CHRISTMAS FUND

Mother hopes to get working again despite anxiety

Things are looking up for Dominique and her 10-year-old son.

Four years ago, things “became very chaotic” for Dominique as she dealt with an increase in responsibilities at her daycare job, a son with ADHD who wasn’t sleeping and was getting into trouble at school, and a separation. “I was destroyed,” she said. The combination of those stresses led to a diagnosis of depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

“I continued to work, to not sleep, wearing myself out with all the responsibilities on my shoulders. Then I cracked,” she said.

In the years since leaving the job that she loved, she has been relying on welfare to pay the bills, restricting her to a limited budget.

Now, she said, “I feel ready to go back to work.”

Returning to a daycare setting would be too much for her, but in what Dominique calls her project for the year, she has her eyes set on another field that would still allow her to continue to help children.

“It’s certain that I need to keep that passion alive,” she said.

And her son has improved as well. They’ve finally found a routine that works for him, Dominique said. “It’s really encouraging for me. It was difficult to see my son with so much anger and so much sadness. Now he’s a lot happier and enthusiastic. His joie de vivre is coming back.

“The both of us are at a turning point where things are getting better. I can start to say that things are going well,” she said.

Dominique is one of the thousands of Montrealers who will receive a $125 cheque from the Montreal Gazette Christmas Fund.

Its purpose is to help those in need through the holiday season.

The money, coming at a time when her budget is particularly limited, will help her buy groceries so that she and her son can eat well during the holidays.

“For me … this is my Christmas present,” Dominique said.

“It brings the Christmas magic back to my heart.”