Mental Health in Lake Oswego: What I Want My Hometown to Know

Key Takeaways:

• Feeling isolated, anxious, or depressed can happen even when you have supportive relationships, a successful career, and a busy life.
• You don’t have to wait until you’re in crisis—or decide whether your struggles are “bad enough”—before talking with a therapist.
• Willamette Wellness Center offers mental health therapy online throughout Oregon, or in person at our Milwaukie clinic,for people who want a supportive place to talk through what they’re experiencing.

Some of my oldest and happiest memories are rooted in Lake Oswego.

I grew up here, graduated from Lake Oswego High School in 1996, and played softball and soccer for LOHS. One of my closest friendships started with someone who lived on my street—and has now lasted 42 years.

My parents still live here, and I still occasionally find myself under the Friday night lights watching football at my alma mater, sometimes with my own sons beside me. Lake Oswego will always feel like home.

I’ve also spent over 15 years working in mental health. And when I think about the community I grew up in and what I’m seeing in my work today, there’s something I want to share:

You can have people who love you, a successful career, a busy life—and still feel like you don’t have anyone you can really talk to.

People are dealing with a lot right now.

At Willamette Wellness Center, we’re hearing from people who are worried about job stability, the economy, housing and grocery costs, family pressures, climate change, political upheaval, and what the future will look like.

If you own a business, that uncertainty can take another form.

You may be watching sales dip, seeing longtime competitors close their doors, or wondering what the next few months will bring—all while trying to stay positive for your employees, customers, and family.

Like many others, you may feel increasingly isolated, anxious, or depressed—and like you have fewer places to talk openly about what’s going on.

Even within close relationships, differences in political beliefs or perspectives can make it difficult to say what you’re thinking without worrying about starting an argument, being judged, or not being understood.

So all that stress has to go somewhere.

You can have a spouse who loves you, friends who would be there in a heartbeat, and coworkers you see every day—and still not feel comfortable sharing everything.

Feeling alone isn’t always the same as being alone.

There is no assessment for human suffering.

Sometimes we hesitate to consider therapy because we don’t think what we’re experiencing is “bad enough.”

It’s easy to think someone else has it worse. You may still be going to work, taking care of your family, running your business, meeting friends for dinner, and doing everything that needs to get done.

From the outside, you may look completely fine. But one thing I often remind people is this:

There is no assessment for human suffering.

In therapy, we don’t score what you’re going through against what someone else is experiencing. Your feelings come from your own life and experiences. Whatever you’re feeling—and how you got there—matters.

You don’t have to wait until you’re in crisis to ask for help, and you don’t have to compare yourself to others to know you need it.

Mental health therapy can meet you where you are and help you get to where you want to be.

Sometimes it helps to have someone outside your circle

I love that I still have friendships that go all the way back to my childhood in Lake Oswego. Those relationships are incredibly important to me.

But even the people who know and love us best aren’t always the people we want to tell everything.

Maybe you don’t want to worry your kids. Maybe your spouse is dealing with the same stressful situation you are. Maybe you’re the business owner everyone looks to for reassurance, and saying “I’m scared too” doesn’t feel like an option.

Sometimes it helps to have someone outside that circle.

That’s one reason I want people in Lake Oswego to know about Willamette Wellness Center. Our mental health therapists are trained in trauma-informed care and are here when you need a place to work through what’s happening in your life.

I’m not saying everyone reading this needs therapy.

I just want my hometown to know we’re here if you do.

Would you want someone you love to feel this way?

Sometimes we can be our own worst critics. We tell ourselves we should just “tough it out,” that it’s really not that bad, or that talking about how we’re feeling makes us weak.

When that happens, I often suggest asking yourself a different question:

Would I want my partner, mother, friend, or child to be feeling the way I’m feeling right now?

If the answer is no, you have your answer.

We’re often much quicker to help someone we love than to acknowledge that maybe we could use some help ourselves.

Lake Oswego gave me an incredible place to grow up, friendships that have lasted decades, and memories I now get to share with my own children. I still love coming back to the lake, the giant old-growth fir trees, and a place that will always hold a special place in my heart.

Being able to bring home what I’ve learned means a lot.

And if you or someone you love needs someone to talk to—online or in person—Willamette Wellness Center is here. Contact us to get started.