Haunted by his job, Michael Dixon had decided to end his life. Instead, he reached out, then set up a support group to help others
The bodies blur together after a while, Michael Dixon says, because how else would anyone keep doing the job, travelling to homicides, accidents and suicides to collect the human remains of bad luck and dark choices. But there are always the ones that memory refuses to give up. The father grieving his newborn child who stood in front of a train. The two children who died when a car missed a stop sign on Christmas Eve.
It’s enough to break a mind. If Mr. Dixon is honest, he struggled with depression longer than he wanted to admit, a wound opened in childhood. But then you get called to 36 murders in three years, and too many suicides to count.When he decided, secretly, to end his life, he knew exactly how to do it. The job had taught him that.Since then, with help of colleagues, Mr.
For a long time, Kate Lavhey didn’t. She has worked as a funeral director in Saint John for 11 years. The late-night murder calls she could, somehow, keep at a distance. But the car accidents were harder to let go, the randomness of a moose on the road, or a distracted driver in an intersection. When she closed her eyes, she saw her loved one’s faces on the bodies she removed from mangled cars. Medication for depression didn’t stop the flashbacks.
Silence is a dangerous side effect of mental illness, which is why advocates have pushed so hard to decrease stigma. Peer support can’t replace a health-care system that provides timely access to the best-evidence care. But, as the dozen or so people participating in the Ottawa group have found, speaking openly about shared experiences, as well as coping strategies and stress management, can be a preventive step, and a path to getting help.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Investment industry calls for Ottawa to tackle competitivenessOrganizations such as the IIAC and IFIC want the federal government to introduce measures to facilitate investments as well as look at expanding the RRSP
Read more »
Lawyers defending Ottawa police officer at manslaughter trial target of anti-Semitic slurs in courthouse confrontation‘You’re a piece of s— and so are those dirty f—ing Jew lawyers,’ one of the two men shouted. Security will be increased at the emotionally charged trial
Read more »
Police step up patrols at Ottawa mosques after Christchurch attacksPolice insisted on Friday that there have been no local threats, but they nonetheless increased patrols
Read more »
Ottawa man found alive after spending winter snowed-inA man has been found alive after spending the winter snowed-in and living off whatever he had left in his house, Ottawa police say.
Read more »
Ottawa man trapped in house all winter by snow found aliveA man who police describe as 'a recluse' has been found alive after spending the winter trapped inside his house by snow and living off canned food.
Read more »
Ottawa announces $3-million of funding for initiatives supporting women in sportOttawa announces $3-million of funding for initiatives supporting women in sport Globe_Sports
Read more »
Ottawa Gee-Gees beat Saskatchewan Huskies for women's bronze - Sportsnet.caThe Ottawa Gee-Gees overcame a 19-point first-half deficit to edge the Saskatchewan Huskies and win bronze at the U Sports women's basketball championships.
Read more »
Globe editorial: Does Ottawa feel the pain in Alberta’s oil industry?The province’s oil industry, upon which its economy is built and its governments addictively base their revenues, is in a deep funk that it cannot seem to shake, and Albertans are understandably frustrated
Read more »