Loss, grief and resilience with Marsha Janvier

Air Date: November 22, 2022

Summary

In her first podcast episode, Holly Toulejour speaks with Marsha Janvier. Marsha opens up about her challenges with mental health throughout the years and how she is managing losing her son –a very personal story of grief and loss – but also one of resilience.

SERIES

Dene Teachings About Resilience

HOST & PRODUCER
Holly Toulejour

Episode Guest

Marsha Janvier is a Dene Métis woman, originally from La Loche, SK. Growing up, Marsha “had many mothers,” raised by a single mom, as well as aunties, her maternal grandmother and great grandmother when her mother struggled with substance abuse. Marsha’s great grandmother was one of the most influential people in her life. She continues to live by her great grandmother’s teachings and prides herself on the resilience she passed on to her. Marsha also had various teachers who influenced her and encouraged her to pursue post-secondary education, which led her to enter the Science program at Nortep and inspired her to pursue a career as a pharmacist. For Marsha, being away from her home community and her two-year-old while going to school was very difficult for her. She struggled with the guilt and sadness for leaving to pursue her education, and a strict schedule of school and home, which caused her to isolate and develop signs and symptoms of depression.She’s not alone in this. Depression is the third leading cause of disease burden worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Across post-secondary institutions, the majority of mental health presenting concerns are increasing among students.This below graphic was taken from the report Campus Mental Health Across Canada: The Ongoing Impact of COVID-19, published by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS). It’s based on responses to an online survey received from student affairs and mental health professionals at 69 Canadian post-secondary campuses.

This figure from the report illustrates a breakdown of student mental health presenting concerns endorsed by mental health professionals/student affairs leaders.

Despite her challenges, Marsha kept on with her studies and completed the Pharmacy Technician program at SIAST in Saskatoon. She then moved back to La Loche to work at the La Loche Friendship Center as a Youth Worker. During her time in this role, Marsha encountered lateral violence –this, combined with other environmental factors individuals deal with when working in their home community, led Marsha to head back to Saskatoon to start a new career.Then, in 2015, Marsha’s grandmother passed away. With this, signs and symptoms of depression began to resurface. At that time too, Marsha was dealing with the end of a long-time relationship. Then, in 2019, while Marsha was awaiting the results of her exam to become a Chartered Professional Accountant, Marsha faced the greatest loss of her life –the loss of her son. In her podcast episode, Marsha opens up about her challenges with mental health throughout the years and how she is managing losing her son–a very personal story of grief and loss –but also one of resilience.

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