COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS BROHTUG ABOUT STRESS WORRY AND ANXIETY FOR JUST ABOUT ALL OF US MENTAL HEALTH REMAINS AN IMPORNTTA TOPIC IN OUR COUNTRY. ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW TODAY ARE LOUIS TRAN CAUGHT UP WITH A MOTHER WHOSE SON TOOK HIS OWN LIFE AFTER A BATTLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS LOUIE JOINS US NOW IN STUDIO WITH THE MOM’S MESSAGE FOR OTHER FAMILIES LOUIS. HI, KENNY. MENTAL HEALTH IS A TOPIC TTHA STILL HAS A STIGMA FOR MANY NOW NINA PORTER STRESS TO ME WHILE MAYBE INVISIBLE THE PAINTING CAUSES. IS VERY CLEAR. HE WAS HE WAS SO NERVOUS FOR ALL THESE PICTURES WHEN IT COMES TO A MOTHER’S LOVE FOR HER SON. THERE’S NOTHING LIKE IT AND TH'A’S WHY IF ANITA PORTER. IH'A’S WHY IF ANITA PORTER. WISH I COULD HAVE TAKEN IT FROM HIM. SHE’S STRUGGLING TO FEEL THE VOID. THAT’S NOW LEFT IN YOUR HEART. IT’S HARD. IT’S A IT WAS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE. PORTER SAYS HER 17 YEAR OLDON S NICHOLAS VARNER DIED BY SUICIDE THIS MONTH. SAYS HETR SUGGLED WITH ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION FOR YEARS MENTAL ILLNESS IS ISN A UNSANE ENEMYND A ’T'S HARD TO FIGHT. IT’S HARD TO FIGHTN A ENEMY THAT YOU CAN IDENTIFY PORTER SAYS HER SON WAS BULLIED AT SCHOOL. SHE SAYS SHE TRIED HER BEST TO SUPPORT HIM WITH THERAPYND A MEDICATION. BUT AT TIMES MANY MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES WERE FULL FORCING HER SON TO BE ON A WAIT LIST PORTER SAYS IN MADE HER FEEL HELPLESS. IT’S CRUSHING. AND IT FEELS LIKE IT FEELS LIKE THE AIR. TURNS INTO A CAGE. DAN IN THE WORLD IS PRESSING. ON ALL OF YOU AND DESPITE THE PRESSING PAIN PORTER SSAY HER SON ALWAYS WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO CARE FOR OTHERS MAKING SURE THEY FELT HEARD AND THAT’S WHY PORTER WANTS OTHERS TO KNOW IF YOU'R’ STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH YOUR PAIN IS VALID. NEW MAERTT YOUR EMPTINESS WOULD BE FELT. AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU. YOU’RE NOT ALONE. PORTER SAYS SHE HOPES TO HELP OTHER KIDS AND FAMILIES WHO MAY BE STRUGGLING JUST LIKE HER SON HELPED OTHERS. LOUIS BEFORE WE LET YOU GO A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH RIGHT NOW, OF COURSE THAT FAMILY EXPERIENCING SOME OF THE VERY WORSE THATAN C COME AS A RESULT OF POOR MENTAL HEALTH. WHAT DATA IS AVAILABLE STATISTICS THAT TALK TO JUST HOW BIG OF A PROBLEM THIS IS IN OUR COUNTRY RIGHT NOW. YEAH TO GET MORE CONTEXT. I REACHED OUT TO THE MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION FORSYTH COUNTY AND ACCORDING TO THEIR STATS ONE IN FIVE PEOPLE ACRSOS THE COUNTRY WILL EXPERIENCE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN ANY GIVEN YEAR. THAT’S ROUGHLY ABOUT 20% AND ABOUT PERCENT IT WILL EXPERIENCE A LONG-TERM SERIOUS MENLTA HEALTH ISSUES AS WELL AND STUDIO. I’M LIEOU TRAN WXII 12 NEWS LOUIE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH IF YOU OR SOMEONE, YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH RIGHT NOW JOT DOWN THIS NUMBER IT ISHE NATIONAL SUICIDE LIFELINE 800-273-8255. 273-8255. SOMEONE IS ALWAYS THERE 24 HOURS AAY D SEVEN DAY
North Carolina mother encourages families to take mental illness seriously after son died by suicide
Updated: 6:58 PM EDT Oct 15, 2021
Mental health is a topic that still has a stigma to many. While it may be invisible, a Triad woman told WXII 12 News the pain it causes is clear.To better understand this issue, WXII 12 News reached out to Mental Health Association in Forsyth County. Andy Hagler, executive director of the organization, said mental health illness is a growing issue across the country, including in North Carolina, and the pandemic only made it worse.According to the organization's data:One in five people (children and adults), roughly 20 percent, across the country will experience mental health illness in any given year 10 percent of those impacted will experience serious long-term mental health issuesOn average, a person will get treatment 11 years after experiencing their first symptom of mental illnessSuicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United StatesSuicide is the 12th leading cause of death in North Carolina“Mental illness is real, common and can be very treatable. Mental illness affects 1 in 5 people – including children – in the course of a year in our country," Hagler wrote. "Mental illness is also a public health issue that greatly affects children as nearly half of all mental illnesses occur by age 14; three-fourths by age 25. For example, anxiety disorders affect 25% of children between the ages of 13-18. From the time someone experiences the symptoms of mental illness to when they actually get any kind of treatment is around 11 years. This is totally unacceptable. Our mental health systems in Forsyth County, in North Carolina and in our Country MUST make accessing services more user-friendly and accessible for all. All lives, including our children’s lives, depend on it.” Hagler shared the following suicide data with WXII 12 News from the North Carolina Center for State Health Statistics.North Carolina:Number of deaths in 2019: 1,368Number of deaths from 2015-2019: 7,173Alamance County:Number of deaths in 2019: 22Number of deaths from 2015-2019: 110Forsyth County:Number of deaths in 2019: 40Number of deaths from 2015-2019: 221Guilford County: Number of deaths in 2019: 58Number of deaths from 2015-2019: 321 “The mental health effects of the coronavirus pandemic has had characteristics of trauma or crisis because it has been unpredictable and uncontrollable," Hagler shared. "How we navigate a trauma or crisis oftentimes depends on how resilient we are, which is the ability to ‘bounce back’ or recover from difficulties. In addition, our ability to access social supports, community resources and other protective factors are valuable tools to help us all cope. Children and teens and adolescents have been especially affected by the pandemic. Therefore, it is especially important for children and teens and adolescents to have access to positive emotional support systems, access to community resources and access to mental health resources be able to talk about their thoughts and feelings and to know that it is sometimes okay to not be okay.”WXII 12 News talked with Nina Porter of Thomasville, North Carolina. She said her 17-year-old son, Nicholas Varner, died by suicide this month after suffering from anxiety and depression for about seven years. "Mental illness is an unseen enemy," Porter said. "It’s hard to fight an enemy you can’t identify... It’s very devastating."Porter opened up to WXII 12 News and said her son had been hospitalized from anxiety and depression four times. She shared that her son suffered from a brain injury when he was young, and was bullied at school. Porter tried to support her son by getting him help with therapy and medication, she said, however, many of the mental health facilities she reached out to were full, which forced her son to be on the waitlist. Porter said it made her feel helpless."It’s crushing. It feels like the air turns into a cage," she said. "And the world is pressing on all of you."Porter said her son had a caring heart, and despite his pain, he often would go out of his way to help other people. She said his pain allowed him to empathize and understand people for who they are, even if they were strangers."He knew what it was like to hurt, and to suffer, and to carry that with him everywhere. He just wanted to make sure other people knew they weren’t alone," Porter said. "It never mattered who you were. Because you were always someone to him. Even if he didn’t know you. And he would acknowledge people and recognize them, and meet them where they were."Porter said her son had a dream of becoming a rock star and wanted to help kids who were struggling with mental health. She said she wants to continue his dream by helping other families and kids who are struggling. She said she's encouraging families to take children's feelings seriously, and that their concerns and emotions are valid, no matter how big or small they are. "Your emptiness will be felt and there are people who love you," Porter shared a message. "You’re not alone."If you know someone who is struggling with mental health, there are several resources available.National Suicide Prevention Hotline1-800-273-8255The organization is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a weekThe Mental Health Association in Forsyth County, Inc.Mobile Crisis/Daymark Recovery Services: 1-866-275-9552 Address: 1509 S Hawthorne RoadThe organization, established in 1946, focuses on connecting, educating and providing resources for mental health care in Forsyth County, North CarolinaCarolina Behavioral Health Alliance, LLC1-800-475-7900 Address: 2150 Country Club Road # 210Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration1-800-662-4357SAMHSA is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that helps lead public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nationWXII 12 News President and General Manager Michelle Butt shared an editorial piece on suicide awareness:
THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Mental health is a topic that still has a stigma to many. While it may be invisible, a Triad woman told WXII 12 News the pain it causes is clear.
To better understand this issue, WXII 12 News reached out to Mental Health Association in Forsyth County.
Andy Hagler, executive director of the organization, said mental health illness is a growing issue across the country, including in North Carolina, and the pandemic only made it worse.
According to the organization's data:
- One in five people (children and adults), roughly 20 percent, across the country will experience mental health illness in any given year
- 10 percent of those impacted will experience serious long-term mental health issues
- On average, a person will get treatment 11 years after experiencing their first symptom of mental illness
- Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States
- Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in North Carolina
“Mental illness is real, common and can be very treatable. Mental illness affects 1 in 5 people – including children – in the course of a year in our country," Hagler wrote. "Mental illness is also a public health issue that greatly affects children as nearly half of all mental illnesses occur by age 14; three-fourths by age 25. For example, anxiety disorders affect 25% of children between the ages of 13-18. From the time someone experiences the symptoms of mental illness to when they actually get any kind of treatment is around 11 years. This is totally unacceptable. Our mental health systems in Forsyth County, in North Carolina and in our Country MUST make accessing services more user-friendly and accessible for all. All lives, including our children’s lives, depend on it.”
Hagler shared the following suicide data with WXII 12 News from the North Carolina Center for State Health Statistics.
North Carolina:
- Number of deaths in 2019: 1,368
- Number of deaths from 2015-2019: 7,173
Alamance County:
- Number of deaths in 2019: 22
- Number of deaths from 2015-2019: 110
Forsyth County:
- Number of deaths in 2019: 40
- Number of deaths from 2015-2019: 221
Guilford County:
- Number of deaths in 2019: 58
- Number of deaths from 2015-2019: 321
“The mental health effects of the coronavirus pandemic has had characteristics of trauma or crisis because it has been unpredictable and uncontrollable," Hagler shared. "How we navigate a trauma or crisis oftentimes depends on how resilient we are, which is the ability to ‘bounce back’ or recover from difficulties. In addition, our ability to access social supports, community resources and other protective factors are valuable tools to help us all cope. Children and teens and adolescents have been especially affected by the pandemic. Therefore, it is especially important for children and teens and adolescents to have access to positive emotional support systems, access to community resources and access to mental health resources be able to talk about their thoughts and feelings and to know that it is sometimes okay to not be okay.”
WXII 12 News talked with Nina Porter of Thomasville, North Carolina. She said her 17-year-old son, Nicholas Varner, died by suicide this month after suffering from anxiety and depression for about seven years.
"Mental illness is an unseen enemy," Porter said. "It’s hard to fight an enemy you can’t identify... It’s very devastating."
Porter opened up to WXII 12 News and said her son had been hospitalized from anxiety and depression four times. She shared that her son suffered from a brain injury when he was young, and was bullied at school.
Porter tried to support her son by getting him help with therapy and medication, she said, however, many of the mental health facilities she reached out to were full, which forced her son to be on the waitlist. Porter said it made her feel helpless.
"It’s crushing. It feels like the air turns into a cage," she said. "And the world is pressing on all of you."
Porter said her son had a caring heart, and despite his pain, he often would go out of his way to help other people. She said his pain allowed him to empathize and understand people for who they are, even if they were strangers.
"He knew what it was like to hurt, and to suffer, and to carry that with him everywhere. He just wanted to make sure other people knew they weren’t alone," Porter said. "It never mattered who you were. Because you were always someone to him. Even if he didn’t know you. And he would acknowledge people and recognize them, and meet them where they were."
Porter said her son had a dream of becoming a rock star and wanted to help kids who were struggling with mental health. She said she wants to continue his dream by helping other families and kids who are struggling. She said she's encouraging families to take children's feelings seriously, and that their concerns and emotions are valid, no matter how big or small they are.
"Your emptiness will be felt and there are people who love you," Porter shared a message. "You’re not alone."
If you know someone who is struggling with mental health, there are several resources available.
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline
- 1-800-273-8255
- The organization is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- The Mental Health Association in Forsyth County, Inc.
- Mobile Crisis/Daymark Recovery Services: 1-866-275-9552
- Address: 1509 S Hawthorne Road
- The organization, established in 1946, focuses on connecting, educating and providing resources for mental health care in Forsyth County, North Carolina
WXII 12 News President and General Manager Michelle Butt shared an editorial piece on suicide awareness: