Young Milton Keynes woman bravely speaks out about how she conquered her crippling mental health problems

A 22-year-old woman from Milton Keynes has described how talking about her troubles helped her recover from crippling mental health issues.

Estelle Randle, who had struggled for years, is speaking as part of the national ‘Time To Talk Day, which takes place tomorrow (February 2).

The national campaign, run by Run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, encourages the nation to have a conversation with someone about their mental health.

Estelle was taken into specialist care in a hospital in 2019, when she was still a teenager. She presented with self-harm, hearing voices, self-destructive behaviour, including drug and alcohol abuse, and suicidal thoughts.

In addition she was suffering from an eating disorder.

“I was in a very, very dark place and I couldn’t see a way out,” she said. “ It wasn’t that I wanted to die. I just wanted all the voices and pain to stop. I felt trapped in my own mind that was torturing me every waking second. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“After arriving at hospital, I watched my mum drive away and I didn’t cry. I felt completely numb. I wanted to run away but I didn’t even have the energy. I hadn’t eaten or slept in days so I wouldn’t have got very far.”

Estelle’s mother had identified there was something seriously wrong with her daughter, but neither of them knew how to tackle her increasingly damaging and harmful thoughts.

“It took a while to settle at hospital,” said Estelle. “I didn’t want to be there but gradually I started to trust the staff and the therapist. It was a slow process but I began to open up about what was going on in my head and the people I was talking to actually understood me.

" I realised the more talking I did, the lighter I felt.”

Eventually Estelle improved and eventually she was allowed home where she started to rebuild her life.

Today she has utilised her experience to become a recovery college peer trainer at the Northampton mental health charity, St Andrew’s Healthcare.

Her aim is to to instill hope in others and encourage them to talk about their issues.

She said: “I honestly think talking turned my life around. It saved me...I’ve now got a handle on my mental health, but even now I have down days, but I recognise the signs and I make sure I talk to my mum, or my best friend or my therapist.

"Talking really is the best medicine for mental health.”

St Andrew’s CEO Dr Vivienne McVey said: “We know as a mental health charity that talking about things that may be going on in our heads isn’t always easy, but having the right conversation can really help.

“Research has shown that one in four of us will experience a mental health problem in any given year, which is why we need to shine a spotlight on these conditions, ensuring we’re all comfortable talking about them.

"The more we talk about mental health issues, the more we reduce stigma, which is the ultimate aim. So we encourage you to reach out to someone today to check in and see how they are doing.”