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Trudeau shares mental health message, Former prime minister's wife tells story of her struggle with bipolar disorder
May 10, 2012
By Kristy Strauss
EMC news - Margaret Trudeau gave a candid account of her struggle with mental illness at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre on May 4, recounting a life of depression, addiction and struggles with bipolar disorder.Trudeau - an author, mother, mental health advocate and former wife of prime minister Pierre Trudeau - spoke at the Royal's mental health and corrections conference about reaching out to mentally ill female offenders.
"I haven't been incarcerated, but I've certainly offended," Trudeau joked as she opened her talk about her struggle with mental health. She spoke about her depression, reliance on drugs and alcohol and struggle with bipolar disorder.
"I stopped dancing, playing, laughing, and you just get consumed by grey," Trudeau said. "I had no spark." Before she visited the Royal for help, she said she often blamed others, like her husband or nannies, for her depression. The highs and lows she went through dealing with bipolar disorder also left her feeling as if it couldn't be corrected.
"I could be the best, the absolute best, or so detestable, so angry rude and mean," Trudeau said. "I certainly never had peace of mind until I accepted help." When she found herself being taken to the Royal by the police, she also said she didn't want to accept the fact that it was because of an untreated mental illness.
"The first night I wouldn't sleep in the bed," Trudeau said. "I wouldn't stay in this prison." She also said she lost the ability to take care of herself, eat right and live a healthy life. "That's probably how you feel in prison," Trudeau said. "I felt like I let down everyone who lived me and knew me. I realized that I was ill, so ill, and I needed to take it on." She said that with the Royal's help, she felt like she was given a second chance - something that she feels women especially who are incarcerated should have.
Trudeau also said that for women who don't have a mental illness going into prison, she's not sure what chances those women have of leading a healthy life afterwards. "Until you walk in someone's shoes, you don't know," Trudeau said. "The prisons are where we're putting our mentally ill, but we must help them."
May 10, 2012
By Kristy Strauss
EMC news - Margaret Trudeau gave a candid account of her struggle with mental illness at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre on May 4, recounting a life of depression, addiction and struggles with bipolar disorder.Trudeau - an author, mother, mental health advocate and former wife of prime minister Pierre Trudeau - spoke at the Royal's mental health and corrections conference about reaching out to mentally ill female offenders.
"I haven't been incarcerated, but I've certainly offended," Trudeau joked as she opened her talk about her struggle with mental health. She spoke about her depression, reliance on drugs and alcohol and struggle with bipolar disorder.
"I stopped dancing, playing, laughing, and you just get consumed by grey," Trudeau said. "I had no spark." Before she visited the Royal for help, she said she often blamed others, like her husband or nannies, for her depression. The highs and lows she went through dealing with bipolar disorder also left her feeling as if it couldn't be corrected.
"I could be the best, the absolute best, or so detestable, so angry rude and mean," Trudeau said. "I certainly never had peace of mind until I accepted help." When she found herself being taken to the Royal by the police, she also said she didn't want to accept the fact that it was because of an untreated mental illness.
"The first night I wouldn't sleep in the bed," Trudeau said. "I wouldn't stay in this prison." She also said she lost the ability to take care of herself, eat right and live a healthy life. "That's probably how you feel in prison," Trudeau said. "I felt like I let down everyone who lived me and knew me. I realized that I was ill, so ill, and I needed to take it on." She said that with the Royal's help, she felt like she was given a second chance - something that she feels women especially who are incarcerated should have.
Trudeau also said that for women who don't have a mental illness going into prison, she's not sure what chances those women have of leading a healthy life afterwards. "Until you walk in someone's shoes, you don't know," Trudeau said. "The prisons are where we're putting our mentally ill, but we must help them."
