Suzy Johnston
- Honorary Affiliate at the University of Glasgow
- Associate Member of the Royal Society of Medicine
 |
At the age of 17 Suzy Johnston Syrett developed the initial symptoms of depression with the condition developing into manic depression/bipolar affective disorder whilst studying at St Andrews University.
After graduating, her deteriorating health saw her being hospitalised on 6 occasions with acute episodes of severe depression and psychosis. Following her recovery, she first became involved in mental health awareness programmes in 1999 when she joined the Education Team of the Renfrewshire Association for Mental Health. Giving talks to senior secondary pupils, social workers etc and writing about having mental illness for student psychiatric nurses led to the writing of her autobiography ' The Naked Bird Watcher' which was first published in the Spring of 2003. 'To Walk on Eggshells' by Jean Johnston is the carer's account of Suzy's journey of recovery. Spring 2009 saw the publication of 'The Snow Globe Journals' - written in a shorter snappier style to appeal to the young with its links to modern music as well as those who find lack of concentration when unwell makes reading challenging.
'When Do I Get My Shoelaces Back?' was published in 2010 and is the diary she kept for the 7 months while she was psychotic, off medication and in a psychiatric unit. Importantly it chronicles the nursing interventions and interactions that supported her recovery.
She writes on mental illness/mental health issues in leading journals and magazines - including the BMJ (British Medical Journal), the "This Life" column for 'Mental Health Today' and newspapers in the UK and USA.
She is a Research Consultant on psychological interventions for psychosis and other mental illnesses at the Department of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Glasgow University and Manchester University and writes for the BMJ.com website
The BBC Radio Scotland programme 'Being Suzy Johnston' was shortlisted in the Mental Health Media Awards, under the Factual Radio category
