'I deserve more than to be thought of as crazy': a journey through mental illness

In this candid extract from her posthumous memoirs, Sophie Reilly describes the reality of living with multiple mental health issues

On 1 August 2016, Sophie, then aged 21, took her life. Her brother, Samuel, has edited a book, Tigerish Waters: Selected Writings of Sophie Reilly, of her prose, poetry and drama, from which this article has been adapted. All profits from the book will be donated to the Scottish Association of Mental Health.

When I was admitted to hospital with psychosis, it was the most terrifying thing in the world. I thought I was the antichrist and possessed by the spirit of Anne Frank; the nurses were SS officers and they were trying to send me to the gas chambers. It took eight of them to restrain me. I heard voices chanting in German and the screeches of people being burnt. I could smell burning, and felt slimy hands touching me like seaweed.

We're here, we're crazy, get over it

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Continue reading... November 09, 2017 at 04:20PM