Important message Irish mum who survived depths of depression and addiction wants you to hear

Now, having gone through the throes of depression, suicidal ideation, and addiction, the Dublin woman has an important message for people to hear.

Cathy is aware that there is often still a stigma surrounding mental health issues in the country, which is something she is working hard to break down.

She has opened up about her own battle, which officially started when she was just 19 years old, though the author believes it began much earlier in her childhood, which was filled with vicious bullying and toxic relationships.

Cathy opened up to EVOKE about her harrowing journey to become who she is today, which she details further in her soon-to-be-released memoir.

"When I was 19, I escaped from a very toxic, dangerous partner, who I was living with in Amsterdam, and when I came back home, I suffered so badly with my mental illness," she explained.

"I ended up in hospital over it, and I got diagnosed with panic disorder. At the time, I didn't even know what anxiety was; it was never talked about in my family. My mum just thought I was kind of a bit of a worrier, or maybe a bit of a drama queen. Mental health was never spoken about."

Cathy explained that she felt a "huge relief" after receiving her diagnosis, as she felt like she was going through something that others have too, though things quickly took a very dark turn.

"Unfortunately, my path just got darker and darker, and my mental health declined rapidly. In the next few years, I had my daughter while in another unhealthy relationship," she recalled.

Cathy didn't know it at the time, but the new mum was in for five of the toughest years of her life.

"I entered a dark psychotic depression during my late 20s, and then in my early 30s, I was hospitalised," she remembered. "It took me five years to come out of a very heavy, dark, psychotic, suicidal depression, which I nearly, I nearly didn't survive.

"It was like waking up to a nightmare every day for five years,' Cathy admitted. 'I was like hiding it from everyone because I didn't want to be a burden, I didn't want my daughter to be taken from me."

She had a phase where she developed an addiction to both Ritalin (a stimulant used to treat ADHD) and cocaine, which she now describes as "awful."

"My addiction got so severe that I ended up in hospital, and it was my lowest of my lows."

During her time getting help for her drug addiction, her daughter was taken and put into care, with the little girl's father telling Cathy she would never see her again.

Despite the horrific loss, Cathy believes her admission to the hospital was actually the "biggest blessing in disguise."

"Up until then, I hadn't had any time to myself to actually recover. I was on this hamster wheel, suffering so badly with my mental illness, and then all of a sudden I was all on my own."

She spent five weeks in rehab, though the biggest turning point happened when her beloved mum passed away.

"The reason I kept up hope all of those years was because of my daughter, and I kept kind of trying different things, and I kept trying to recover, but it wasn't until my mum passed away from cancer that it all clicked into place."

Cathy had been so numb for so long that the pain of her mum's death kick-started her emotions again, and so began her healing journey.

She worked tirelessly to beat addiction, get her mental health on track, and perhaps most importantly of all, get her daughter back. Eventually, after years of turmoil, Cathy finally got her happy ending.

"I did finally recover after, like, suffering for 15 years," Cathy explained. "I've been stable for the last five years, and I have an amazing relationship with my daughter again."

"I have a beautiful soulmate partner, we're building our dream life together," she added.

Cathy has an important message for anyone out there struggling with mental health, especially if they feel as though there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

She is living proof that you can turn everything around, no matter what the circumstances.

"I want to make sure that I tell people that you don't have to die by suicide because I was at the lowest of the low and I was there for so long, but I found a way to get better, and so can you."

Cathy's memoir, "Rabbit Holes and Rainbows", is available to purchase online.

* This article was originally published on Evoke.ie.