Mental health is an endless mountain with highs and lows, but a place where you’re never alone.
Dylan Stein knows the journey first-hand.
As a young, active, white male who loves to ski, Dylan Stein sees himself as the ultimate profile of a typical Summit County resident. He also knows he’s not the only one with darkness to fight.
When Stein moved to the county from Portland, Ore., in October 2021, he thought the scenery and easy access to the slopes would provide a cure for the depression he’d been battling for years.
“I came out here to run away from my depression,” the 28-year-old says. “I thought once I get out there, I’ll get out of it. The thing is, it follows you wherever you go.”
Adding a layer of negative feelings, Stein became frustrated with himself knowing he was fulfilling his dream of living in a ski town, but not finding the happiness he had believed would come with it.
Dylan Stein
“It was like, how can I look out the window, see this mountainous, beautiful landscape and still feel completely hollow? That just compounds on your existing challenges. This self-hatred starts to take hold, because you’re in this incredible area and you still feel this way.”
On top of that, Stein had thought he would instantly find like-minded people and make a solid group of friends. It didn’t play out that way.
“It’s hard to find your community here. It’s so transient. A lot of people don’t want to get close to someone because they’re afraid they’re going to leave. I wanted to connect with the outdoor community, the mountain community. I desperately wanted to fit in. It took me a long time. It was a solid two years of feeling pretty lonely.”
Stein considers himself extremely lucky that he had people to talk to, especially his father. He points out that although his father’s generation was never encouraged to be open about emotions, he always made time to listen and make Stein feel comfortable and safe opening up about his feelings.
“I can’t tell you how much that has meant have a father that listens and allows you to be emotional and vulnerable and has taken those late-night calls when I was going through some hard times,” Stein says. “He held that space for me. I’m eternally grateful to my mother and father for holding that space, teaching me there’s nothing wrong with being sensitive. I don’t know where I’d be without them.”
Pursuing a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adams State University and as Building Hope’s Care Team Coordinator and, Stein knows that not everybody is so lucky to have loved ones to call.
“There’s a lot of people in tough situations without anyone to talk to. There are people without friends and family around. I can promise in this county, someone is always willing to listen and willing to help, because I am one of those people. You are not alone.”
While skiing is a part of Stein’s journey toward a happier place, talking through his emotions is another major component. In addition to reaching out to family, he has worked through his struggles in counseling.
“Honestly, just having a place to word vomit was helpful,” he says. “Being able to verbally express your thoughts, they’re a lot more manageable when they’re out there, not just in your mind. Then, it’s about figuring out the root of those dark thoughts and feelings and learning to self-regulate.”
One major solace he found was that mental health struggles are part of being human.
“Everyone really does struggle in one way or another. Everyone is going through something” he says. “I remember one day looking out at my view from Wildernest, looking down on Dillon and Silverthorne and thinking, I wonder who else is feeling this way right now? I realized there are probably hundreds of people. I felt so much safer at that moment.”
When Stein first sought therapy, he knew he wanted to speak to a male professional. He discovered they were few and far between. This points to the stigma of mental health treatment, especially as it relates to ideas of traditional gender roles and how men cope with problems.
“The majority of suicides are males. Traditionally, men are not supposed to talk about stuff. That societal pressure to man up and deal with it is super deep,” Stein says. “Not that I’m the champion of mental health for men. I work here. I have a counselor. I still feel it. I still get embarrassed when I overshare. I worry my guy friends will think I’m this emotional, whiney guy. Men suffer the consequences of not dealing with their mental health. It’s costing them their lives.”
Stein is often the first point of contact for Building Hope’s new clients. He guides them through the initial step of their mental health journeys, finding a therapist and making sure they understand they are not alone.
“I wanted to help lead the charge and show that dealing with mental health is for everyone,” he says. “It’s not a woman thing. It’s not a sensitive man thing. It’s an everyone thing. Also, talking about traditional male traits like courage and strength; it’s damn courageous to face your demons.”
As for demons, Stein finds comfort in a quote from his favorite movie, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
“It’s like in the great stories, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you.”
While Stein knows that the sun will shine, he views the journey of mental health as a lifelong climb up a mountain. There are highs and there are lows.
“I still have bad days,” he says. “I’m not at the top of the mountain. The mountain will last forever. There’s a lot of darkness out there, but you experience it and it makes those shining moments even brighter. There are low points and high points. There’s always hope for brighter days. Most importantly, everybody is climbing the mountain. You are never alone.”
Photos & Video by Big Pictures Media
Article by Shauna Farnell are a full-time freelance writer based in Breckenridge. She loves writing about (and participating in) adventures of all varieties and uncovering human interest stories that inspire others to be better humans.
You can reach Shauna at: https://www.shaunafarnell.com/
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