921: Reporting a Massacre,” which won the 2020 Oklahoma Book Award in the Non-Fiction category.

"This is really complex stuff, and it's not only a bilateral matter. It's not just black and white. It's beyond black and white." -- Hannibal B. Johnson, Keynote Speaker, Zarrow Mental Health Symposium

On today’s episode,  we’re thrilled that our dear friend Carmen White Janak is going to interview Hannibal B. Johnson, keynote speaker at this year's Zarrow Mental Health Symposium..

As many of you know, Hannibal wrote "Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District." He is an attorney, author, and independent consultant specializing in diversity & inclusion/cultural competence issues and nonprofit governance. He chairs the Education Committee for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission.

Just a quick note that this podcast is a condensed and edited version of an hour-long Facebook Live event that happened on July 2nd. We’ve been holding onto this podcast version to help get everyone excited about Hannibal’s keynote address closer to the virtual conference coming up soon.

"I tell everyone, the question isn't, 'Why are so many opioids available in Oklahoma?" The question should be, "Why do so many Oklahomans want to take opioids?' " -- Dr. Jason Beaman

Our guest is Dr. Jason Beaman, chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.

We talk about the university's virtual Addiction Medicine Conference. Click for details. 

 and Dr. Beaman's Zarrow Mental Health Symposium session titled “Historical Trauma & Addiction.”

Register today for the Zarrow Mental Health Symposium at zarrowsymposium.org.

In this mindfulness meditation, Jacob Beaumont focuses on self-compassion. 

"We may think of compassion as the solely outward-facing part of who we are and how we behave, but in reality, our ability to be genuinely compassionate towards others is linked closely to how compassionate we can be towards ourselves."

Listen to more sessions at Mental Health Association Oklahoma's website at mhaok.org/meditation.

"You're the only one of you that there is, and it's precious and beautiful and uniquely wired and deserves a break right now. So whatever that looks like, just go easy on yourself and take good care of you." -- Janetta Cravens

__________

On today’s episode, our guest is Janetta Cravens, vice president of programs for the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits.

The reason we invited Janetta on the podcast is that she wrote a beautiful COVID-19 related mental health story for the Center called, "Maybe It's the Weather, Maybe not: Mental Health For Leaders in a Season of Uncertainty."

Read that story now online at: https://www.oklahomacenterfornonprofits.org/maybe-its-the-weather-maybe-not-mental-health-for-leaders-in-a-season-of-uncertainty/

"And so the more we connect with each other, the more we make each other feel safe, the more we lift each other, that is the key. It's really the bottom line in healing as communities, healing historical trauma is going to happen in community."  -- Dr. Darryl Tonemah

On today’s episode, our special guest is Dr. Darryl Tonemah. He will be a keynote speaker at the virtual Zarrow Mental Health Symposium. He is the owner of the Tonemah Consulting Group, an organization dedicated to increasing wellness in Native communities.

His keynote at the Symposium is titled “Trauma: From Dealing to Healing.” Among the topics he’ll address is the fact that addressing trauma in patients can be difficult and complicated.

In this mindfulness meditation, Jacob Beaumont takes on the judging brain and what we can do to find peace with our mind -- even when it's not being very nice to us. Listen to more sessions at Mental Health Association Oklahoma's website at mhaok.org/meditation.

Namaste.

"Now he's housed. He has support and he doesn't have to worry about surviving day-to-day now." -- Shelah Farley, program coordinator, Street Outreach and Rapid Response

On today’s episode we’re going to feature two stories from our brand new 2019 Annual Report -- one about our housing and recovery services, and the other about our QPR suicide prevention training.

Also, we invited the ever-brilliant Kristy Sturgill, who serves as the Association’s director of marketing, to talk about some of the highlights of the 2019 Annual Report that, by the way, should be in mailboxes as we speak. You can also read it online at mhaok.org/annualreport.

On this episode, we talk with Dr. Sarah Johnson, director of the Al Carlozzi Center for Counseling at OSU-Tulsa. And our co-host is none other than Dr. Al Carlozzi.

Get all the details about the Center at https://tulsa.okstate.edu/counselingcenter