Maya Angelou gave sound life advice when she said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Time and again humans often make decisions without thinking about what those choices will do now and thereby, inadvertently or intentionally, pass off the repercussions to generations down the road to remedy and manage. As colonists spread throughout New England, this is what happened when over 3,000 dams were built in the midst of previously freely flowing rivers. Luckily, one of those generational members to inherit, remedy, and manage these obstructive relics and serve as a guardian and advocate for the Jones River watershed is Pine DuBois -Director of the Jones River Watershed Association in Kingston.
The Jones River Watershed came about the same way many environmentally focused nonprofits do: concerned and engaged citizens. In 1985, residents in the area were feeling the impact from decades of compounded damage to the quality and depletion of their basin water supply via mismanaged and manmade diversions impacting Silver Lake, as well as noting the long-term harm the many concrete dams had caused for centuries to local ecosystems. The Jones River watershed may be a small coastal ecosystem, but its relationship to the globally significant Gulf of Maine is closely tied and in need of regulating and protecting.
To help others understand the unique nature of the area, DuBois starts back in the Ice Age. “Thousands of years ago, an ice lobe a mile high began to move and retreat to the Jones River Valley. It created the current landscape and also, Silver Lake. Silver Lake is not a shallow pond like many in the area, it is 80ft deep at its deepest point! It was also the highest quality of water -until humans came along and started causing problems.” In 1899, Brockton obtained the legal rights to Silver Lake and unfortunately, its depletion and damage picked up shortly after. Between the 1920’s-50’s, the water supply began to run low -largely due to disruption from dams and high public strain on the supply in the area. “By 1960, Brockton was out of water, so they began diverting water from Monponsett and Furnace ponds -which polluted Silver Lake.”
In 1985, The Massachusetts Water Management Act (M.G.L. c. 21G) was enacted to address growing concerns about the sustainable use of the Commonwealth’s water resources. Still, there was a section in the act that allowed exceptions to be made for pre-existing water supply and demand issues, and Silver Lake was further stressed with limited natural resources. “They drained Silver Lake 38ft down from natural levels -a huge ecological trauma for the area,” says DuBois. Kingston is continually affected by the management of Silver Lake as it is 17% of their watershed, but much of this water is mismanaged and no longer flows into the Jones River, so the Jones River is in a constant drought. DuBois explains, “At 7 ½ miles long, the Jones River is the largest river draining into Cape Cod Bay, but the way Brockton is managing their water supply has a direct, negative impact on three rivers and three bays: Narragansett Bay, Mass Bay, and Cape Cod Bay. Silver Lake is one of the 12 largest natural lakes in the state and we are misusing a geological treasure.”
One of the biggest pollutants of Silver Lake is Monponsett Pond. What were once seasonal summer cottages surrounding the water are now permanent, septic-bearing, year-round waste-contributing structures that have had devastating effects on the water quality and ecosystem. From 2020-2022, Plymouth County Water District completed a water quality study of Silver Lake and concluded that it was in the worst condition it had ever been in its thousands of years of existence. The study showed heavy amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen-loading cyanobacteria as well as invasive plants, all being introduced daily from polluted, diverted ponds. In addition, the Pittsfield site for the former GE facility, contributed extensively to the contamination of Silver Lake with their discharge methods and high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) and contaminated fill being placed on property that abuts the lake.
Though it may seem the fate of Silver Lake is beyond help, DuBois and the Jones River Watershed Association are working tirelessly to help remediate the damages caused to the water and intricate ecosystems established there. “We just have to keep watching and make note of things that don’t seem right and then get to the bottom of it and continue to push back locally for these towns to do the right thing. We have to make a fuss,” says DuBois. Thankfully, DuBois and her fellow volunteers are seeing signs of success in their efforts to restore balance and health to the region’s watershed. One of their main focuses in this mammoth effort is the removal of dams which would result in the restoration of natural migration and movement patterns for native animals in the waterways.
Historically, many dams in Massachusetts and beyond, served a crucial purpose (however ecologically unsound it was) for the development of the shipbuilding industry in the area. Mills and factories produced a variety of goods and products -largely for shipbuilding materials but also weaponry and everyday goods like shoes and tack. “People have always lived with the river,” says DuBois, “rivers give life in water, food supply, and industry, but using them to support communities didn’t always cause so much environmental damage.” DuBois explained that these dams used to be temporary, seasonal structures. “They would build the dams up in January, use them with the spring thaw and rains, then take them apart and let the rivers flow into wetlands that they would then farm for the rich soil.” In the late 1600’s however, a less seasonal approach took hold to allow increased production and profiting year-round and dams became concrete and permanent. As a result, animals like the herring and American eels that use the Jones River and other waterways in the area, were blocked from their natural patters of passage. This drastically altered the eels abilities and numbers in the ecosystem as well as the animals and plants that had an established codependency and symbiotic relationship with them. DuBois explains, “River herring and eels are ‘diadromous’ fish, meaning they spend part of their life in salt water and part in fresh water. Unblocking their pathways is one of the most important things we can do to restore our waterways.”
Eels are born somewhere out in the Sargasso Sea, out in the middle of the North Atlantic. The newborn eels make their way back to the eastern coast of the Americas and, for reasons unknown, they branch off and swim up thousands of different rivers along the coast. They migrate upstream as far as possible until they find a good, safe habitat to grow in. It has been recorded that female eels spend as much as 40 years in our local streams and lakes and can grow up to 5 feet. In the fall, the masses of eels slither back down the rivers and head out to the Sargasso to spawn, and thus begins the process again.
Eels also serve as crucial pest control as they are one of the greatest consumers of mosquito larva. While chemical sprays harm the environment around the mosquitoes -including the fish that eat the mosquitoes, eels eliminate large quantities of mosquito larva in addition to the fish consuming large amounts of grown mosquitoes that are able to hatch. DuBois raises American eels back at the Jones River Watershed headquarters and releases them into areas of the river where dams will not inhibit their passage. “I have released about 5,700 eels into these waterways,” says DuBoise, “They are doing well where we have released them and that gives me hope.”
Perhaps the best-known creature of the waterways in the area, largely thanks to the indigenous communities’ successful public advocacy and celebration of them, is the herring. Herring population and well-being have long been a staple focus for local watershed associations. DuBois remarks, “The explorers and colonists came to this area for the timber and also for the fish! We had so much cod that we made an entire industry for it. One of the things people don’t know is that cod eat herring. If you care about the local fishing industry, you need to care about the herring and therefore the local waterways.”
So what, exactly, is being done right now to help the eels, herring, and other aquatic animals and plants be able to once again move freely up and down the waterways? DuBoise, who is standing across from me at Forge Pond dam, points out several things the Jones River Watershed Association is working on. “Overall, we want the dams gone. They need to be taken out, but it is a careful process and it costs a lost of money, so it is a slow battle for each one. In the meantime, we have made fish ladders. The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has been able to acquire the ability to require fish passage at dams, so we are getting help making and placing these ladders. They are measured and made to be positioned in water deep enough for the fish to swim up them, but also high enough to help them jump the dam. Still, not every species of fish jumps well -herring do, luckily, so they have been able to make some movement even when dams are still there.” A section of the Forge Pond dam has been removed but the process of cleaning up the residual build up of muck since its construction in 1905 is no small feat. “We have a dredge machine coming to clear this pond. It is a 20ft pontoon boat with an electric motor, a suction pump, and a hose. It is going to suck up the 3-4ft deep mud deposits blocking up this pond and potentially the river, and then shoot it out onto the banks which will nourish and feed the trees and plants along the banks.”
So far, the Jones River Watershed Association has removed two dams in the area. DuBois states, “We removed the Wapping Road dam in 2011, and the Elm Street dam in 2019. After taking underwater video surveillance and conducting studies at these sites post dam removal, the fish and animals came right back and started doing what they had been blocked from doing for so long. It is very promising to see how quickly nature starts to set itself right when we just get out of the way and let it do its thing.”
Even the headquarters for the Jones River Watershed Association is not immune to the danger and destruction of modern-day environmental practices and climate instability. Upon entering the Headquarters at Jones River Landing and Environmental Heritage Center -an unassuming and nearly tucked-away building snuggled up against the Jones River inlet, the viewer is met with enough pictures, maps, memorabilia, knickknacks, books, banners, papers, and chairs and tables to be instantly intrigued. An aquarium of baby eels sits near the back of the entrance area flanked by a tank of mosquito larva for their feeding.
Through the lively, and obviously well-loved gathering room, there is a boat-making workshop stocked with materials for making beautiful 19th century lobster boats and boat restoration. As we tour the busy building, DuBois points out that its very existence is becoming a battle. “When the tides get too high, which they do often now, and especially during Nor’easters, the water comes right up into the building -knee deep sometimes. I mark the water levels with each flood, and as you can see it is getting higher each time. There has been a lot of structural damage so far, and we had drawn up future plans to make it a floating building -like homes in New Orleans, but according to the water-level-rise studies and predictions for this area, that won’t even work.” How ironic that the headquarters where some of the most important discussions and decisions about our watershed and waterways takes place, is threatened by the unnatural alterations of the very waters they are working so hard to protect.
Still, there is always the argument of hope. “It is worth it -doing this. It matters so much,” says DuBois, “Our job and hope is to make people think -to trigger the process. These are millennially important natural resources and absolutely everything we do to them and for them -good and bad, matters. These issues will affect our lives and our future generations and so I just keep working at it and keep trying to wake people up.”
As I leave the headquarters and stand on the boat dock on the beautiful Jones River, a Great Blue Heron takes off from the banks. It soars upward -likely to where the great wall of ice used to reach, and it is impossible to not be overwhelmed, in a beautiful way, by the story of this place -to marvel at the mere thought of the chapters of transformation it has undergone through centuries and eons. It makes me want to be sure that my addition to the current chapter is one that won’t need to be remedied or healed from in the future, and if Pine DuBois has taught me anything about nature today, it is that I can best do that by getting out of the way and letting it take its course.

In an ideal world, humans would coexist with nature rather than try to champion over and manipulate it for our own interests and purposes. The concept of “give back equal to or more than you take” would be balanced out, and would replace the current way our society runs which is more by the philosophy of “take, take, take and when it eventually comes to harm you, then give a little back.” We have become comfortable with finite, unsustainable, inconsiderate plans that have catastrophic costs. Then, we often turn away from facing and fixing the understandably overwhelming realities we have shaped and created in our ecosystems.
People are busy lip-syncing on social media, but don’t bother to spend time learning things like where their water comes from or how their daily activities directly affect it. Many of us are so busy getting to and from jobs and commitments that we drive right past tree-hidden streams, marshes, and ponds tucked off the side of the roads that impact our daily life. I, too, am numbered as such. It is a fortunate thing, indeed, that there are also people in our communities working tirelessly to address, study, heal, and protect our local ecosystems -people like Samantha Woods, Executive Director of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association.
The NSRWA was created in 1970 by a group of South Shore residents who wanted to preserve and protect the watershed’s natural beauty -both for their own use and for generations to come. What began as a group of 400 South Shore residents has grown to over 1,900 members. The initial movement behind the formation of NSRWA was a Scituate resident named Jean Foley. She was birdwatching around the North River salt marshes and noticed that two types of sparrows she often spotted there were missing. Foley suspected perhaps the new Driftway condo development built along the marsh was a possible cause. She started to look for answers and rallied local water resource specialists, state environmental agency employees, a wildlife biologist, an attorney, and local conservation commission members, and other residents of watershed towns to join the cause. Jean, and her Husband Jack, had a meeting that spring to address the current state, and future of, local waterways and thus began the NSRWA.
Over fifty years later, the NSRWA is a well-established, local, grassroots, non-profit environmental organization made up of thousands of South Shore citizens who donate time, resources, and funds to restore, preserve, and protect our local watershed and waterways and the local ecosystems around them. NSRWA focuses on three main areas to achieve their goals: Education, Engagement, and Lead by Example.
“Healthy watersheds require working with communities to restore our rivers and waterways. We realize that in order for people to want to protect things, they need to understand them. This is why we focus on education in the community,” Woods explains. “The Water All Around You school program, sponsored by WaterSmart (a non-profit partnership with the NSRWA) provides water-based education to local fifth graders in South Shore schools. We provide 3D models showing how water moves across their towns, how pollution travels and ends up in our rivers, and how dirty water gets treated.” The Water All Around You program provides students tours of their local water treatment plants where they also learn how to conserve water by making small changes.
During the winter months, people can further their education about waterways by participating in the Waterwatch Lecture Series. “These are online and in person lectures with a variety of themes and experts to teach about our waterways and their histories -even about gardening and learning how to manage our gardens in a more eco-friendly way. We help homeowners learn how to make their yards less of a strain on water resources and the environment,” says Woods.
In addition to providing many opportunities to learn about our watersheds, NSRWA also educates the community on how to be on the water and understand how our water systems work in the landscape. Their River Adventures Camp teaches children how to kayak, practice water safety, and explore the natural and cultural history of the North and South Rivers. If you are looking to learn more and wish to connect with NSRWA for group learning opportunities, the River Ambassador Volunteers are available to speak to community groups about their outdoor activities, educational programs, and advocacy work to protect the waters. Woods, ecologist Alex Mansfield, and NSRWA environmental educator Brian Taylor, are happy to speak to groups and organizations.
The second focus for NSRWA is perhaps its most alluring for the average citizen: Engagement. The NSRWA provides a wide array of hands-on, close up, personal, and first-encounter experiences for all ages to learn about and participate in the health and preservation of our waterways. “We focus greatly on our engagement programs -programs that use citizen science and outdoor participation to help people become aware of and familiar with the water in our communities,” says Woods. “We offer programs to get people outdoors to have hands-on experiences. We want to get kids outside hiking, fishing, and on the water as well as help them be active participants in our scientific studies.”
The Estuary Explorers Program is one of many unique opportunities to get children engaged. Participants will learn first-hand about the science of rivers, watersheds and estuaries in outdoor day trips on boats. For many children, this is their first time on the North River -the only scenic protected river in Massachusetts. The program visits the salt marsh, sand flats, mud flats, and barrier beaches of the North River, and children learn about the ecology of a salt water estuary. At a shifting sand flat called “the Spit,” children examine tide pool creatures and observe a variety of animals including invasive green crabs, Asian shore crabs, sea stars, and birds. On land exploration or a pontoon river boat trip, the team teaches children to collect data on water quality and marine life using scientific tools to study river salinity, and marine and local ecology. There is even a beach scavenger hunt. Remarkably, this program is free of cost due to a generous donation from The Michele E. Dufault Foundation.
Woods is also eager to help the communities on the South Shore learn about and become engaged in a pressing and widespread issue in our local watershed systems -dams and the plight of the herring. “We do a lot of things to engage the community and we ask them to be citizen scientists -observing their waterways and collecting data -counting what they see and reporting it to us. We do horseshoe crab counts, herring counts, bay restoration, observation of invasive species, and salt marsh monitoring -all using the collected data from volunteering, observing citizens.” Woods Explains, “But one of the biggest things we need help with, and to focus on, is dam removal and the restoration of natural waterways for the herring and other native species.”
Dams have long been a part of the New England landscape since colonists arrived with industry. Dams were originally seasonal -built for a few months to power mills and then dismantled to allow the return of herring flow, and then the wetlands created from the flooding were farmed due to the enriched soil. When society began to industrialize in the late 1800’s, dams became concrete and permanent -also permanently detrimental to native species moving up and down the rivers and to and from the ocean and other waterways.
“There are about 3,000 dams in Massachusetts -leftover relics,” says Woods, “they were the electricity before electricity. They stopped up the rivers and created local ‘ponds’ that have formed their own ecosystems, but they are not natural or conducive to the migration and natural patterns of local species -especially the herring, and they create stagnant water environments. Through our own studies and citizen science over the years, we have learned just how impacted the populations are by these unnatural dams -which were rendered quite useless with electricity established in most places by the 1920’s and when mills stopped being used.”
Currently, local watershed associations are focusing efforts and resources on dismantling these unnecessary and detrimental structures -often with a great deal of resistance from local organizations and institutions and with the obstacle of large expenses and lack of enough funding. Overall, 15% of available habitat has been re-opened but 77% is still blocked by dams, and only four of the sixty-five dams in the North and South Rivers Watershed have been removed. In an attempt to find a way forward in the immediate future, watershed associations are also proposing altering the dams by at-least partially dismantling areas that will allow some species to move freely up and down the waterways without obstruction.
The third focus of NSRWA is to lead by example. In keeping with their goal, NSRWA offers plenty of chances to interact and learn from them in a social, community setting. Woods assures there is something for everyone. “We have yoga at the river edge, kayaking instruction and excursions, library lectures, photography exhibits, and a walking club where you can meet up with other NSRWA members on guided walks through trails and learn about the area with expert hosts.”
One of the largest events for NSRWA is The Great River Race taking place August 9. “This is the 36th year of the race. This is a non-motorized vehicle race where you can compete with others on the river. We recommend this for people who have some experience paddling as the total mileage is 8.5 miles to the take out,” says Woods, “It is a big fundraiser for our environmental education and outdoor programs.”
For South Shore residents to get involved, Woods recommends first making sure to contact and support your immediate local watershed organization. “Join the mailing lists, follow the online calendars, and go to events,” Woods advises, “There is the Jones River Watershed Association and the Taunton River Watershed Alliance that also cover this area of southern Massachusetts -everyone should know which one they live in and support them first.”
Whatever watershed association you are a part of, they are all crucial, connected, and deserving of far more attention, effort, and funding than our communities give them. “What happens on a small scale will eventually happen on a large scale,” warns Woods, “We hope that people not only learn about these important places, but also learn the joy they bring when we get outside and appreciate them.” Perhaps this summer, we can collectively commit to take a look at that nearby stream we usually only glance at and learn about where it comes from, where it goes, and what lives in and depends on its health. You will undoubtedly be led on a meandering journey of your own and be quite surprised at how big a role you play in the state of life around you.

For more information about the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, Inc., please visit: www.nsrwa.org

“Strength” is a multifaceted word. Often times it denotes a sense of isolation or individuality -we see individuals, entities, and classify them, sometimes unjustly, as weak or strong. This misunderstanding of strength is harmful and dangerous, and Steve Littlefield of Halifax knows better. He understands that strength often comes in numbers and in packages looking a lot like community, family, and facing your biggest challenges with plans and tools instead of coping mechanisms.
The things that qualify Littlefield as someone who knows about strength and survival ca bring even the most resilient of people to dark places. War, emergencies, death, danger, injury -the heaviest things a person can carry, and all of it on repeat -day after day, year after year. Littlefield, however, has found his way through it all and, along the way, has found what works for him. He also knows that it might work for others, too.
Littlefield grew up in Halifax and, as of April 2026, is a retired Army Sergeant First Class with over 25 years of military experience. His combat deployments included Iraq in 2004 and Afghanistan in 2010. Littlefield also served as a Commander and Fire Marshal for the 179th and 180th Engineer Detachments during the COVID-19 pandemic. After military service, he served as a corrections officer and a police officer on Cape Cod, and he is the current Veteran Service Officer for Halifax as well as pursuing his masters in Mental Health Counseling from Bridgewater State University. In addition to this, Littlefield is the founder of The Veterans Next Step Foundation -a nonprofit dedicated to supporting veterans with mental health services and emergency assistance. He is also the Operations Manager for The Anchor Within Counseling and Wellness Center. His debut book, The Rucksack We Carry -A Field Manual for Veterans and First Responders, was released June 1 of 2026 with the aim of helping people in these intense professions learn to feel comfortable with and seek out assistance with their mental health.
When Littlefield joined the army in 2000, he could not have adequately imagined what would be asked of him. “These fields of work teach you how to accumulate this weight on your shoulders, they don’t teach you how to set it down or that it is okay to need help carrying it,” Littlefield explains. In addition to the trauma witnessed and experienced in combat duty, serving in local law enforcement and emergency services locally comes with its own mental health cost. “We are there for what is, often, the worst day of peoples lives. That starts to accumulate in you and leaves negative physical symptoms. We are there to be the help, and so sometimes it is hard to need the help,” says Littlefield.
Upon returning from overseas military service, Littlefield found himself consumed with managing chronic PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Experiences in combat and under high pressure situations day and night left Littlefield at a loss as to how one navigates daily life with decades of accumulated stress and, as his book calls them, “unthinkable moments” that people would give anything to forget living and thriving freely inside the mind and manifesting as physical maladies. “After I returned home, I started to think about mental health in a new way. I thought less about the clinical side and more about how responsibility, stress, trauma, and the quiet accumulation of pressures build over time. I wanted to not only understand these things, I wanted to do something about them,” Littlefield explains.
Littlefield also found himself at a crossroads in life about what was going to come next for him and his family after two decades of high-stress, high-risk professions. “I was staring into the next chapter of life and in reflecting on what I was transitioning from, I began to write down experiences and feelings and thoughts for myself. I wrote things that had been sitting in me for a while that needed to work themselves out onto paper. It was never intended to be the beginnings of a book, but that is where it took me,” says Littlefield.
Once Littlefield was made the Veteran Services Officer for Halifax and began to connect with fellow veterans in the community, he realized his feelings and experiences were obviously common among service members -past and present, but he was made acutely aware that they were not dealt with, acknowledged, or discussed freely within these circles of people who were, nevertheless, suffering. In addition to journaling his thoughts and experiences, he began to share these experiences, struggles, and triumphs with others. This ignited a passion to try to help change the way mental health is viewed and dealt with in military and law enforcement services.
Littlefield states, “Overall, there are better mental health services in the military and law enforcement fields, but the problem is there is still such a stigma around mental health and in needing help to manage it. It is seen as weakness to ask for help or admit that you need it.” According to the latest data, over 30% of veterans meet the criteria for mental health disorders as opposed to 19% of the general population. The suicide rate for veterans is 57% higher in the general adult population than the non-military serving population. These are numbers based entirely off of people who have sought help or are being treated -many of which are not -therefore, accurate percentages are much higher for these statistics.
Littlefield decided it was time to do more than journal and talk with others, and began pursuing a masters in mental health counseling. With his experiences and perspectives in the fields of military and law enforcement, combined with a higher education in the field of mental health, Littlefield is equipped to relate to, as well as understand and advise, in a way that someone who hasn’t experienced such high levels of prolonged trauma and stress might not be able to do. “The things I am learning can help others overcome and cope and they give me insight that is needed in the field,” he says,” I want to help others answer the question, ‘What do we do with all this?’ and facilitate people feeling comfortable enough to ask for help and follow through on it.”
After a year of writing down his thoughts and experiences, combined with the knowledge accumulating as a graduate student, Littlefield decided to self-publish his book. “When I am passionate about something I get really focused, so it was a relatively quick process, but within a year I published the book. It was released June 1. I got software that helped me format for publication and had to learn on the fly, but it worked out and it has been well received.”
The Rucksack We Carry is not meant to be a book to treat or diagnose, it is a mental health manual comprised of experiences and learned tools specifically geared toward those serving or who have served in the military or law enforcement. A quote from the book reads: “Unlike an everyday backpack, a rucksack is built to carry heavy loads over long journeys -much like the professional lives we lead. Over time, even the best-fitting rucksack will dig into your shoulders and strain your back if you never stop to adjust it,” says Littlefield, ppxvii, The Rucksack We Carry.
Littlefield breaks down the levels of traumatic or heavy experiences into classifications based on intensity and/or danger of the event. There are “pebbles” which comprise of everyday wear and tear experiences that come with the job such as the never-ending radio chatter, broken military equipment that doesn’t ever seem to get fixed, or the third call in the middle of the night for a malfunctioning carbon-monoxide detector. These things are minor and don’t seem like much on their own, but the issue is their persistence with no let up.
Moving onto larger and more pressing burdens is the classification of “rocks”. These are heavier incidents that make a lasting impact on you. “Rocks” for these professions include things like a convoy that came back missing people and the following duty to inform the families of those lost, pulling someone out of a burning building only to realize they already passed away, or sitting with someone hearing their terminal diagnosis and watching their reaction. “You can still function with rocks in your rucksack,” says Littlefield, “but they are heavy and they make it really hard to do so.”
Lastly are what Littlefield calls “boulders”. These are life altering moments that physically alter your chemistry and mental health capacity. Examples of “boulders” personnel may have to carry are losing a friend or experiencing military sexual trauma, having to draw and use your weapon to take someone’s life, responding to a call as an EMT involving your own family or friends and not being able to help them, or any mass-casualty event where no matter your efforts, there were not enough resources to save everyone.
Following the classification of levels of trauma or stress experienced in these fields, Littlefield spends a great deal of time deconstructing and reconstructing how to manage and work through the aftermath of them -not shortsighted that the mental and physical responses of the individual are one and the same and connected. “In this line of work, sometimes it is seen as weak to admit that things have gotten too heavy to manage on a daily basis. I want people to see that not only is that not true, its dangerous. Ignoring trauma and mental health is like ignoring an infection,” Littlefield explains. In his book, Littlefield constructs a series of “myths” vs “reality checks” concerning common hindrances that come up with people avoiding dealing with their mental health. The unique aspect of this approach is that Littlefield can offer the reality check as someone who was the one checked by reality. “I did a lot of things the wrong way -I didn’t have the tools to cope at first and I made a lot of mistakes. This means I really know what doesn’t work as well as what can work for people.”
The Rucksack We Carry outlines the various levels of support needed in the healing process. “Of course, these things need to be dealt with first on an individual level -admittance, accountability, and finding ways to center yourself through things like breathing, mindfulness, and taking care of yourself. After that, it is about peer support from family and friends. Oftentimes, it is our spouse or sibling or parent who notices you aren’t yourself and brings it up. It is important to know how to let others see you and not get defensive when they take note of your struggles.
In addition to individual and peer/community/family support, Littlefield makes a clear statement that leadership in these fields holds a great responsibility for the mental state of those serving under them. “The leaders in these fields largely set the tone for how trauma and stress are dealt with. Unfortunately, many leaders out there still hold on to this myth that if you need help you are a weak link and a problem, and this might keep struggling people from seeking the help they need. A true leader is one who fosters an open dialogue and safe environment for people to share their reality -what they are really feeling and going through. Additionally, being a leader is a huge responsibility and stressor, and leaders in these fields need to realize they aren’t meant to entirely carry others rucksacks in addition to their own, they just need to let them know they don’t have to carry it alone.”
Littlefield covers the various steps in mental health recovery until the last and often most avoided step: Seeking professional help. “Again, people need to understand that if your body is unwell in any other way, you are normal and fine to go see a doctor dealing with those symptoms. Mental health is no different. There is no shame in calling in reinforcements -especially when we are dealing with things that the human mind is simply not meant to have to process and manage frequently. The truly courageous and brave thing to do is to ask for professional help. That is being strong -not refusal and denial that can end up hurting yourself and even those you love.
Littlefield concludes, “I just want to be able to help others -not in an entirely clinical way, but as a friend with compassion and understanding. I want people to know that things like this are not meant to be handled alone, and that there are so many people going through similar things. It is important to talk about them and share ways we have found to get through them. It takes true courage to cope.” If there is a theme noticed when speaking with Littlefield, it is his frequent use of the word “help”, and jumping from decades of high-stress careers that took a great personal toll, to education and awareness so that others wouldn’t have to feel alone, proves him a hero of the most needed and best kind -the empath.
For more information on where to purchase the book, The Rucksack We Carry, as well as upcoming events prompting the book, please visit: www.therucksackwecarry.com