When Hannah was sectioned in 2007, her world fell apart. Although she had suffered from depression in the past, she says she had been in denial about how bad things were. “I grew up in a very religious household, and always considered being unwell quite shameful. But, after several serious attempts at self-harming, it came to a head and I had to give up my job as an HIV nurse.” A year later, she was diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder (also known as borderline personality disorder). For the next few years, she says, she was in and out of hospital “like a revolving door”.
By the time she arrived at the Cassel hospital in Richmond, London, it was 2012. “Nothing had worked and it was a last resort after numerous suicide attempts,” she says. “I was referred for psychodynamic therapy, a holistic therapy that encourages patients to develop more awareness of their emotions.” The treatment combined individual and group therapies and activities, where patients support each other’s recovery in a therapeutic community.
