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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 8, 2015 | 8 Granddad shares his story after watching Hearing Voices by Bob Mitchell Oakville Beaver Staff Just married and battling depression in his mid-20s, Al Duncan pretended life was wonderful each day he went to work as a high school teacher. Making matters worse, he was afraid he would lose his job if his educational bosses knew about his mental illness. That only added to his inner turmoil. "I would put a mask on," Duncan said. "I was sort of living a double life. I didn't want to socialize at work. I wanted to be by myself, so I had to let my students think everything was OK. "Fortunately, I was still able to do my job well. Nobody ever questioned me. I was coaching track and field, so it was a relief because I was able to run and jog." Now retired, the 73-year-old, married grandfather of eight spends his time volunteering for Halton's Talking About Addiction and Mental Illness (TAMI) program. This week, he was among the three main speakers attending a Mental Health Week event at Oakville's Sheridan College. Also speaking was Melanie McGregor, communications and health promotion specialist for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), and Natalie Baker, a clinical research specialist Professional dancers, pictured above, choreographed by Sionia Jackson, gave a striking performance of the riveting and internationally-acclaimed, Hearing Voices, during a forum on mental health awareness Wednesday at Sheridan College. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) with SickKids Research Institute. Duncan's story was intriguing, but the most jaw-dropping moment of the event for the packed audience, including for him, was the inspiring and emotionally-charged performance of the internationally-acclaimed Hearing Voices, performed by a group of professional dancers choreographed by Sionia Jackson. Dr. Katherine Boydell of Toronto's SickKids Hospital and mother of three young dancers, realized the importance of dance in people's lives -- and a way of creating awareness about mental illness. She joined forces with Jackson in 2007 and spent six months creating the Hearing Voices performance, which has since played worldwide, to audiences in Australia, England and the U.S. Through their movement, the dancers exhibited emotions -- rejection, isolation and pain -- many coping with a mental illness experience. The performance hit home with Duncan and the entire audience. He said he could relate to the connections between the dancers. One of the reasons for having Mental Health Week (May 5-11), McGregor said, is to get people talking about mental health issues. For Duncan, 50 years ago, nobody spoke about mental illness as it was a hidden subject. Today, he speaks about it. "Up until my illness began, I had a pretty uneventful life. I was married. I had been an athlete in school. I had a wonderful job as a teacher. But then the wheels fell off," Duncan said. "I was so petrified to share my feelings with anybody. I didn't know what was happening see Theatrical on p.12 Comfort Friendly Spa-like l r. M ge aris n A ' aD Caring Compassionate g hiv ani Sag Visit our new dental office, conveniently located on the ground floor of the recently built Palermo Professional Centre (SE corner of Bronte Road and Dundas Street). We offer full Family Dental Services in our brand new, state-of-the-art office in a calm and relaxing environment. We are a paperless office and use digital x-rays. We welcome kids, teens, adults and seniors. NEW PATIENTS are welcome and we will accommodate your dental emergencies. We will directly bill your insurance company and offer convenient evening and weekend appointments. Call to book your appointment today 905-827-8700.Visit us at www.reflections-dental.ca ar D r. S Relaxing o 2525 Old Bronte Road, Suite #130 Palermo Professional Centre (ground floor) Old Bronte Rd. Bronte Rd. Dundas St. W. Pine Glen Rd. 3rd Line www.reflections-dental.ca 905-827-8700 è D AyA Kitchens of oAKville 1195 north service roAd west N 905.847.1522 ayaoakville.com