A WOMAN who battled anxiety and suicidal thoughts has spoken out about her experiences to help students face their mental health problems.

Aged just 11 Lissa Haycock wanted to die. She has struggled with anxiety and unhappiness for her whole life but after years of battling against suicidal thoughts she was able to get the help she needed.

Now the 45-year-old from Brighton has vowed to help others as a trainer at Southdown’s Brighton and Hove Recovery College, leading courses to help students with mental health problems by drawing on her own experiences.

She shared her background to mark today's Time to Talk awareness day. 

Part of the Time to Change campaign run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, the event encourages people to break the silence that surrounds the subject. Southdown is also taking part by telling people more about the free mental health recovery services it offers across Sussex.

Lissa said: "At 11 years of age, I wanted to die. I didn’t want to commit suicide, I just wanted everything to stop. It was at this point that, what I now know are symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder [OCD], began."

She was obsessed with the number 14 and turning lights on and off. She had a "dreadful fear" things would go wrong if she did not do this.

Aged 23 she was prescribed antidepressants and things began to improve when she was referred to counselling. But at 36 she lost three stone in six weeks as she could not swallow food due to her anxiety and was suicidal. This affected her ability to work.

She said: "I took time off work as I couldn’t think. My heart raced all the time, I felt sick, I couldn’t sleep, I had panic attacks, my OCD was so bad I was leaving the office several times a day to go home and check the iron was off."

After an intensive year of treatment she felt more positive about her future but still battled symptoms. She was finally formally diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which causes pain in joint tissue, and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome - an abnormal increase in heart rate after sitting or standing up - which helped her come to terms with her condition.

Lissa said: "Every time we hide ourselves and our stories we’re not making things better. I’ve always felt a responsibility to tell my story.

"Now as a peer trainer the main thing is to listen to people with mental health challenges. We are normal. We’re not strange, we’re not odd.

"Being involved in the recovery college has played a huge part in building my confidence back up. I spent years believing I was useless. I now know I just needed the right environment, support and work. Most importantly, after previously being very isolated, I now have friends and colleagues that understand and value me, just as I am."