To honor September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, ANTHC will host weekly activities to promote mental, physical, spiritual and emotional wellness. We recognize suicide can be challenging to talk about and it is important to remember that suicide affects everyone. 

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Week 4, Sept. 25-30: Reflection

Being aware of our positive and negative feelings helps us learn and grow our inner strength. Participating in mindfulness strategies such as journaling, and traditional arts and crafts such as net mending and beading help us cope with stress.

Activity

Try these strategies to help cope with stress:

  • Journaling
    • Express your feelings and thoughts 
    • Use this time to reflect and practice recognizing your feelings
  • Traditional arts and crafts
    • Schedule times to practice traditional arts and crafts like sewing or beading
    • Use this time to reflect and process your thoughts and feelings

Journaling and practicing traditional arts and crafts help us cope with stress. These activities encourage us to identify feelings, express our thoughts, and may bring uncomfortable feelings to light.

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Week 3, Sept. 18-24: Traditional activities with movement

Physical exercise helps our bodies, mind, and spirit. Exercise lowers our risk for diseases, improves sleep, increases our sense of well-being, and decreases stress. Exercising might not mean going to the gym five times a week. Instead, exercise can be hunting, harvesting, song, dance and drumming.

Activity

  • Learn or teach a traditional activity such as dance/drumming, hunting or gathering 
  • Invite a friend to do or learn an activity with you
  • Have fun sharing the experience! 

Reflection

Physical activity benefits our bodies, mind and spirit. Moving our bodies helps us connect with ourselves as we focus on how our body moves and feels. Inviting a friend builds trust and increases our sense of well-being.

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Week 2, Sept. 11-17: Reach out to caring connections

Connecting with others helps support our body, mind, spirit and behaviors. Our Elders taught us that planning with others to do traditional activities connects us with our community. These connections provide the strength to cope with stress or anxiety, and create resilience.

Activity

Reach out to your caring connections.

Caring connections can be:

  • Friend or family member
  • Elder
  • Counselor, or teacher

Things caring connections do:

  • Listen without judgment
  • Offer support or guidance
  • Refer you to other resources

Ways you can connect 

  • Text/call
  • Facebook/Instagram
  • Meet in-person

Reflection 

Connecting and planning with others allows us to cope during difficult times and share our feelings.

CLICK HERE to take the week 2 survey and be entered to win!


Week 1, Sept. 1-10: Save and share the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

We all experience mental health-related stress and reaching out for help is one of the most courageous things we can do. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is there for you or a loved one especially when someone is experiencing: 

  • Thoughts of suicide
  • Mental health or substance use crisis
  • Emotional stress

What we will learn:

  • When to connect with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Activity

Save and share the resource 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:

  • Save 988 in your contacts
  • Tell someone about the 988 call center
  • Practice what you would say when making a call to a 988 crisis call counselor

Reflection

Reaching out for help is normal and a useful life skill. It is important for self-care or for a loved one.


CLICK HERE to take the week 1 survey and be entered to win!

Resources:

Need support now? Help is available 

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could be: 

  • Thoughts of suicide
  • Mental health or substance use crisis, or
  • Any other kind of emotional distress

Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org, you can call for yourself or if you are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

In Alaska, if you are calling from a 907 area code, 988 connects you to the Alaska Careline, a member of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Careline is still active to help 24/7. Call 1-877-266-4357 (HELP) or text 4help to 839863 to speak to a trained counselor.

The ANTHC Behavioral Health Wellness Clinic also offers telehealth counseling, assessments and referral support to adult Tribal beneficiaries anywhere in Alaska. You can access our care from your personal cell phone or computer. To learn more or become a client, visit https://www.anthc.org/bhwc or call (907) 729-2492 Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.