Being Hatty

Hatty shares her experience of living with schizophrenia and the value of personalised support - the kind of flexible and individualised support that iDirect provide - but which is still too unusual. 

You can find out more about iDirect and personalised support by looking at some of the resources listed at the end of the film.

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Hatty also shares her experience in her own words below:

My name is Hatty and I have paranoid schizophrenia. I am 33 years old. The first quarter of my life was fairly normal, but in the second quarter I started to be unwell. Nobody knew what was wrong with me and I began cutting myself and starving myself because I didn’t know how to cope with the voices and the Albino Man. I spent the whole of the third quarter of my life locked in Secure Units in an attempt to keep me safe. 

I made some good friends, but my quality of life was very poor and I could see no way out.

The fourth quarter of my life so far has been spent happily in my own flat. I have a great team of support workers who are with me 24/7. I am living in the town where I grew up and have reconnected with old friends.

At the end of last year, I was asked whether I would make a film about my experiences. I was a bit nervous, but I really enjoyed the process. I think that it is a great way of saying thank you to all those people who believed that I could move safely into the community and make a good life for myself!

In the film you will see me with my mum and my boyfriend Adam. It gives a brief view of what my life is like. The voices and the Albino Man are still really frightening, but I am helped by having the right medication and the support of my family and friends.

Recently, there have been some brilliant conversations about mental health and I hope that my film will help everyone’s understanding of what it is like to have schizophrenia. 

Please watch it – and if you would like to know more, then I would be happy to talk to you.

The film was produced by Opus Independents and iDirect.

Find out more about iDirect's work at: https://www.idil.co.uk

And, Opus Independents at: https://weareopus.org