Onalaska Y offering free mental health screenings today

Offered to help remove stigma from getting help.

You might be excused for feeling blue this time of year. 

But some really struggle with undiagnosed and untreated depression. Especially during the holidays. And the lack of sunlight. And cold weather. Or maybe even the outcome of the presidential election.

“Politics can be a lot of noise, no matter what side you’re on or what direction you’re coming from,” Sarah Johnson, mental health director at the La Crosse Area YMCA, said from the WIZM studio Monday afternoon. “We really need to be in a place where we hear each other and not just make more noise.”

From 5-8 p.m. tonight the Onalaska YMCA hosts a free mental health screening tonight and throughout January. In part, says Johnson, the screenings are offered to help remove the stigma from getting help for depression and other mental health issues.  

Johnson says the impacts of depression can seem especially acute say, during the winter months, around the holidays. 

“If somebody’s struggling, whether that be related to politics or general election or their life circumstances or its simply their biology at this moment in time, we urge them to talk to somebody,” She said. “The more stress we have in our lives, the more likely we might be develop depression. The holidays might be a tough time for folks.”

Johnson emphasizes that the screening should not be seen as a diagnosis but should be seen as a way to get mental health conversations out in the open. 

Listen to the entire interview with Johnson and Mitch Reynolds below.