GIVEN her troubled family background, it is not surprising that Nina Lawrence has struggled with mental health problems for much of her life.

“My father was a drinker. He was abusive, aggressive, and violent towards my mum. I remember bits, but I don’t remember much before I was 10. The damage was done by the time I was 14,” she says.

“I have been through counselling before and had a child psychiatrist. My father killed himself when I was 14. He took an overdose.”

Nina, who lives in Poole, has borderline personality disorder, which makes her prone to impulsive, self-destructive behaviour. She also suffers from anxiety and depression and has abused alcohol and drugs in the past.

After her father’s death, Nina went to live with her grandmother.

“I felt loved by my gran. She pretty much brought me up. When she died two and a half years ago, it changed me. I got married in April and a week later changed my mind. I can’t sustain and keep personal relationships. It’s self-preservation. I will do anything not to get hurt. Unfortunately I sacrifice everything for that.

“I can be depressed at simple things like bereavement or something on telly, but when it comes to myself, I tend to shut down.

“Nobody means to hurt somebody, but when you continue to do that, it becomes a problem that you need to sort out. I go to Dorset Mind and I’m about to go through therapy. I’m trying to correct my whole life. I can change – I’m only 30.”

All Nina’s relationships have been with women, but she is trying to come to terms with the fact that she will never be able to have a baby after a recent hysterectomy.

“Even though I’m gay, it’s still a major operation, a life-changing thing to go through. It doesn’t stop you looking at babies and baby clothes. I wanted children.”

She is supporting Time to Change, the national celebrity-backed campaign to discourage discrimination against the people with mental health problems. She will be joining Dorset Mind’s walk from Boscombe Pier to Bournemouth Pier this Saturday, World Mental Health Day. The event starts at 3pm and is open to all.

Nina’s message is: “Listen and understand. Even if someone you know has always been a certain way, don’t judge them on what they’ve done, however hard that may be. Judge them by the changes and progress they make and support them.”

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