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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, October 14, 2016 | 10 Telling someone and asking for help are the first steps to recovery continued from p.5 help, she denied there was anything wrong. She tried yoga, photography, moving, changing friends, but nothing worked. In 1977, Pierre and Margaret separated. Eventually Margaret tried Prozac, but said it pushed her into mania and hospitalization, which she said she resisted. "I have a recollection of padded cells and straightjackets and resistance and anger that I was there and not with my family," said Margaret. "Being in a psych ward must be the worst place in the world to be if you don't want to be there. You are imprisoned with other people who have lost their minds. There is not much dignity." Margaret stabilized for a time, but was dealt two successive blows with the death of her youngest son, Michel, in an avalanche in 1998 and the death of Pierre in 2000. She said she simply couldn't deal with these tragedies and pushed everyone away. She would use marijuana and alcohol to cope. back from psychosis. Margaret attributes her recovery to her desire to get better. She said her story serves as a warning because she did everything wrong in dealing with mental illness. Asking for help and telling someone what you are going through, she said, takes a huge weight off your shoulders. · · · In addition to Margaret's address the Oakville & District Labour Council gave out numerous awards. Brian Jackson of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario received the Political Activist Award. Carol Dubois of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 343 got the Linda Jones Women's Activist Award. The Health and Safety Activist Award went to the late Shane McComb of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793 and Bonnie Cummings of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation. Rory Doucette of CUPE 136 got the Barney Banovac United Way Social Activist Award. Ken Robertson of Unifor Local 707 received the Oakville & District Labour Council Lifetime Achievement Award. The George Hicks Scholarship Award of $500 went to CUPE 136. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 263 received the Linda Jones Scholarship of $500. Unifor Local 707 received the Margaret Trudeau Scholarship of $1,000. The Oakville District Labour Council held its 16th annual Activist Awards gala Wednesday (Oct. 12). From left, winners of The Health and Safety Activist Award, Bonnie Cummings and, accepting the award on behalf of winner Shane McComb, Andrew Saunders; winner of the Barney Banovac United Way Social Activist Award Rory Doucette; winner of the ODLC Lifetime Achievement Award Ken Robertson; and, winner of the Political Activist Award, Brian Jackson. | Jayson Mills photo "You all must know that mental illness and addiction go hand-in-hand," said Margaret. "Substance abuse is just part of us trying to escape the torments in our unquiet minds or trying to fix ourselves, find relief or find comfort. It never works, by the way." Finally, she was into the third stage of bipolar disorder, psychosis, where nothing makes sense. "I didn't know there was such a thin line between sanity and insanity, but I had pushed myself into insanity by rejecting any idea I was sick and rejecting any offer of help from anyone, isolating myself, abusing drugs and alcohol." Following an intervention, Margaret was returned to hospital from which a combination of medication and years of therapy brought her India's Golden Triangle & the Sacred Ganges Your 2017 Boutique River Cruise/Tour Package Includes: · 7-night cruise in a riverview suite onboard the Ganges Voyager II* · 5 nights in luxurious Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, including daily buffet breakfast and all service charges, taxes and porterage* · Tips for local experts and drivers · All transportation throughout your trip, including intra-India flight between Jaipur and Kolkata, All transfers on arrival and departure days · Welcome and Farewell Dinners · Complimentary local beers and spirits, and soft drinks throughout the cruise · Onboard/onshore dinners include complimentary house wine, local beers or soft drinks · 11 days of captivating, fully escorted excursions with English-speaking local experts · Onboard cultural enrichment, including a Bollywood-style show, lectures and more *Ship and hotels are subject to change. 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