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S6:E14 - Mental Health Awareness in Small Towns with Chris “Rhino” Swenson 


We’re closing out Part 1 of Season 6 with an episode about something near and dear to our hearts, and oh-so-important in rural and ag communities: mental health.


For Mental Health Awareness Month, Rebecca sits down with therapist Chris Swenson — owner of Rhino Wellness Center and host of the Rhino Resilience podcast — to reframe what strength really looks like in rural communities.


(Yes, we know that May is technically Mental Health Awareness Month, but we recorded this episode in May, so it counts, right?)


Chris breaks down his four-pillar Rhino Resilience framework, explains mental health as biology (a regulated nervous system with an accelerator and a brake), and shares practical, do-anywhere tools for staying calm and steady. It's a warm, honest reminder about some pretty important things: you can be both strong and struggling, that you're not broken, and that connection is what pulls us out of isolation.


About Chris:

Chris "Rhino" Swenson is a licensed mental health therapist, speaker, and founder of Rhino Resilience. For more than 20 years, he has worked with rural individuals, families, and communities, helping people build practical resilience skills for the challenges of modern rural life. He hosts the Rhino Resilience Podcast and is passionate about strengthening rural communities from the inside out.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Why rural suicide rates run two and a half to three and a half times higher than urban areas (why awareness alone isn't enough without practical next steps)

  • Chris's four pillars of Rhino Resilience and how they redefine strength to include recovery and reaching out (not going it alone)

  • How understanding your nervous system as biology (an accelerator and a brake) can dissolve the stigma around mental health

  • Simple, accessible tools you can practice anywhere — breathwork, micro-resets, and grounding — and why you have to build them before you need them

  • How a single moment can change a life

Links + Resources Mentioned:

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We really, really do, and if you’ll let us, we’d love to feature your actual message. Some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re have two “participation dance” elements of the show: 

  1. “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things. 

  2. “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that. 

If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you! 

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