Cat was having problems in her teens, but didn’t know what they were and used to think people were laughing at [her]’. When she went to university she asked if the lecturers had heard any rumours about her. In 1995 she left her place of work suddenly as she thought there was plotting’ going on, and then when visiting her Mum she couldn’t get around a supermarket. Cat’s mum thought she should get help so she went to see her GP, who referred her to a psychiatrist. Cat says that she used to be depressed but isn’t now, though she still thinks that there is some [‚] whispering going on’ that makes her feel ill in the head and in the gut’. Particular situations make her feel unwell, such as being on the bus. She found the first psychiatrist she saw pompous, but the second seem[ed] to know her stuff’. This was particularly relieving since in Cat’s family there have been two cases of medical negligence. Through this psychiatrist she has accessed CBT which she said helped her a lot. The first psychiatrist she said, used to say double the dose’ but didn’t give you any concrete guidance’; the second has helped [her] a lot. She forces herself’ to go to the GP surgery as they are quite kind’, but she is suspicious of the receptionist. Currently she is on Clozaril but in the past she has been on Sulpiride, Flupenthixol and Prozac.

Cat used to live in a hostel for nine years and got so paranoid’, but now she has got a flat with the help of her psychiatrist. She talks to the psychiatrist about voluntary work and family issues as well as a variety of things. She lives in a big city, close to her sisters; with home she has a fluctuating relationship. Cat was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and she suspects they’ve got it right’ as she does sometimes feel peculiar in the head’. She sees that it is triggered by stress, low mood, and thinking that someone is going to harm you or you’ll harm yourself. Sometimes she finds it very difficult to leave the flat, particularly at the weekends when it’s busy. Cat has been into hospital twice, both times as a voluntary patient. She found it ok’ but was suspicious of a couple of staff. Before this time she was seen by the crisis team, who tried to help her out of her psychosis and to talk to her family. When the team saw her she was paranoid and her flat was full of newspapers.

Cat first found out information about mental health through a Good Housekeeping magazine at a local library. She thought at this point she had depression. Before becoming unwell she didn’t have much knowledge of psychiatry, but thinks now she should have gone to see a psychiatrist earlier in her teenage years. She went to a drop-in centre, and attended some workshops on depression which were quite good’. She doesn’t have much to do with the general public, who may be ignorant of mental health issues, but has found that if you stay within the mental health area’ then you can expect people should be educated and informed’.

Cat goes to the local gym to lose weight and because she has a lot of time of [her] hands. She has some friends nearby, does evening classes, and goes to the theatre from time to time. She has found her friends quite supportive, and they help her with day-to-day tasks as well. Occasionally she misses going to activities, and would talk to her psychiatrist about it. She thinks that having a good doctor, supportive friends, her own flat and her interests are important in her mending’. She thinks recovery means that you are able to function, hold down a job, [have] relationships and a home life’. She feels she is not very near’ those goals and she feels quite paranoid. Cat has a support worker, who helps her with practical things like going to the shops and in just small ways but helpful’ ones. Cat encourages people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia to get information about it, because once you’ve got knowledge about your situation then you’re empowered’. Then you will know you’re not imagining it’, and it may be a relief to know what the symptoms are’. She suggests putting all your thoughts on paper before your appointment.