When Natacha Dupuis chalked her hands and braced herself on the bench press for powerlifting at the 2016 Invictus Games, she lifted way more than 71 kilograms. She pushed through the stigma of mental health. This year as the co-captain of Team Canada 2017, Dupuis continues to advocate on the international stage for her many military peers suffering in silence.
Dupuis, a retired master corporal from Chelsea, Quebec with more than 16 years of service, witnessed the worse while in the field. She returned to Canada to suffer panic attacks and flashbacks.
“During my last mission in Afghanistan, after witnessing the gruesome death of two of my brothers in arms, I gradually started developing mental health problems. I was in tatters, constantly reliving the incident, and I had nightmares, panic attacks, flashbacks. This is when I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” recalls Dupuis.
She was mentally paralyzed and retreated from work and social activity. She was eventually diagnosed with PTSD.
The symptoms arose after her last mission in Afghanistan
PTSD can result in profound changes in how people view themselves and how they view the world, says Dr. Ricardo Flamenbaum, a psychologist at Medcan who has not treated Dupuis.
Flamenbaum explains that the symptoms of PTSD can include intrusive memories (upsetting experiences that a person wants to avoid); a frequent state of being on edge or alert; and recurrent feelings of guilt, self blame and lack of hope for the future.
Treatment varies for each individual. It may include cognitive behavioural therapy techniques that work on taking down avoidance and relearning how to trust in people and situations, or other therapies like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).
“People can certainly recover,” says Flamenbaum. “It may mean full remission of symptoms, or functional recovery – that they can live their lives and cope with residual symptoms.”
Dupuis says she had to accept that something was wrong and eventually reached out for help.
Reaching out for help was the first step in her recovery
“It was important for me to go through therapy, and use all the tools and resources available. I accumulated several tools that I started putting into practise such as meditation, hypnosis and visualization,” says Dupuis.
But the most helpful tool for Dupuis wasn’t found in a doctor’s office or a medicine cabinet.
“The Soldier On program got me back into sport and training. The program gave me a good mountain bike, which helped me stay active, fend off isolation and have fun,” says Dupuis, who was one of 19 personnel who helped carry the last Canadian flag flown in Afghanistan from Trenton to Ottawa over six days in 2014.
Federal program reintroduced Dupuis to sport, community
“Soldier On reintroduced me to sport when I had lost interest in anything. It provided a safe environment to reintroduce into activities while also meeting other people who went through similar experiences. I started to have fun again, and I started to trust again. It was the beginning of my healing.”
Psychological research supports Dupuis’ experience. Physical activity has proven helpful for depression and anxiety.
“Getting active again benefits a person on physical, mental and emotional levels. It can make a person feel engaged and ‘normal’ again,” says Flamenbaum.
It was during the relay that Dupuis started talking about her experience with mental health issues.
“When you open up like that, it encourages others to have the conversation,” says Dupuis.
Co-captain and advocate for mental health awareness
She’s continued to carry the baton for the removal of the stigma of mental health. Most recently she worked with Athletics Canada to have athletes with psychological injuries included in competition.
At the last Invictus Games, Dupuis won gold in the 100m and 200m in the IT7 category, which is for those with slight or non-permanent physical disabilities, other psychological or unseen conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder. She added a third medal, a bronze, in powerlifting.
In 2017, Dupuis was named the co-captain of Team Canada, along with co-captain Simon Mailloux. You can catch her competing this year in rowing and four track categories.