A young woman who wanted to end her life has shared a moving account of her journey through complex mental illness, from crisis to now having hope for her future.

Sally, who lives with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), anorexia and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), says when she arrived at St Andrew’s Healthcare in Northampton she was at the lowest point in her life.

Sally has been in and out of mental health services since she was 15 and has been treated within multiple services and hospitals.

She was eventually admitted to St Andrew’s in 2021. At that stage, the 23-year-old was unable to keep herself safe, required enhanced observations, and needed significant support with nutritional intake due to the severity of her eating disorder.

She said: “When I first came to St Andrew’s I was not in a good place at all. I was self-harming a lot and using it as a coping mechanism which felt impossible to stop.”

During her stay at the charity that specialises in complex mental health conditions, Sally received intensive support from staff as well as Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) which helped reduce her risk and build healthier strategies for managing distress.

She said: “Having BPD means I feel things very intensely. A small change of plan can make me feel like I can’t cope with life. It can spiral very quickly and makes me feel out of control. But DBT has really helped as I have developed stress tolerance skills for when I feel I’m in crisis.

“I’ve also learnt how to regulate my emotions if they’re feeling particularly heightened. I think DBT has also helped me understand myself more and understand the reasons why I feel the way I do about some things.

“DBT has definitely helped with my recovery along with all the staff at St Andrew’s, they've honestly saved my life both physically and mentally. I'm so grateful that I got to come here because without it, I don’t think I would still be alive.”

Now, four years after arriving at St Andrew’s, Sally is in a far more hopeful place. She hopes to be discharged soon and plans to start baking and travel to Spain to see her Granny.

Dr Victoria Taylor, Lead DBT Psychologist at St Andrew’s Healthcare said: “Sally’s journey shows just how transformative specialist, trauma informed care can be. When someone has lived through years of emotional instability, self-harm, and overwhelming distress, progress can feel impossible, but Sally has proven that the right support, safety, and therapeutic consistency, change does happen. informed care can be. ‑informed care can be. When someone has lived through years of emotional instability, self‑harm, and overwhelming distress, progress can feel impossible

“When someone has lived through years of emotional instability, self-harm, and overwhelming distress, progress can feel impossible informed care can be. When someone has lived through years of emotional instability, self-harm, and overwhelming distress, progress can feel impossible

“Her determination, combined with a team who truly understand the complexities of personality disorder, demonstrates that recovery is not only possible but achievable, even after the most difficult starts. Sally’s courage in rebuilding her life is extraordinary, and it reflects the very best of what compassionate, evidence-based mental health care can offer."