Personal stories

Monica and her brother Damian were born with cerebral palsy. Without the necessary support to care for her children, their mother left them in a psychiatric hospital when they were aged 9 and 10.

Ten-year-old Nadya has a mild learning difficulty and lived in an institution for four years. She has now been able to return home and attends school.

"My values have undergone considerable changes since I began receiving treatment for my obsessive thoughts. Today, I view a day spent without obsessions as a piece of luck. I talk with other patients about my experience, and welcome any job I can handle as a chance to be active and communicate with others."

"At noon, three thousand runners rushed roaring on to the Red Square in Moscow. There were professional runners, old marathon fans, women, old people, and teenagers. It was raining and a cold wind blew across the square. My knees were aching and I could hardly run. The referee offered to reduce the distance for me, but I refused to give up."

"I was terrified going into a psychiatric hospital for the first time. I had heard nothing but terrible things about them, and thought that I would never get out again."

"Belonging to a user organization is a great help in many ways. It is good to feel part of a group of individuals suffering from a common illness, as opposed to feeling isolated with a problem one does not understand and which makes one feel ashamed."

“If you enter the psychiatric business as a patient, you run a high risk of being reduced to the mental disorder you came with, or to a disturbed object“.

“The help and company of good friends, the rediscovery of old pleasures, the support of my family, being useful to others, feeling part of the community – these are all essential factors in my recovery”.

“The only reason I feel inferior to other people is my difficult economic situation, which is a result of my periods of illness“.

“The most important factors in my recovery have been my commitment to my work in a user organization, together with the openness of my doctor to talking therapy without medication“

“I am not ashamed of having been called crazy or schizophrenic“

“I lived with my depression for years as an adolescent, without knowing what was wrong“.

“When I am really sick and my inner-devil voices are strong, I have often tried to break an arm or a leg or some other bone in my body“.

“I think that until a person experiences some kind of disability, they hardly know their inner, hidden qualities“.

“When I am with my peers in the self-help group, I feel I can breathe. I do not know how I would cope with life without them“.

Senada Halilčević talks about leaving the institution for people with intellectual disabilities

Mental health problems are common among older people. Dementia affects 5% of people over 65 on average, and 20% of those over 80. Many such problems go undetected, and older people are often reluctant to seek help. Simple steps can promote mental health, as well as help prevent and treat mental disorders.