Watch: Leo’s Story

Earlier this year, Leo, who lives at Brunswick Gardens - a supported living service run by Lifeways - bravely shared her mental health journey, which she describes as long, difficult, but ultimately successful.

At a young age, Leo began hearing voices. After spending time in several hospitals, she was eventually diagnosed with treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder. There was a period when she believed she would never leave hospital - until she found Lifeways.

Fast forward to the present day, and Leo is thriving. She has made many friends, regularly attends art and support groups, and has grown hugely in confidence. That confidence has enabled her to share her story in detail and take part in a filmed interview.

Please note:

The following account contains descriptions of a suicide attempt and struggles with mental health, which some readers may find distressing.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, struggling with your mental health, or having thoughts of suicide, you are not alone. Please consider speaking to someone:

• Samaritans: Call 116 123 (free, 24/7) or visit samaritans.org
• Shout: Text SHOUT to 85258 for free, confidential support 24/7
• Mind: Visit mind.org.uk or call 0300 123 3393
• Papyrus (for under 35s): Call 0800 068 4141 or text 07860 039967

Please take care while reading.

Leo's Story

If I didn’t find Lifeways, I don’t know where I would be.

I’d probably be stuck in hospital still. But I’m very much glad it was Lifeways that came to see us.

Where do I start? My name is Lenona, my friends call us Leo, and my story has been a long one - a difficult one, but a successful one.

When I was younger, I started hearing voices a little bit, but it wasn’t too much of a concern.

I would hear things like tapping, and I’d just brush it off as my mind playing tricks on us.

But then it started to get a bit distressing. I heard negative voices, and they would say things like, “You’re being followed,” or, “You’re in danger,” and honestly, that did scare us.

A few times, unfortunately, when I was out, I would get paranoid and think people were following us and that I was in danger. I would just walk and walk and walk - and honestly, I ended up in the most bizarre places and was reported as a missing person.

So eventually, it was time to get some mental health services. I think I was 16 or 17 when I had my first appointment, and that’s when I first heard the term “psychosis.”

Unfortunately, before I got any sort of diagnosis for that, I was in a really tough time and I had unfortunately tried to take my own life. I ended up in hospital with a drip, and I was just so out of touch with reality.

Nothing made sense. I could see spiders all over the walls, I could see bugs under my skin, and these voices were just being horrible. In the end, that’s when I first got sectioned.

From then on, I was in and out of hospital for about three years. Then, one day, I got transferred to somewhere in Sunderland, and I was there for about a year and a half, maybe two years, and I thought I was never going to get better.Eventually, I got diagnosed with treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorder. Then one day, I got put on a new medication, which was quite strong.

Things started looking up, and I was really quite glad. It didn’t really get rid of the voices or hallucinations, but it made them much better.

Soon enough, I found my feet. I was ready to leave.

I went into a doctor’s meeting, and they went: “We think we’re going to start looking for somewhere for you to live.”

My social worker was looking for ages, but eventually, she found somewhere called Brunswick Gardens.

A couple of weeks later, I got visited by the Lifeways team. I had loads of questions - and quite literally every question I asked was answered the way I wanted.

It was like: “Can I decorate it my own way?” “Yes, of course you can.”

“Can I have pets? “Yes, of course you can.”

It was a really positive meeting; I was really glad.

At first, when I moved in, I was like, “Am I going to meet new friends, or am I going to be lonely?”

But over the half a year I’ve been here, I’ve made loads of friends. I’m confident, I go to support groups, I go to art groups, I go on walks with other residents, I pop in for a cup of tea or a chat.

I’m just loving life at the minute, and I can’t thank my family, my friends, and the staff enough for helping me out.

I can’t wait to see what the future is like.