Six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes talks about mental health

Six-time summer and winter Olympic medalist Clara Hughes was in North Bay Thursday night to talk about the stigma of depression as part of the Canadian Mental Health Association and The North Bay Regional Health Centre Foundation’s Celebrity Speaker Series.

Hughes, who has been done what no other Olympic athlete has accomplished by winning medals in both summer and winter games, says she is part of the Canadian statistic in mental health having battled depression throughout her athletic career.

“I think of three years ago an event like this wouldn’t have happened the amount of people that came tonight it means that people care, that people are ready to speak and this is an issue that affects every single Canadian,” she notes.

“I was able to share tonight that I’m a part of the statistic one in four Canadians suffering from mental illness in their lifetime and I’m also a six-time Olympic medalist. So I hope that I was able to bring not just the struggle but the joy as well and surviving then getting through and sharing both of those things.”

Hughes says she believes that by starting the conversation with youth and keeping an honest open dialogue about mental health going will erase stigma within the next generation.