No need to suffer alone with PTSD, former NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk tells first responders

A former National Hockey League goalietold a group of Ontario first responders on Friday that they don't have to go it alone when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Clint Malarchuk,who struggled with mental health issuesaftersufferinga slashed jugular veinduring an NHL gamein 1989, spoke at a lunch-and-learn education session Friday at York Regional Police headquartersin Aurora, Ont.

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The event, which was closed to the media,drew some 260 first responders, including police, firefighters, paramedics, nursesand members of the military.

Malarchuk spoke about the challenges ofPTSD,mental healthand suicide awareness.

Todd Snooks, a York Regional Police officer and team leader withthe York Region Critical Incident Stress Management Team, said the message was a powerful one.

"He said it's really important to acknowledge and work through PTSD. He saidit's important to own it and help get rid of the stigma of mental illness," Snookssaid.

Malarchuk's injury wasone of the mostgruesomeever captured on television. He was playing for theBuffalo Sabres when hisjugular vein was cut accidentally by a player's skate. He healed from his injuries andplayed hockey again,but it took a long time for him to heal from the mental trauma.

After the accident, he struggled withalcoholism as his mental health deteriorated.

Malarchuk, who wrote a book about his ordeal, sayshe sought medical treatmentbut he struggled for many years before he started to make progress. In the process, he tackled some long standing issues like anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, whichhe wrote he had experienced since childhood.

United by Trauma, an organization that began in 2013 to discuss PTSD and the impact it has had on first responders, organized the event.