Ben Strand/ Winonan

Mental health was a topic of discussion at Winona State University last week when poet Matt Rasmussen was on campus Tuesday evening to give a reading of his book, “Black Aperture.”

Rasmussen’s brother committed suicide when he was a child, and “Black Aperture” is a book of poems on his brother’s suicide.

Rasmussen said mental health is an issue in our culture that is not discussed enough. Writing his book made him more aware of that issue.

“Many people aren’t aware of the vastness of suicide and the problems surrounding mental health,” Rasmussen said, “Nobody likes to talk about those things.”

Rasmussen said he did not write a poem about his brother, or his suicide, until ten years after his brother committed suicide.

“I realized through writing this book the importance of being able to talk about the deeply rooted subject of suicide,” Rasmussen said. “It helped me deal with the grief and come to better terms with the suicide in a way I had not imagined.”

Rasmussen said one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to mental health is the ability to talk about it.

Rasmussen said he believes people do not like talking about it because they “fear the bad connotations that stem from these issues.”

People often feel overwhelmed with the emotions surrounding suicide and mental health that makes people “uncomfortable to talk about,” Rasmussen said.

Suicide is a mental health problem rooted in the human psyche, Rasmussen said, and “suicide is a common thought among teens throughout the world.”

“Suicide rates are something that are only increasing in our world,” Rasmussen said, “and people need to be aware of that in order to help fix the problem.”

Rasmussen said mental health issues such as suicide affect more than the people who are personally dealing with the issues.

He said, “It’s important for people who know someone who committed suicide to be able to talk about it.”

“Don’t be afraid to talk about it,” he said.

Rasmussen said writing about it was a good tool for him to deal with everything surrounding his brother’s suicide.

“Our culture today grieves in a shameful, private way,” Rasmussen said. “Writing poems about my brother allowed me to truthfully express my emotions and deal with the grief.”

Rasmussen said there are various ways for different people to deal with grief and mental health issues.

Making it feel ok to deal with these issues in a non-private way is what we need to do for people, Rasmussen said.

Grace Pesch, a health and wellness student advocate at Winona State, said the university recently held a “Say Something” campaign.

“The ‘Say Something’ campaign was held to encourage people to share their stories related to suicide or mental health,” Pesch said, “And it advocated changing the conversation around mental health and not using words like ‘psycho’ or ‘crazy’.”

Pesch said there are plenty of places or people on campus students can feel safe around to discuss these issues.

“We have counseling services, which are available Monday thru Friday,” Pesch said, “but [Resident Assistants] are trained counselors as well. Our university has a good counseling services program, and they’re always looking for ways to improve for the students because mental health is an issue that needs to be discussed and dealt with more in our culture.”