Scioto County Daily News has never shied away from talking about the mental health crisis unfolding across our community. We’ve reported on it in police calls, in courtrooms, on sidewalks, and in the lives of neighbors who are clearly struggling without the help they need. Today, that conversation hits much closer to home.
SCDN publisher Mark Craycraft is taking an immediate leave of absence as he deals with a serious mental health crisis connected to long-standing medical conditions. And because SCDN has always believed in telling the truth — even when it’s uncomfortable — we’re being honest with you about what’s happening.
A Very Public Moment
The situation came to a head in a place many people in Portsmouth know well: the drive-thru line at SOMC, where Mark had gone to pick up medications.
According to someone assisting him at the time, Mark got out of his car and — in a moment that might have looked strange or alarming to anyone nearby — began waving his cane and loudly declaring, like Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, that people “shall not pass.”
It was a very public moment of what doctors would describe as psychiatric destabilization. And Mark himself insisted we report it. His reasoning was simple: if our newsroom expects honesty when reporting about the struggles of others in our community, we should hold ourselves to the same standard.
What Mark Is Dealing With
Mark has long lived with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) along with a dissociative disorder.
FND is a complex neurological condition in which the brain and nervous system struggle to send and receive signals correctly. The symptoms can be dramatic and frightening. People may experience:
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sudden movement problems
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tremors or weakness
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severe anxiety or confusion
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dissociation
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difficulty walking or speaking
The condition is neurological, not imaginary. In many ways, the outward symptoms can resemble other brain-based disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, or certain types of stroke. The difference is that in FND the problem lies in how the brain’s signals are functioning rather than structural damage that shows up clearly on scans. Stress, emotional trauma, and sudden medication interruptions can all make symptoms dramatically worse.
In Mark’s case, a disruption in access to critical medications appears to have triggered what he describes as a “real emergency” involving confusion, emotional overload, and neurological instability.
In His Own Words
Mark has always been a writer first, and even in the middle of a crisis he managed to explain what he’s feeling with striking honesty.
He described carrying a “bag full of grief and regrets,” explaining it this way:
“Grief is an incoming missile. Regret is the missile you fired.”
He said the weight of those feelings has reached a point where he feels like he can “barely walk with them.”
Despite that struggle, Mark has been clear about one thing: he wants help. And he’s actively seeking it. Doctors and caregivers are currently working with him to stabilize his condition, monitor his neurological symptoms, and provide the emotional grounding needed while his system settles.
He expressed deep gratitude to the 3 PPD officers that responded to his home with compassion and understanding. Additionally, Mark extends his thanks to the Shawnee Mental Health Crisis Team who also responded to his home.
Anyone my request this service from Shawnee Mental Health. Just let the 911 dispatcher that you request them along with law enforcement to help stabilize a crisis.
Why We’re Telling You
Some people advised us to keep this quiet. But SCDN has spent years reporting on the mental health crisis affecting Scioto County. Nearly every week we write about people in obvious distress — often during police calls — who are cycling between the street, the ER, and the jail. Mark himself insisted that if we report those stories, we should also report this one.
As he told staff:
“If my pain can somehow help a neighbor, the public humiliation is worth it.”
The Difference Help Makes
There’s an uncomfortable truth here. The same type of crisis that happened to Mark in an SOMC drive-thru is happening every day across Scioto County. We report on it constantly. But the outcomes are often very different.
Many of the people we write about do not have:
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stable housing
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family or friends to help monitor them
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access to consistent mental health care
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the ability to recognize when they need help
Instead, they spiral publicly until police are called. Then they’re often booked into jail for a short time and released back onto the street — only to repeat the cycle again and again.
Mark’s situation is different. He has support. He has access to care. And he has enough clarity, even in the middle of crisis, to say “I need help.”
That makes all the difference.
A Community Conversation
Mental illness does not care whether someone is homeless or a newspaper publisher. It does not care about reputation, politics, or pride. It simply happens. For years, SCDN has pushed for better mental health resources in Scioto County, including the need for long-term inpatient treatment options that simply do not exist locally. Mark’s crisis — as painful and public as it may be — is another reminder of why those resources matter.
For Now
Mark will be stepping away from day-to-day operations while he focuses on treatment and recovery. The SCDN team will continue reporting the news of Scioto County without interruption. And if you’re the praying type — or simply the hopeful type — we’d ask you to send some good thoughts Mark’s way. But don’t stop there. Send those thoughts to every person in our community who is quietly carrying their own invisible bag of grief, regret, confusion, or pain.
Mark remains dedicated to the community he loves, even while poignantly observing, “They don’t know that I love them. They just know it’s more popular to hate me”.
In a typical “Craycraft” remark from the award-winning song writer and our publisher, his Crisis Team noted an observation he made while completely dissociated. The medical notes say that he remarked, “Thank God Lobotomies are illegal now.”
Because mental health struggles don’t just belong to “other people.” Sometimes they belong to the guy who runs the news site. And sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is simply say: I need help.
