SUSSEX, N.B. -- A retired RCMP officer is speaking out about the dangers of what he describes as an old-school policing mentality that prevents officers from speaking out about what they're going through.
Five years ago, former RCMP officer Graham Milner hung up his hat and retired, but the memories of his 40 years on the force stick with him -- the good and the bad.
"They always harp on you, don't take the job home with you, but you do take the job home with you," Milner said.
Milner is now a town councillor in Sussex, a community he spent decades policing for the Mounties. He says the culture is changing when it comes to addressing mental health issues in the organization, but back in his day, it was just something you didn't talk about.
"If you were having emotional problems and you brought it home, you maybe talk with your wife, but you don't even want to go to a doctor because it's something the culture didn't allow," Milner said. "A police officer was somebody that was strong, and true, and didn't show any emotion."
Dr. Mary Ann Campbell, director of the University of New Brunswick's Centre For Criminal Justice Studies, says first responders not only have to deal with what they experience in the line of duty, but personal stress on top of that.
"If you don't have a really good coping strategy and support system behind you, it can make it very difficult to cope with those things, especially when they start to add up over the lifetime of a career."
Milner worked with RCMP Staff Sgt. Bruce Reid, who is being mourned after his sudden death last week. Reid is a man Milner remembers fondly and today, he's stressing the importance of a good work-life balance while working as a first responder.
"If someone would have mentored me as I went through my career, saying 'enjoy life outside as well as inside, don't make this your entire focus,' it might have been a better scenario," he said.
He said it's important to keeping in mind the importance of not just helping others, but helping yourself as well.
CTV News contacted the RCMP for an interview to talk about how mental health issues are being handled within the organization, but they did not respond.
