A Co Fermanagh mum is taking action into her own hands after setting up a group to help those suffering from BPD, a condition her teenage daughter suffered before her sudden death last year.
Katie Donnelly, 18, from Ederney, died suddenly last September. She had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder not long after she turned 18, and her mum Erin says she was in ‘constant emotional pain’.
Erin has now set up ‘Katie’s Shine Project’, which aims to raise awareness around the condition and provide greater support to those who suffer from it.
READ MORE: Community in mourning after sudden death of Co Tyrone teen
The bereaved mum says the treatment her daughter received from some mental health professionals led her to the belief that there wasn’t enough being done to help those suffering from it.
“SHINE arose from conversations I had with Katie in relation to her first hand experiences, regarding the negative interactions she had experienced with professionals, when she was in crisis,” Erin said.
“After Katie died I sat night upon night thinking of all the negative and demoralising comments made to her in the past.
“As far as I am aware there is no charity solely for borderline personality disorder in this country.
“Katie contacted numerous therapists, and organisations and unfortunately no one was in a place to help and her disorder and her actions on the whole were misunderstood.”
Erin added that the level of knowledge from the general public around BPD is low, and one of the project’s aims will be to make people more aware of it.
“It’s early days yet, and Katie's SHINE project is in its infancy, but the team have lots of plans and ideas in place of how we can successfully educate the community, professionals/ support networks on personality disorders, and attempt to reduce the stigma and misconceptions that BPD sufferers face on a daily basis, especially in times of crisis,” Erin adds.
“The logo was compiled of Katie’s favourite quote ‘everybody wants to be the sun to brighten someone’s day, why not be the moon and shine on someone’s darkest hour.’”
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