HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-05-02, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013.Trudeau recounts treatment, tragedy in Brussels
Firemaster,
ESTC to
partner
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could only find a pen and that if she
could only find a paintbrush, she
would paint a masterpiece.
It wasn’t until years later, she said,
that she would begin to understand
the imbalance in her brain and why
she was on this rollercoaster of
emotion.
She said that during some of her
greatest bouts of depression, she
would put on weight because she
wouldn’t be able to sleep. Duringsleep your body produces serotonin,Trudeau explains, which is
associated with happiness. So when
she was up all night baking, she
would be making food to eat and not
refilling her brain’s supply of
serotonin.
She detailed one of her most
notorious episodes when she was
spending time with Pierre and the
rest of her family and she wanted to
go to Montreal for the day. It wasn’t
long, however, until she slipped
away from her security and made her
way to Paris, France. Once in
France, she decided that she needed
to go to Greece, but she had to go to
the Canadian consulate in order to
have her passport, which she had left
in Canada, reprinted.
It was when she returned to
Canada from her trip, she said, that
she was hospitalized for the first
time.
She said that at that time, despite
the fact that she loved her husband
and her children, she felt very lonely
because of the lifestyle she was
leading.
She said that she ran the gamut
when it came to blaming others. She
blamed her husband for the crazy
life he dragged their family into and
then she blamed her children, but in
the end, she said, she knew that she
had to correct something in her life
in order to get well.
She said Pierre began to
understand the pressure that came
with being the Prime Minister’s wife
and he said that he wanted her to just
be his wife. He said he would
remove the pressure of a public life
as long as he could just have a wife
at home.
Trudeau said the proposition
sounded like a move in the right
direction, until “didn’t I run off with
the Rolling Stones” she said to a
chorus of laughter from the crowd.It was then that she knew thingswith Pierre would soon be over, she
told the crowd, saying that she then
spent a few years studying acting in
New York City and London,
England.
It was during her time in New
York, she said, that she met a
professor from Columbia University,
who told her that he felt she was
suffering more than she let on.
Trudeau said that she was in tears
because she knew she was suffering
and that was when she began
Lithium treatment, which was still
new at the time.
As her Lithium treatment
continued, Trudeau said that she
began to find peace, and she moved
back to Canada to be near Pierre and
her children.
Trudeau said she was living in the
country, however, while Pierre was
living at “the big house” which
Trudeau said was her name for 24
Sussex Drive. Another name for it,
she said was “the crown jewel of the
Canadian penitentiary system.”
Trudeau’s Lithium treatment,
however, would soon break down, as
she had “toxified” and she needed to
gradually go off of the drug.
As the lecture went on, Trudeau
discussed other events that triggered
episodes in her life, such as Pierre’s
death, her son Michel’s death and the
loss of one of her puppies shortly
after getting married for a second
time.
She also detailed being forcibly
admitted to a psychiatric hospital in
Vancouver when her family felt she
was a danger to herself.
She eventually met a doctor who
she said would change her life. She
said the he approached Trudeau’s
situation in a non-arrogant way,
saying that he couldn’t make her
want to live, that she had to make
that decision on her own.Trudeau had been passively tryingto commit suicide for two years, she
said her doctor told her, and that if
she wanted to die, he would
discharge her from the hospital and
allow her to do so.
However, if she wanted to live, he
said he would help her, but that he
couldn’t do it without her will to
live.
Trudeau then asked for questions
from the audience, which ranged
from questions about mental health
in general to diet. Trudeau also heard
from a woman who had driven from
Cambridge to hear her speak. She
said she had been diagnosed with bi-
polar disorder and that it was
Trudeau’s book about her struggle
with the disorder Changing My
Mind, that was the starting point for
her path to wellness and treatment.
She also answered questions about
her son, Justin Trudeau’s quest to be
Prime Minister. She said she knows
that Justin is “tough” and that he can
take any criticism that is being
thrown at him. Naturally, she said,
she feels for her son’s family and the
stress they will soon find themselves
under.
During her time in Huron County,
Trudeau stayed with Blyth’s Peter
and Sarah Gusso at the Blyth Station
House.
In an interview with The Citizen
on Monday, Gusso said Trudeau was
an absolute pleasure to host in Blyth.
He said they spoke briefly on
Friday before her engagement in
Brussels, but it was on Friday night
after the lecture that they visited. He
says she is a gracious, fascinating
person.
He said she appreciated the peace
and quiet she found at The Station
House and even joked that it was the
first time that she had stayed beside
a rutabaga plant.
As part of its plans to increase
training availability in Ontario, the
Emergency Services Training Centre
(ESTC) in Blyth is pleased to
announce another exciting
partnership. The ESTC has finalized
an agreement with Firemaster
Oilfield Services of Red Deer,
Alberta. Established in 1980,
Firemaster is an ISO accredited
world leader in Industrial
Emergency Training.
Firemaster courses are in high
demand across North America and
the ESTC is excited to bring this
Industrial Emergency Training to
Ontario. The first course offering
will be an NGL (Natural Gas Liquid)
Flaring course for Enbridge
Pipelines Inc. of Sarnia to be held
later this spring.
“Expanding our course offerings
to include further Industrial
Emergency Response training allows
the ESTC to generate greater
opportunities province wide.” said
Looking for local heroes
There are so many people out there who do
so much to improve their community.
Now you have a chance to say thanks.
Nominate that special person for the 28th
Annual Citizen Citizenship Awards.
Each year a committee chooses an outstanding citizen from each of the Blyth and area
and Brussels and area communities to receive an award for contribution to the
community. If you know someone you think should be honoured, please fill in the ballot
and send it in. You may attach a longer explanation of why you think your nominee
should win, if you like. If you have nominated someone before and he or she didn't win,
please feel free to try again.
I nominate
as Citizen of the year for
I feel she/he deserves this award because
Nomination Deadline May 31, 2013.
Name and phone number of nominator
❑Blyth
& area ❑Brussels
& area
Deadline
extended to
MAY 31
Telling her story
Margaret Trudeau was at the Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre on Friday night to tell her story about her
time as the Prime Minister’s wife and her life-long battle with
mental illness. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
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