Recovery Is a Long Winding Road

In 2006, I was assessed by a mental health professional because I was in an extremely dark place where I tried to end my life. There were voices in my head that were very strong and overwhelming. I was told I had borderline schizophrenia.

I was in and out of services until 2018, when I had a psychotic breakdown. After this, I was reassessed and given a new diagnosis: emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) with psychotic episodes. After the assessment, I was put in touch with the Recovery College. At first, I wasn't keen on the idea at all, but I persevered and actually learnt a lot.

I did a couple of courses at the Recovery College. After attending the 'wellness planning' course, I soon learnt that recovery isn't going to happen overnight. Recovery is a long winding road, not a straight road like I had thought or wished.

I did another course called 'safety planning' — a hard one, because we were talking about times in crisis. I made a little safety booklet for when I'm next in a low place. In 'goals setting', I learnt that the best thing was to set small, more achievable goals.

This experience led me onto starting a blog, where I write and talk about mental health and my personal journey. I've found this to be very empowering and helpful with my own recovery. It also led me to becoming a co-facilitator for the Recovery College, sharing what I'd learned with others.

My message to anyone facing something similar: recovery is possible. It's not going to beat me — I'm going to beat it.