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"Depression and Grief after the loss of my husband."

About: Sligo Adult Community Mental Health Services Sligo Leitrim Psychiatry of Later Life

(as the patient),

In Feburay 2013 my husband was told by the Consultant that he had lung cancer.

I nursed and cared for him through his illness, after 11 months he died... Grief hit when I thought I was coping with his loss. Three years into his loss I hit a stone wall. I lost interest in everything I just drifted from day to day. I was referred to a lady who is in my area and trained in CBT.  The help I am getting is second to none. I also was treated at  Sligo Liscarney Day Hospital twice a week. The help and care I got between the two services was second to none, I have turned a corner and well on my way of feeling back in the land of the living.

There should be more services like this to help people and give them hope and care, that you are not alone when your in a dark place. there is help out there. More daycare centres, more CBT people are needed to help people like me. 

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Responses

Response from Kevin McLaughlin, Psychiatry of Later Life, Sligo Leitrim Mental Health Services

Thank you Elizabeth for sharing your experiences with us about what must have been an extremely difficult time in your life. The loss of a loved one can be an overwhelming life experience which can have a profound effect on our own mental health. As you know, there is no right or wrong way to experience loss, or to grieve, and we can experience a wide range of emotions as we come to terms and adjust to life without the person we have lost. I am so glad that you feel you "have turned a corner and are back in the land of the living". I am delighted that you found the support of Liscarney House acute day hospital and CBT helpful in your journey to recovery and well health and that these services were able to provide the support you needed at the time you needed it.

Thanks again and best wishes for the future. Kevin McLaughlin

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