Health & Wellness

High Risk At High Altitude

Aspen Public Radio is talking about mental health. We started this discussion with a focus on the collision of pandemic depression and seasonal depression. However, mountain communities have specific mental health issues, including higher rates of suicide, and we're continuing the conversation to examine how we can develop better overall community mental health habits as we navigate through the pandemic and beyond.We’ll be talking with local experts, but the Aspen Public Radio newsroom also wants to hear directly from our listeners. We encourage you to contact us with any questions, comments or stories by emailing news@aspenpublicradio.org and putting "Mental Health Project" in the subject line.

High Risk At High Altitude: How Have The Events Of The Last Year Impacted Our Relationships?

Aspen Public Radio | By Eleanor Bennett

Published February 2, 2021 at 6:00 AM MST

Local mental health expert Jackie Skramstad offers advice about what to do when you’re on opposite ends of the spectrum -- whether it’s over mask-wearing or the election -- from your friends and family and it’s taking a toll on your mental health.";s:3:

One way to take care of yourself during the coronavirus pandemic is to stay connected to your loved ones, but what happens when you have a disagreement or a falling out with the people you’re supposed to feel most connected to, and how does that affect your mental health?

In our latest conversation from the “High Risk At High Altitude Series,” Aspen Public Radio talked with Glenwood Springs-based mental health expert Jackie Skramstad. She began her work in family counseling and is now the Clinical Operations Manager for Mind Springs Health, which operates in the Valley as well as in ten counties across Colorado’s Western Slope.

Morning Edition host Eleanor Bennett spoke with Skramstad about how the events of the last year -- everything from COVID-19, to the insurrection at the U-S Capitol and the spread of conspiracy theories -- have impacted people’s relationships with their friends and family in the Roaring Fork Valley.

You can still take part in the “High Risk At High Altitude Series” by sending your mental health questions to news@aspenpublicradio.org and putting “Mental Health Project” in the subject line.