Laurentian University will welcome retired NHLer Theoren Fleury on Jan. 24 for a talk on mental health.
Fleury has been touring North America of late, delivering his lecture entitled "The Power of Me Too". Fleury co-wrote “Playing with Fire,” a best-selling autobiography released in October 2009, in which he revealed that he had been sexually abused by former coach Graham James.
"As we all know, the biggest epidemic in the world today is trauma, mental health and addiction," said Fleury. "It's incredibly important for those of us who are battling these things to have a chance to share these stories."
The talk at Laurentian is slated for Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. and the format of the evening is open to the audience.
"It all depends on what they want, if they feel they want to share and talk then I try to tailor things to what they want," said Fleury.
Since the release of "Playing with Fire", Fleury has been touring extensively for 10 years and is on the road for roughly 200 days out of the year, sharing his story and fighting to find solutions to mental health issues.
"We have the highest amount of awareness around mental health than we've had at any time. A lot more people are willing to talk about it," said Fleury. "But at the same time, we have the highest rates of suicide worldwide. Why is it that we're able to talk about these things but we're not coming up with solutions?"
The former NHLer has battled his own demons in his mental health journey and says that far too often, doctors simply want to prescribe a pill to curb mental health issues. Fleury says that with the complexity of the human brain and its chemistry, there is no blanket solution or pill that will work for everyone.
"I had gone down that route of taking pills and 15 years ago I had a gun in my mouth," said Fleury. "For me it was meditation, and yoga, and exercise that helped me on my healing journey."
While everyone's path to mental wellness is different, the first step is to talk about it, says Fleury, and that's the overarching goal of his tour and lectures.
"You get a group of people in a room talking, and that vulnerabilty brings about safety," said Fleury.
"A big part of this is creating a community and having people share their stories. People will be listening and saying 'wow, this person is telling my story' and that's how we break down the stigma when you realize you're not alone in this."
The lecture gets underway at 7:30 p.m. at the Laurentian University Fraser Auditorium. Register for free tickets online here.
Gloss