A care worker and model who supported her teenage daughter to overcome acute depression and anxiety is sharing her experiences to help train health professionals treating mental illness.<\/p>\n
Brigitte Prior, who works as a healthcare assistant at Pendine Park\u2019s Gwern Alyn care home in Wrexham, has been invited as a guest speaker during online training sessions delivered by her daughter\u2019s former therapist Nicola English at Bangor University.<\/p>\n
Angelina Prior, 19, battled suicidal thoughts, self-harm and anorexia at the height of her mental health struggles which started when she was 14.<\/p>\n
Brigitte says her daughter\u2019s life was saved thanks to the intervention of the Wrexham Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), where Nicola previously worked as a therapist.<\/p>\n
Now, after transforming her life, Leeds University student Angelina and Brigitte are both giving back by using their experiences to help health professionals understand the depths of teenage mental illness.<\/p>\n
Beauty pageant contestant Brigitte, who was born in Rinteln, northern Germany, and now lives in Wrexham, said: \u201cIt\u2019s great that we can now try and help with the experience we went through.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can help health professionals see things from our perspectives and see the whole child not just the prognosis it\u2019s a great thing. It\u2019s very important for them to see how you deal with mental illness as a family.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngelina was probably about 14 or so when everything started. She told me she was depressed and I took her to the doctor straight away but didn\u2019t think that much of it. I didn\u2019t expect what they would say next \u2013 that it was really serious and she was having suicidal thoughts all the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was that bad she was referred straight away. It was an absolute shock for me as a mum as I didn\u2019t see it coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe missed school for months just lying in a dark room against the wall, it was horrific. She was really bad. In the end, she had to move to a different school \u2013 the Haulfan School in Wrexham which is a pupil referral service only for young people who have mental health issues and anxiety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were absolutely fantastic and between them, CAMHS and our immediate family, I think we saved Angelina\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelina, who has recently followed her mum\u2019s footsteps into part-time modelling, is now studying for a business management degree at Leeds University after achieving A* across the board in her A-Levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would mean the world to me if hearing about my experiences would help even just one person,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve struggled for many years with thoughts of inadequacy and loneliness.\u00a0 There were many points in high school that added to my rapidly deteriorating mental health, such as exam stress, bullying, and my friends not wanting to associate with me anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was self-harming every day which has resulted\u00a0in permanent\u00a0scars everywhere, and I developed anorexia which very quickly became life-threatening. For years I was extremely suicidal and felt like the whole world and my family would be better off without me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, throughout this difficult time, I had the privilege of being a client of Nicola English at Wrexham Child Adolescent Mental Health Services. Nicola helped me by providing me with strategies and routines that I could use when I was feeling low. She also taught me healthy coping mechanisms that I could replace the unhealthy ones with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gwern Alyn manager Cindy Clutton praised Brigitte and Angelina on their new roles.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cReliving this difficult period in Angelina\u2019s life is an extremely brave thing to do and I congratulate Brigitte and Angelina on their courage.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir combined experiences and insight will be hugely value to these professionals and help improve the support and services available for teenagers suffering mental health issues in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrigitte is a kind and compassionate carer, always putting others before herself. It is of no surprise that she would want to help other young people in this personal and poignant way. I wish both Brigitte and Angelina every success in this training project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brigitte, who recently represented Miss Clwyd in the national final of the Classic Miss British Isles 2020\/21 Model Competition and has appeared in photography magazines, said she was honoured to be part of the university\u2019s new training sessions and has already taken part in one online discussion.<\/p>\n
The mum-of-two suffered her own mental health struggles up until about 10 years ago and is keen to help improve services for others facing the same difficulties in the future.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cThe first online teaching session was nerve-wracking but people said it really helped them and I was very glad that I\u2019d done it. It\u2019s daunting but Nicola asked me lots of questions which helped me to get through it,\u201d said Brigitte, who previously worked at Pendine\u2019s Penybryn care home, caring for people with brain injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were interested in my point of view as a mum. We are what are called \u2018experts through experience\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many young people suffering mental health problems, for example due the pressure of thinking they have to look a certain way, especially on social media<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bullying doesn\u2019t stop in the classroom \u2013 you\u2019re followed everywhere online, there\u2019s no escape. I would not want to be young today.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter had a lot of mental health issues but is thankfully much better now. She\u2019s at uni and she\u2019s really enjoying her life \u2013 it\u2019s a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelina added: \u201cI always thought people were lying to me or being clich\u00e9 when they said that things get better with time, but the past few years I have noticed an astronomical change in myself through incorporating the things learned in therapy and also doing my own research on recovery such as reading self-help books or listening to podcasts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing to do is find something that makes you happy and focus on it. And please don’t give up no matter how hard things may seem in that moment. They will always get better.\u201d<\/p>\n