CREDIT: MICHAEL BARRETT
St. Thomas teen Kaitlyn Lacombe (left) joined Olympian Clara Hughes on stage in mid-March to talk about mental health issues.

Olympic gold medalist Clara Hughes visited St. Thomas on March 15 and 16, after leaving Hamilton on the second leg of her Clara's Big Ride tour as part of the Bell Talk mental health awareness campaign. The bike tour will last 110 days and reach 95 communities over 12,000 kilometres of travel.

Hughes first became famous as an Olympian whose diverse athletic ability led to not only two medals in cycling, but also three medals in speed skating including one gold.

But Hughes' efforts to stomp out the stigma of mental illness became her greatest achievement, as exemplified by her appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada, but even more so by the fact that she has received more questions from fans about her survival of mental health than her athletic achievements.

After visiting the new mental health facilities at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital to speak at its Opening Hearts, Opening Minds mental health awareness presentation on March 15, Hughes spent the following morning talking to 60 St. Thomas area attendees ranging from young children to seniors. Before she spoke, however, one brave St. Thomas teen was introduced with her message.

Kaitlyn Lacombe, a recent high school graduate, showed incredible courage to stand in front of the audience and share her story about her struggle with depression, which she first encountered after an experience in which she and her classmates were bullied.

Lacombe said, “Normally I would not have gotten up there, but because it is to help other people ... I figured I'd get those nerves out of the way… [the stigma] is something that is hard to tackle, but if we keep working on it, maybe we can get somewhere.”

Lacome aspires to attend Fanshawe for its Child and Youth Worker program, with the ultimate goal of helping young people at a place like the Talbot Teen Center.

Clara Hughes came out to immense applause and hugged Lacombe, who sat beside her as Hughes was interviewed.

Hughes' words on were reminiscent of her powerful monologues in the ineffably important Michael Landsberg documentary, Darkness and Hope: Depression, Sports and Me. Hughes was a featured athlete in that film, along with baseball legend Daryl Strawberry, and Stéphane Richer of Stanley Cup fame.

Talking about her anticipation that success as an athlete would make her feel better, Hughes said, “I can remember coming home and [seeing myself] on TV, and everyone telling me how great I was, but I felt like nothing. I ended up in a state of depression, unable to see myself as an athlete, ashamed of who I was. Everyone always expected me to be strong, fast and good.”

She went on to discuss how she hid her true feelings because of the expectations she felt from others. “I thought I had to make myself feel better ... nobody can make themselves feel better ... I look back and ask myself how I could have thought that I could just get over depression.”

Eventually she did find help. “The reality for a lot of people is, they don't know what help is there, and if they ask for help, people just tell them to feel better ... that is what needs to change.”

Hughes described in vivid detail the depth of her experience with depression, including times when she would lock herself in bathrooms and cry, trying to hide herself from the world.

She also expressed dissatisfaction with some of her fellow Olympians for not doing more to use their position to help other people, declaring those who reach out to others to be the true winners.

The focus of Hughes' message was overcoming the stigma in society that is associated with depression and other mental health issues so people won't be afraid to seek out help from appropriate sources. She also strongly encouraged people to speak out about their own experiences. “You have the power! Tap into it! You never know how much of a difference it might make to someone.”

After speaking, Hughes put on 12 layers of clothing to protect herself from the bitter temperature and wind then began her bike ride to Chatham. Over the next several months, Hughes will continue her ride, ending in Ottawa on July 1. CTV News reported her intent to make Parliament Hill the end point of the ride.

For more information about this amazing Olympian, check her out at clara-hughes.com.