In Native communities, rates of alcohol and substance use, mental health disorders, suicide, and behavior‑related deaths are all far higher than the rest of the U.S. population, and Indigenous people report serious psychological distress at about 2.5 times the rate of the general population in a given month.

We’re told to “be strong,” but nobody hands us a map for what that really looks like when your mind is heavy and your heart is tired.

Where I come from, behavioral health isn’t just “mental health.” It’s spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical; four parts of one circle that all affect each other. When one part is hurting, the others feel it, and that’s a big reason we see the highest suicide rates of any minority group in the U.S., along with some of the highest rates of alcohol‑related deaths, meth use, and overdose.

For me, training was the first place I could finally breathe. Running, lifting, sweating; it gave me a way to move the hurt through my body instead of letting it sit and harden, and it cracked the door open for healing, even if it didn’t fix everything. The rest came from therapy, being honest about what I’d been through, and actually using the tools every day instead of pretending I was fine.

I’m not here because I’m the strongest. I’m here because I refused to quit on myself, leaned on my family, my culture, my training, and every tool I could grab along the way. You can make that choice too; for yourself, your kids, your community. Take care of your body. Take care of your mind. Take care of your people.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7400186744534405120/