The Little Things

"The Little Things" is an in-depth series that focuses on mental health, and the little things people can do personally to improve their mental health. Episodes and segments address the "mental health moment of our generation" – well-being in an age of rising mental health and addiction challenges in the shadow of a pandemic that has made those challenges worse.

Full Episodes

Resources

About the Series

Full Episodes

Panhandle PBSEpisode 1 – The Little Things: Why & Why Now

The weight of the world can be crushing these days. But the brain can be rewired with "the little things" – simple things you can do to improve your mental health.

Panhandle PBSEpisode 2 – The Little Things: Stress & Mindfulness

Stress can help or harm you. Amarillo experts discuss what stress does to you mentally and physically. And, we hear from them and others about how to identify and tame it.

Panhandle PBSEpisode 3 – The Little Things: Depression & Exercise

Movement – of most any kind – can help to reduce symptoms of depression. The brain, body and relief techniques you need to know from local experts and those who have lived with the disorder.

Panhandle PBSEpisode 4 – The Little Things: Anxiety & Gut

Shaping up your grocery list can shape up your brain. What you need to know about how your diet affects your brain.

Panhandle PBSEpisode 5 – The Little Things: Emotions & Creativity

Creativity can help when your emotions are all over the place. Here are simple things to try from Amarilloans who understand the physical and mental toll of emotional dysregulation.

Panhandle PBSEpisode 6 – The Little Things: Trauma & Nature

Modern humans are disconnected from nature, and that can upset our brains and bodies. Spending time outside can help reset your brain from mental challenges, including trauma.

Panhandle PBSEpisode 7 – The Little Things: Isolation & Connection

Isolating yourself can become a detrimental cycle. But there are simple things you can do to reconnect.

Panhandle PBSEpisode 8 – The Little Things: Getting Better

Texas Panhandle organizations respond to fill gaps in mental healthcare for our community.

About the Series

“The Little Things” addresses what has been called “the mental health moment of our generation” – well-being in an age of rising mental health and addiction challenges and in the shadow of a pandemic that has made those challenges worse.

For more than a decade before the pandemic, deaths from suicide, overdose, and co-morbid health conditions were at 20-year highs, compounded by systemic inequities for people of color, according to a recent testimony from Andy Keller, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Meadows Mental Health Institute before a U.S. Senate committee. Of course, the pandemic is making all of this worse.

“Going into the pandemic, we were doing a terrible job with mental health, particularly the mental health of young Americans and young Texans. So before the pandemic, suicide was the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults,” said Keller. “Now, two years in, we have baseline rates of depression in the country more than three times what they were before the pandemic.”

According to Laura Street chairman of the Panhandle Behavioral Health Alliance, three out of four people interact with mental illness or addiction in their lives, either themselves or through someone they know.

“Understand the prevalence of people who are having difficult times, stress-related issues, depression, anxiety,” said Donald Newsome, Director of Quality Management at Texas Panhandle Centers. “Realize that you probably know someone who’s struggling right now, or dealing with it and just coping somehow on a day-to-day basis.”

More Resources

If you are in crisis or experiencing thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). These services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Crisis Lines

A crisis line is a service that provides free, confidential support and resources for people in emotional distress. The service is provided by a trained crisis counselor by phone, text, and/or chat. You can get help for yourself or someone you're worried about. In addition to the resources below, some states have their own crisis lines with phone, text and/or chat services.