Dave Harness, county coroner, said that in performing toxicology reports on individuals who die by suicide, it "rarely" comes back without substances, except in cases with teenagers. Substance use disorder, Hawley said, often goes hand in hand with mental health struggles.
"When someone is self-medicating with a mind-altering substance, whatever it might be - and in Wyoming, it's alcohol - when they do that, and that self-medication isn't ending their pain, it's depressing," he said.
There is also a stigma associated with mental illness, though continued education and aware ness make these conversations easier, said Wes Hartman, licensed counselor and coalition member. Reducing the stigma among community members, especially those in the “helping professions," who deal with the public often, he said, is especially important.
"A lot of times, they're not comfortable talking about it. What I've found is that if the person in the helping position is comfortable talking about it, the person you're sitting with will self-disclose,” Hartman said. “But the minute they see you're not comfortable with the topic of suicide, they'll shut down."
https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramie...cle_1f6f5ad8-5b28-5c2f-89cd-6dda5d4a79b1.html
worth noting that mental health as a stigma strikes me as more of an issue among the rugged individualist and personal responsibility and pull yourself up by the boostraps crowd...it shouldn't be a shameful stigma to seek out help...it should be ok to talk about it when asked by a pollster about mental health struggles
ymmv