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Sally and Paul’s Story
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 May 2025
The story is told through the experience of the patient, Paul, as well as through his partner and carer during that time, Sally. Their accounts feature next to each other, to provide a contrast for the different experiences of the patient and his wife. Following the decision to take early retirement from a high-powered job in business, Paul suffered a severe mental breakdown, which gradually led him into a world of fear, paranoia, catastrophic thinking and a desire to take his own life. For his own safety he was sectioned and spent four months in a psychiatric hospital. After various antidepressants and antipsychotics had no effect, Paul was persuaded to undergo ECT and, after only six sessions of treatment, had what his partner describes as ‘a complete and miraculous cure’. Four years after the event he is still fit and well and has had no relapses. This story explores the thoughts and feelings of someone who is suffering with acute anxiety/depression, as well as presenting the fears and desperation experienced by his partner.
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