Running For Your Life

This is an exerpt from the Flathead Beacon.

Editor’s Note: This article contains mentions of suicide. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

"As Montana’s youth suicide rates continue to outpace the national average, with Flathead County ranking near the top, local coaches, educator, and prevention experts say stories of strength and resilience are important mile markers in the marathon of mental wellness.
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BY MICAH DREW
​OCTOBER 27, 2024

Running 26.2 miles is not a feasible treatment option for everyone struggling with mental health or suicidal ideation, but any intentional acts of physical or mental well-being can be hugely beneficial, says Nicci Schellinger-Daniher, program director for the Nate Chute Foundation.

“Not everyone can do a marathon, but youths and adolescents look for milestones they can achieve at that age. Setting even little, positive goals you can do for yourself like getting better sleep, or going for walks can be hugely beneficial. We talk about this in classrooms now — find those things to destress, walking your dog, taking time to pet your cat, reading a book. Even though these things seem simple, they all add up to how we show up in the world,” Daniher said. “I remember hearing about Connor completing the marathon and it’s an absolutely great story. It’s important to show stories of strength and resilience because they’re as important in the landscape of prevention as those about warning signs and who to talk to and so on.”

Conversations surrounding suicide prevention increase following tragedies, but Daniher and other mental health professional emphasize the need to have conversations more regularly.
The Nate Chute Foundation has been an anchor in the Flathead Valley’s suicide awareness landscape for decades and is continually evolving its approach, most recently following a 16-month stretch in 2021 when eight Flathead Valley teenagers died by suicide, raising awareness and outreach in a community struck by tragedy.

“We’re still grieving and learning from the crisis we saw in 2021,” Daniher said. “One thing that emerged for Nate Chute Foundation after that period was we changed our mission. It was initially focused on preventing suicide in the Flathead Valley, and then we added promotion of mental wellness, because we don’t want to strictly address this from the standard suicide-prevention protocol of talking about risk factors and warning signs. One way to approach suicide prevention is to approach it from strength. Get in classrooms and not just talk about hard things that may lead you to mental health struggles, but about the positive things you can do for yourself.”

The Glacier High School soccer team at Legends Stadium on Sept. 16, 2021. Prior to the match, the players paid tribute to a teammate who died by suicide less than 10 days earlier. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead BeaconAnother change that Daniher said has occurred in recent years is the start of grassroots student clubs at each of the valley’s high schools centered around mental wellness and nurturing open dialogue.

“We want to normalize talking about what we’re going through. If you can talk to your friends about going to physical therapy because you broke your leg, we want you to be able to talk to them about going to a therapist in the same way,” Daniher said. “Getting kids to normalize checking in on one another and be OK saying, ‘at this moment, life sucks and I’m not doing well.’ Saying that out loud can take the lid off the boiling pot of water and reduces the chance of someone going through with thoughts of suicide.”

Read the full article here: ​https://flatheadbeacon.com/2024/10/27/running-for-your-life/