Struggling to Breathe: The Diary of a Psychiatric In-Patient   After achieving high academic success, Niamh Brownlee became a primary school teacher, first in Kent then back home in Belfast. But all was not well. Gradually, Niamh became more and more depressed until reaching the point where she just wanted to die. At the age of 24, she was admitted to hospital. Although at rock bottom mentally, she had the presence of mind to keep a diary of the 31 days she spent in two psychiatric hospitals in Northern Ireland. This helped her survive and begin the tentative process of recovery. Five years later, Niamh has decided to share her diary of those days in the hope that others will feel less alone and come to believe that recovery is possible, and help is out there. Her diary is also instructive for those who provide mental health services. It gives a rare insight into psychiatric in-patient experience and is a plea to improve the quality of care. Niamh’s diary is a raw account of feeling utterly worthless, but ultimately it is a diary of discovery and hope.

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