
get hold of our brains, our feelings and our emotions,” she said.
“Mental illness and addiction, mental illness and substance abuse
go together and it’s a real part of the illness if you are trying to
fix yourself.”
Another episode in Margaret’s life, as she recalled, came after
the birth of her second son, Sasha. Her post-partum depression
was becoming more acute and turning, as she put it, into “mania.”
She tried to travel and give herself “mental first aid,” but you can’t
fix yourself out of a mental illness, she told the audience.
The epiphany, she stressed, has to come from within and that is
the realization that people cannot “fix” themselves or go it alone.
There is a need for support or advice from others.
The first time Margaret Trudeau said she got real help was
when she went to see her family doctor about a pinched nerve.
“The doctor looked at me and asked: ‘What’s really pinching
you?’ That was the first time my doctor asked what was really hap-pening
with me… I was trying bravely to be the best I could be but
I wasn’t doing well,” she recalled. “The brain doesn’t have a picture
of your emotions and physical ailments to catch up with the emo-tional
troubles one faces.”
As she started to change her life and re-marry, Trudeau had her
fifth baby and again fell into depression and experienced mood
swings. She also faced the loss of her third son, who was swept
away by an avalanche.
“That’s when we get help, finally. When we are in so much pain,”
she said.
And that is when Margaret took the steps to see psychiatrists
and take medication. And once brain health can be balanced, bet-ter
choices can be made, even if all is not cured. She said her doctor
made her realize that it was her decision to get well and not put the
onus on others – which helped Trudeau take more stock of her life
and seek out the support and help she needed to get well.
“Be mindful of your choices, every day, and always choose the
healthy and good side. Don’t give into weaker side and impulses,”
she said. “You can’t make us want to get help but you can plant
the seeds.”
This is true of the HR professional – those people in the audi-ence
that day, listening to Trudeau’s talk. Planting seeds, being
open, having the conversation without shame and with recogni-tion
can hopefully lead the person with a mental disorder to take
a leap of faith and try new methods, treatments and support from
loved ones.
And HR professionals shouldn’t expect they know all the
ways and have all the tools to deal with mental illness in the
workplace. There are tools such as the Workplace Strategies for
Mental Health, a website devised by the Great-West Life Centre
for Mental Health in the Workplace, that discusses management
tools, offers employee resources and even offers job-specific strat-egies
to deal with many mental health issues. This free resource
is a start for employers and HR professionals looking to take
the first steps in helping employees that may not be able to
help themselves.
“The most important thing for people, especially in HR, is that
most illnesses will come out in the workplace,” she said. “It’s so
important to recognize in the workplace the people who are suf-fering
and the things you can do are small, but the first thing you
can do is not judge.”
Finally, Trudeau says that by inclusion, rather than exclusion,
by bringing people in, giving people time and recognizing them as
human beings rather than working colleagues could have the pos-itive
effects of lifting people up. Even if it is not a cure, at least this
form of help and acknowledgement will lead to the first steps of
those people to feel supported, seek help and hopefully resume
more productive and happier lives. n
mental health
William Iven / Unsplash
Workplace Strategies for
Mental Health is a website
that offers employee
resources and job-specific
strategies to deal with many
mental health issues
30 ❚ MARCH 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL