Anne's story

Anne’s family background was unstable. She was pregnant at 16 and again at 18. Her first baby died 4 days after birth. Her rapidly deteriorating mental state led to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Then her remaining daughter was taken into care…

After that, Anne spent 16 years in mixed-gender secure mental health wards. Her time there was characterised by a long catalogue of self harm, depression and increasing anxiety. She regarded her incarceration as due punishment for the death of her baby.

Anne was 39 by the time she came into our care at Cambian. Before she arrived she thought her new hospital would be just like all the others. She made up her mind to refuse any form of therapy as nothing had helped her before.

Being in a female-only facility gave Anne an immediate sense of security. An established patient showed her around and made her feel very welcome. She didn’t feel so lonely anymore. People were listening to her; people respected her. She was not just another patient in a hospital, she felt part of a family; everyone – staff and patients alike – wanted her to do well.

The consultant psychiatrist reviewed her medication to reduce the strong sense of anxiety. Through therapeutic interventions, she developed trust in the clinicians. In her sessions with the psychologist she could start dealing with her past and came to understand that her first baby was ill; the death was not her fault.

She found alternative coping strategies and stopped self-harming. She discovered her passion for food and cooking. She no longer felt worthless. Small steps make a big difference and for Anne, every little achievement was celebrated and acknowledged. Her motivation improved. Anne became committed to rebuilding the lost relationship with her second daughter.

Today Anne lives in her own flat. She works full time as a dinner lady.
She has found a partner. She spends quality time with her daughter and has become the mother-figure she felt she could never be.