From Her Own Experiences
After surviving an impulsive suicide attempt as a teenager and ten years of untreated depression, Dr. Sherilyn Duckworth realized there were major cracks in the health system. Particularly, more effort and care was needed addressing the mental health of the youth. Over the course of her education, she began collecting pieces she hoped would fill the cracks.
Now in Reno, she is working to help others and there’s lots of work to be done. Nevada ranks in the top third for teen suicide. In the past ten years, the average rate of suicide amongst teenagers in Nevada doubled.
Duckworth recently completed her doctorate program in Health Education and Promotion with an emphasis in behavior from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During her education she created a yoga meditation program.
“One of the things that I put together is I need to be there for adolescents who may not have the help that I needed at the time,” said Duckworth. After her suicide attempt, her mother did not allow her to take anti-depressants and could not afford the time off needed to take her to therapy. It was, and still is, a major hole in the system affecting both lower-income and people of color across the nation.
Duckworth was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, which addresses the social determinants of health. With this opportunity, she created a program that helps adolescents struggling with mental health issues.
“I thought it would be cool to use yoga to help youth with their depression and anxiety and stress,” explained Duckworth. During the fellowship she created a program that utilizes yoga meditation to help adolescents living in a public housing community in Birmingham, AL. After seeing the impact of her work and completing the year-long fellowship, Duckworth could not see herself just walking away from the program.
Recent screengrabs from the project’s affiliated Instagram.
Reducing Stigma, Normalizing Conversations
A Friend of Mind was born. Her non-profit helps youth battle depression. It provides access to yoga and mediation to anyone experiencing anxiety or stress or depression and serves as an affordable and accessible tool. The organization was created in 2018 and has four chapters, one in Birmingham, AL, another one in Atlanta, GA, and one in Duckworth’s hometown, Demopolis, AL, and most recently, Duckworth began a chapter here in Reno.
She relocated from the south to Reno earlier this year and Duckworth fell in love with the people. “Everyone has been so welcoming...I have just gotten so much support,” she explained about her short time in town. She has been able to use this support to help grow the local chapter of A Friend of Mind.
“There is definitely a need to for adolescents to get access to mental health and suicide prevention resources here,” explained Duckworth. Since opening her organization she has received many calls from parents of teenagers. She has found that her work is not only needed but being well received.
Currently she is also in the process of working with local school officials to create an afterschool program and getting connected with local detention centers.
“Mental health is just as important as physical health,” she said. “It is really important to remember that we can’t see our mental disorders.” She emphasized the importance of being nothing but supportive of those experiencing mental disorders, especially those who may not have the best quality of mental health. She understands the conversations that need to happen can be difficult, but nonetheless, they are important. So important, she said, that they need to happen with the youth from an early age.
“We need to have a conversation about mental health like we do about football,” Duckworth explained. She understands, from a first-hand experience that adolescents need a safe haven and in order to get there, the conversations need to happen, and useful programs need to be put into place .
“I don’t think people realize how common mental disorders are among adolescents,” Duckworth said. These include everything from depression, anxiety, PTSD and attention behaviors. She said not being able to identify these common behaviors as part of mental health, is a disservice to the youth. “If we don’t recognize how common they are we are not able to recognize how quickly they need help.”
While A Friend of Mind is in its infancy, the impact can be far reaching.
“Providing these outlets, normalizing these conversations and being aware how common suicide and mental disorders are among adolescents,” Duckworth explained are the strongest assets everyone has at their disposal to help alleviate the mental health struggles of the younger generation. “It’s going to take a village to decrease the suicide rates of adolescents.”
Our Town Reno reporting by Richard Bednarski