It’s December 2020. Crushed under the weight of depression, addiction, and isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic, former St. Albert resident Dennis Kreba falls to the ground in tears.
The night before, he had raged at his friends online in a drunken stupor. He had just called his close friend to apologize, and his friend had slapped him with a reality check.
“He told me, 'This is it, you’re no fun to be around anymore, I can’t be around you anymore,'” Kreba said.
“I kind of realized alcohol had taken over my life.”
Fast-forward to Nov. 10, 2024. Kreba — now almost four years sober and loving it — is speaking to a small crowd at Audreys Books in Edmonton. He’s launching his first book — Dennis On the Run: A Men’s Survival Guide to Lasting Change — and hoping it will help men open up about mental health.
“I really want men to hear it’s OK to be vulnerable and honest. It’s OK to cry in front of people. It’s OK to say you’re not OK.”
Running towards health
Kreba said his struggles with alcoholism started during the 2020 COVID lockdowns when businesses closed and everyone had to work from home. With not much to do and hours of free time to fill, he turned to drinking eight or more times a day.
“It became my mechanism of coping with the loneliness and feelings of isolation,” he said.
Kreba said he became irritable and forgetful, and often woke up with hangovers, but was still lucid enough to hide his drinking problem from his wife, Paula, and his friends.
“I did not have control of alcohol. Alcohol controlled me.”
Kreba said his friend’s harsh words forced him to face the truth. He quit drinking on the spot, and loved sobriety so much he never turned back.
Kreba said he decided to try running to fill the time he used to spend drinking. He also turned to meditation, journaling, and a psychologist to confront his mental struggles. Soon, he had completed two marathons and a 135 km bike race, and started writing a blog on his experiences.
Kreba said he later wrote an entry for the book Run for Your Life: Lessons Learned from Going the Distance, which was a collection of inspirational tales from Alberta runners. Afterwards, his wife encouraged him to write his own book.
Kreba said his book uses stories from his life to encourage men to find positive ways to boost their mental health, and discusses the tools he used to improve his. He hoped it would break the stigma men have around discussing emotions and vulnerability.
“Guys just don’t want to talk about mental health,” he said.
“They want to have beers, they want to go to sports arenas.”
But hiding mental health struggles is why men get hurt and why so many die by suicide, Kreba said. (Three out of four suicides in Canada are by men, Movember Canada reports.)
Kreba noted his book launch coincided with Movember, a charitable event in November where men grow moustaches to raise awareness of men’s mental health. (He has shaved his head for this year’s campaign.) He is also launching an online Beyond Survival Initiative this month to help Albertans learn more about mental health.
“I really want to help men cope with stress in healthier ways.”
Kreba encouraged men who are struggling with additions or mental health to reach out for help.
“Don’t stay alone. There are people out there that will help you.”
Kreba’s book is available through Amazon and at Audreys Books. Visit denniskreba.com for details.
