BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - The winter months, with their short daylight hours and holidays, can be a source of distress for some people. The North Dakota Highway Patrol says it tends to respond to mental health-related calls more often during the winter.
They also see a spike in the beginning of spring. “A lot of the mental health conditions that people are dealing with throughout the winter, maybe there already are some that are exasperated by it,” said Lt. Jenna Clawson Huibregste with the NDHP. “It takes sometimes a few months or weeks for those things to really set in and for people to feel the impacts of that.” Troopers are trained to deal with these types of situations, whether help is wanted by the person in crisis or not. “When people call 911, either for themselves or on behalf of somebody else, the first thing that they see when they’re in crisis is a uniform, and that can be alarming for people, and so we talk troopers through de-escalation, they’re trained heavily on it, to use a calming voice, try to relate to that person,” said Clawson Huibregste.
If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis or needs extra support, call 988. Copyright 2025 KFYR.
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Source: https://www.kfyrtv.com/2025/12/24/ndhp-responds-more-mental-health-crises-during-winter/