ST. CLOUD -- We all want to live a healthier lifestyle, both mentally and physically, and the Central Minnesota Mental Health Center is giving you the tools to make that change.

A Health Expo was held at the River's Edge Convention Center Tuesday. Steven Loos is the Director of Outpatient Mental Health Services for the Central Minnesota Mental Health Center. He says the stigma behind mental illness has changed over the years.

I think for so long the label of mental illness has prevented people from getting the care they need. We want people to know about mental health services and know it's okay to ask for help.

Over 40 vendors were in attendance to provide advice in counseling, weight training, law enforcement, and employment.

Loos says in order to be your best self, you need to find a balance in all categories of life.

We can't just treat mental illness or chemical dependency, we also have to treat the physical health. So we put all these vendors from the community together to make this a one stop shop.

He adds people with a mental illness, on average, die ten years earlier than people without.

This is the second year of the event.

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