Bloc Québécois MP and actor Denis Trudel highlighted his 30 years of sobriety on Wednesday and spoke publicly for the first time about his drinking issues, hoping his platform will allow him to send a message of hope.
“I have a role in sight, so I said to myself: 'Maybe this can inspire other people,'” the MP for the Longueuil-Saint-Hubert constituency confided to the Journal shortly after publication a long message on the X platform.
In this publication, which he would have thought about for a few months, the one who was elected in the 2019 elections and then re-elected in 2021 turned out to be an “alcohol and drug addict” whose most important date will remain December 27, 1993, the day on which he stopped consuming.
“Addiction most often leads to the streets, prison or morgue. “It is an essentially irreparable tear in the soul,” wrote the 60-year-old.
“When a substance arrives, it relieves the pain. But it brings consequences worse than the evil it seeks to alleviate, he told us. That is no solution.”
Manipulation, lies and deception
The actor with a 35-year career, best known for the films “October” and “Cowardice,” said he became addicted to drugs in his mid-twenties.
“I used cocaine most often. This quickly became a problem for those close to me. When you are addicted, you end up being manipulated, lied to, and deceived. I didn’t feel comfortable there at all,” said Denis Trudel.
“One morning I saw myself in the mirror and I was green and translucent. “My eyes bulged,” he continued. I said to myself, 'Well, if I don't do something, I'm going to die'.”
“It was a trigger,” said the Shawinigan native, who attended numerous anonymous counseling groups and did therapy at La Maison Jean Lapointe.
Nothing taboo
However, he never considered it necessary to speak about it publicly. However, it wasn't because he thought the topic was taboo.
“I have determined that it does not affect anyone else,” the deputy said. The people around me know it. I don't drink at parties. I didn't hide it. To those who saw me drinking Perrier and asked me the question, I answered.
Still, he said he was pleasantly surprised by the reaction his revelation generated.
“I'm happy. People are very touched. They find it inspiring,” he noted. With the opioid crisis, there are many people who are stuck with these problems and many who never get out of them. But there is hope. That was mine Message.”
Not cured
In addition, Denis Trudel stated that he was aware that he was not cured of any addiction.
“MP, this is the perfect job for a workaholic. If you want, you can work 200 hours a week. I do it sometimes. But hey, it's less harmful to my health,” concluded the man we recently saw in the series “Victor Lessard” and “Désobéir: le selected de Chantale Daigle”, laughing.
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