Mental Health

One approach for battling addiction and other behavioral health issues lies just outside our front doors.

Anthony Choquette’s brother-in-law says the family did everything they could to help him before he committed suicide last month at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage.

The focus of the talks across the Norton Sound are broad, but discussions at Nome’s Pioneer Hall brought local providers face to face with the heads of major state agencies, forcing many to confront uncomfortable truths.

“For my PTSD issues, jail is the least therapeutic atmosphere you could ever imagine,” says Iraq veteran David Carlson. “You come in one way and you leave three times worse.”

“I would be proud if we figured out suicide in a way that was not only helpful to our own members who are having that problem, but to society as a whole,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said.

Since childhood, humor writer Jenny Lawson has struggled with mental health issues. In her latest book, Furiously Happy, she explains what it means to fight back with spiteful happiness.