Real Stories

Case Studies

Kate

Kate, 37, works in Health Information and lives in Guernsey, Channel Islands. I was diagnosed with anorexia in my teens and after outpatient treatment proved unsuccessful I was treating in an Eating Disorder Unit. The unit taught me how to manage my eating, but didn’t have much of an effect of the underlying anxiety and depression. It seemed as if the consensus was that the illness needed to be managed and no

Donna

It is amazing how stress can affect you mentally and physically I would not have believed it if it had not happened to me. I was 43 when it caught up with me and the past 7 years have been extremely difficult. Most of my life I have suffered with anxiety and stress but just carried on. My willfulness to achieve meant that I did not listen to my body. I worked my way up through management becoming an Executive in

Rhodri

Rhodri, 33, is self-employed and lives in North London. Two years ago my doctor signed me off with depression and anxiety and I was not at work for seven weeks. This had been the result of a culmination of ongoing problems at work: the previous year I had been signed off with work-related stress and separately, a long-term relationship ended. I was initially treated with CBT, which did help me get back to

Deena

Deena, 25, works in recruitment in the city. Deena is running in this year’s London Marathon in support of the Mental Health Foundation. I have battled with mental health problems for 12 years and during this time I have been exposed to numerous drugs, undergone talking therapies like DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) and Psychotherapy and, at my lowest point, I have been sectioned under the Mental Health

Andrea

Andrea, 30, is currently training as a nurse and lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. I first discovered mindfulness in 2010, in the aftermath of an episode of severe depression. I have had mental health problems since I was a teenager, although I experienced a long period of being well in the latter years of my time at university. However, after I finished my degree, I was faced with huge life stresses like job

James

James, 21, is from West Yorkshire. He is studying Business and Economics and is in his final year of university. I remember the day clearly: I was 17, in sixth form, and on my way to class after a lunch break. I got no more than 100 metres out of the lunch room when, suddenly, I was overcome by an intense fear. I started shaking and feeling nauseous – it took me 15 minutes before I felt like I could actually

Nicola

Nicola, 36, is married with two children and lives in Leicester. I’ve had anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember. Yet I didn’t receive a proper diagnosis or the right treatments until about three years ago. Now, aged 36, I’ve had to accept my mental health problems and this has probably been one of the biggest challenges that I have had to face. With my illness – it was a case of me getting

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