I hold those experiencing mental health challenges close to my heart because I’ve been there. I know how it feels to lose yourself while trying to hold it all together.
I have come back from concussion, many physical injuries and burnout, but nothing more challenging and complex than PTSD. It was diagnosed following the loss of my husband in 2018, who went missing on Vancouver Island.
His disappearance sparked a massive search alongside Search and Rescue, the Police, and Canadian Search and Disaster Dogs Association (CASDDA). He was found 5 months later to have taken his life in the wilderness. This was a man who had a deep love for his family and no history of mental illness.
I needed to understand how this could have happened. How could the mind of someone so strong change and in such a short period of time, leading to his disappearance and ultimately to taking his life?