❛I DIDN’T WANT TO COMMIT SUICIDE – I JUST WANTED EVERYTHING TO STOP❜ When mum of three Alana Kirk’s mother suffered a catastrophic stroke in 2011, just days after the birth of her third daughter, she insisted she could cope. But as her stress levels mounted, she began suffering panic attacks. Nine months later, she stood beside a busy road, her newborn baby in her arms, and felt an overwhelming urge to throw herself in front of oncoming traffic. Terrified Alana, now 48, was taken to see her GP, where she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, exhaustion, and post-natal depression.
SERIOUS EFFECTS
Alana, whose children are now aged 12, ten and seven, recalls, “For months, I pretended that I was fine, but I was crumbling. I thought all mums…