Author, speaker and educator Cindy Girard is holding a launch celebration and signing for the printed edition of her debut book on Saturday, July 24.
The launch for ‘The Great Escape – Helping Someone Break Free from the Deep, Dark Dungeon of Depression’ is being held at 7899 Lawrence Street in Vernon, Ontario, west of Russell, from 3:30-4 p.m. Book signing will begin at 2:30 p.m. and continue after the event.
“Depression is a dark and lonely prison. Those trapped there need a strong support system that will help them find hope and joy again,” reads the description of the book on the author’s website. “’The Great Escape’ is an eye-opening discourse enabling you to help your loved one escape from the Dungeon of Depression.”
Girard has decades of personal experience in dealing with mental health issues and uses her past to help guide others.
“I’ve struggled with depression since I was a kid,” says the 55-year-old first-time author. “I was dealing with it at the age of 11, after my parents divorced. It sent me just spiraling into horrific depression.”
At 14, while bouncing back and forth between her parents, Girard tried to take her own life while on a camping trip with her father.
“Fortunately I did not have access to stronger drugs – I just ended up throwing up all night long,” Girard recalls. “That started me into the mental-health-system journey, which is a huge factor in why I wrote the book.”
The author spent years navigating through the mental health system as a teenager, with little progress. A Christian, Girard says the first real practical help she received was from her pastor’s wife when she was 20 years old.
“(She taught me) about constructively dealing with emotions as opposed to just bringing up the anger and letting it stew.”
Although Girard’s personal past is discussed, it is not the focus of ‘The Great Escape’. Rather, the book’s objective is to help provide guidance for those who are helping others dealing with the same issues.
“The book is not about my journey, the book is about helping others,” Girard explains.
The author’s work includes significant amounts of peer-reviewed scientific research, including one of the major issues tackled in ‘The Great Escape’ – the standard use of anti-depressants in treating those experiencing mental health issues.
“Only about 11-per-cent of those seeking outpatient treatment for depression are actually helped by anti-depressants, yet anybody and everybody who is dealing with too much stress is being prescribed them – they have a lot of side effects and some of them are pretty horrific,” Girard says. “I’m not saying don’t ever take them, but they shouldn’t be the first line of defense.”
“There are many other strategies that are safer and more effective.”
More information on the book launch is available on the author’s website here here. The Kindle edition of ‘The Great Escape’ is available through Amazon Canada.
