{"id":45091,"date":"2018-02-22T06:11:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T11:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=45091"},"modified":"2018-10-01T12:45:35","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T16:45:35","slug":"light-meet-johnny-langille","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/light-meet-johnny-langille\/","title":{"rendered":"And then there was light: Meet Johnny Langille"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every two weeks, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>laura.maclean@doppleronline.ca<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Johnny Langille knows what it feels like to be at the bottom of a deep, dark hole.<\/p>\n

For most of his life, he has struggled with anxiety and depression. But three years ago, it climaxed when he took a bad fall. He hurt his ankle and needed surgery. Johnny had already sustained a terrible injury to that ankle when he was a teenager and the recent one sent him over the edge.<\/p>\n

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You have to maintain your mental health, says Johnny, and that requires great fortitude mentally.<\/p><\/div>\n

He became plagued by feelings of inadequacy. He was certain no one cared. He doubted himself and was weighed down by a constant stream of negative thoughts. He felt defeated on a daily basis. No matter how hard he tried, Johnny couldn’t see the light of day. He kept hoping he would, but the darkness was consuming him. Entirely.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe thing about mental illness is that you can’t see it as much as you can feel it,\u201d says the 53-year-old. \u201cDepression had the upper hand and it nearly cost me my life twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The self doubt and bouts of anxiety had a tight grip on Johnny. He didn’t take medication, and he got good at pushing away his friends and family. He was in a lot of pain, and not just emotionally. Physically, too. His mobility was affected greatly and he didn’t think he would ever go back to work. He lived inside a bubble of dismay and despair. On two occasions he tried to end his life. He had given up. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. He was too tired, too emotionally drained. He wanted to rest.<\/p>\n

“The power of the human spirit, which is so strong to destroy you when the mind is dark, is infinitely stronger when you embrace its possibilities to restore you.”<\/p>\n

A man of strong spiritual faith (he grew up in an Evangelical Baptist household), Johnny can’t describe it any other way other than a divine intervention. He survived both attempts to end his life because his time was not supposed to be up. He believes God intended for him to be here and to go on living, except this time \u2013 this precious second chance \u2013 meant he would do something with purpose. Johnny realized just how much he was loved. His parents, who he always maintained a close relationship with, took a train all the way from Nova Scotia to Huntsville. That meant the world to him. He was working at Deerhurst Resort (and still is!) and out of the woodwork came friends he never knew he had. All the support and love made a huge impact on his journey to healing. Johnny had an awakening.<\/p>\n\n\t\t