It starts by opening up
Man shares his story of mental health struggle in hopes it helps others to seek help
Asking for help for his mental health wasn’t easy for Michael Post.
He’d been burying his feelings for years, thinking, “Real men don’t cry or ask for help.”
Opening up to his wife was even a struggle.
But today, Post is sharing his story about depression with the hope that it will help others who’re battling the illness.
The Apsley resident suffered silently for nearly a year before a breakdown forced him to seek help.
Last year, Post was going through a stressful time at work. He’s a security guard at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
As someone who’s always been short tempered and angry, Post didn’t think much of it when it started to get worse.
His wife Lauraine noticed the change, but thought it was work related.
Michael didn’t see the shift, though, despite feeling sad and alone.
It wasn’t until someone at work pointed out that he looked like he was living under a black cloud that Michael started to recognize something wasn’t right.
“That’s when it hit me that something was wrong that people could see,” he said.
Yet when anyone asked how he was, Michael would say he was fine.
Then one day when he got home from work, Michael learned that his son’s cat had died and he started crying uncontrollably.
“I don’t know why, I’ve lost lots of cats in my life, but I couldn’t stop crying,” said Michael, 43.
That’s when Lauraine realized something was wrong. She called and booked a doctor’s appointment for her husband.
From there, Michael saw a counsellor and then a psychiatrist. He went on medication, too.
He also opened up to his wife, who’d never left his side. Talking to someone he trusted was a meaningful step for Michael in his recovery.
After getting help, Michael’s outlook has changed. He’s less angry and happy to go to work again.
Now, he wants to encourage others to seek the help they need to lead a happier life – and it starts by opening up, he said.
Michael sees the truth about bottled emotions summed up best in a quote by Sigmund Freud. “Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.”