Passion and caring, that’s how a former NHL goaltender now an advocate for Mental Health described how he gets through his presentations.
Clint Malarchuck was in Williams Lake today to share his personal struggles with high anxiety, depression, and OCD on and off the ice.
He said the book he wrote about it wasn’t therapeutic, opening himself up to others is
“It is therapeutic for me to share my story and talk and have people come up to me after,” Malarchuck said. “People always want to say you know what I struggled, or I do struggle and everybody’s got a different story but its very gratifying for me.”
Malarchuck said even when he was playing hockey back in the eighties, there wasn’t a lot of talk about mental health issues but noticed that’s changed over the last 15 years.
“We’ve got more athletes, Hollywood celebrities that are sharing their struggles. I think that’s where we need to be,” Malarchuck said. “Use your platform if you have some sort of status that people want to come and hear you talk and when you open the mind to what you’re talking about it can be powerful”
Over the last several years of sharing his story in the US and Canada, Malarchuck said he sees more and more people coming out to hear it.
During the presentation the former goalie talked about the night he almost lost his life on the ice after having his throat cut and his attempted suicide which got him reflecting on why he was alive.
“God spared me for those that are still suffering,” Malarchuck said. “It really got me thinking, you know, I gotta do something, I’m alive three times, there’s something special I’m supposed to do.”
Malarchuck’s visit was a joint effort of Denisiqi Services Society, Punky Lake Wilderness Camp Society, Cariboo Friendship Society and Tsilhqot’in National Government.