"It was after this decline in her mental health that she was referred to a psychiatric hospital by her GP which she said "straightened" her out. "They changed all my medication. Obviously, you do a lot of therapy, and you go to mind development things that you do, and all sorts of things when you're in there. "It was very good, but I was completely burnt out when I went in."
""I mean, I don't think I spoke to Daniel or my daughter or anybody for about five weeks when I went in. I could not even talk because I had nothing to say at all." She admitted that, upon entry into the hospital for psychiatric treatment, she "relinquished" herself to healthcare professionals whom she said she entrusted with helping her."
""I was just sitting in a corner of the room just dead inside, almost." Recounting her first moments inside the hospital, Ms O'Donnell recalled her desperation to find a resolution to her anguish, a moment that she said left her feeling "terrified". "When I went in the first day, when I was sort of waiting in reception, if you like, I started saying: 'I can't do this. I can't do this. No, I want to go home"
Ms O'Donnell has suffered with depression since her late teens and has taken antidepressant medication since her mid-30s. She usually manages episodes by pulling herself out of ruts, but a 2024 relapse dissolved her functional lifestyle and returned her to a profoundly dark place. She reached a point of exhaustion and hopelessness and was referred by her GP to a psychiatric hospital. In hospital her medication was changed, she underwent therapy and mind-development activities, and clinicians worked to stabilize her. She was completely burnt out, largely silent for weeks, and relinquished care to healthcare professionals while feeling emotionally numb and terrified.
Read at Irish Independent
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