November 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 44

M E N TA L H E A LT H

Speaking from Personal
Experience

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DAVID PILDNER OF THE STARK COUNTY PARK DISTRICT

My interest in mental health offerings within the park and recreation
industry is a result of my 55-yearold brother, Rick, who died of
suicide in September 2018. He
suffered from anxiety and depression his entire adult life and was on
medication and under the care of a
psychiatrist. Three years before his
death, he asked his psychiatrist if
it would be OK for him to get off
his medications. With the doctor's
permission, he did, and from that
time on, he spiraled downward in a
battle with anxiety.
Many people experience anxiety, but for my brother, it was amplified fourfold. He dealt with his
symptoms virtually around the
clock. Nothing seemed to help, and
he tried as many treatments as he

could - from emergency room
visits, two stints in behavior health
hospitals and residential treatment
programs, to a variety of medications and talk therapy.
My family and I noticed that he
did find relief from walking in the
woods, riding his bike and working out at a fitness center. Exercise
and being in nature made him feel
appreciably better, until even those
activities didn't help. He felt hopeless about his condition.
Through the experience with my
brother's mental health struggle,
I became acquainted with April
Chambers, who serves on the
Florida Board of Directors for the
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). My sister, Marilyn,
who knows Chambers through
work, introduced us. After learning of Chambers' involvement

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with NAMI, Marilyn decided to
share her story about our brother.
It was a relief for her to talk with
someone like Chambers, who understood what she and our family
were going through, and she felt
comfortable diving into the details. They discussed the family's
attempts to help Rick and the challenges along the way, from seeing
multiple doctors to trying out various medications.
Following
our
introduction,
Chambers and I co-presented a session about the park and recreation
industry's role in support of mental
health initiatives at the 2019 NRPA
Annual Conference, which was held
in Baltimore, Maryland, in September. The room was completely filled,
and many more people were waiting
outside the door, which speaks to the
significant interest in this topic.
What my sister and I didn't
know is that our story is just
like others. Often, families aren't
equipped to help, and most individuals suffering from a mental
health condition are too embarrassed to talk about it. Slowly,
the stigma associated with mental
health conditions is lessening, but
this is a very recent development.
Talking about and sharing our
experiences are what led to understanding, a healthy future and
removing the stigma forever!
My brother has inspired me to
believe that the park and recreation
industry can play a substantive role
in helping people with mental illness by offering services directed
toward these individuals. Following are examples of initiatives from
agencies around the country:

The labyrinth is one of 10 stations that
promote relaxation and focus along Stark
County Park District's Mindfulness Walk.

November 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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