Toni Waterson never imagined she’d end up sectioned under the Mental Health Act. She had a good job, a fiancé, friends, and a solid support system. She’d modelled at London Fashion Week, managed a care home, and lived overseas.
But in December 2020, just 17 days before her 31st birthday - everything changed.
After a head injury during a night out and the shock of a family bereavement, Toni began experiencing paranoia and delusions. “I couldn’t stop,” she says. “It was like my brain was stuck in fight-or-flight. I didn’t know what was real anymore.”
Her mental health deteriorated rapidly, and within days, she was in hospital, later transferred to a psychiatric unit over 100 miles from home.
“I woke up sedated and alone in a hospital I’d never heard of. My family didn’t even know where I was. I wasn’t violent. I wasn’t a danger. I was just scared and unwell.”
Toni’s story is confronting but it’s also all too common. And it shows how psychosis can strike anyone, regardless of their background.
“I thought mental illness was something that happened to other people,” she says. “I thought I was strong enough to outrun it. I was wrong.”
Today, she’s telling her story not for sympathy, but to show what recovery looks like and why it matters that services treat people as individuals, not labels.
After being discharged, Toni received care from the Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) team at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. That’s where things began to change.
“For the first time, I felt like someone saw me. Not just a patient, not just a case, but me,” she says. “I had a care coordinator. A plan. Support that actually made sense. It helped me trust the process and myself again.”
Toni took part in an “Understanding Psychosis” course, connected with others going through similar experiences, and eventually came off medication with clinical support. She also began meditating daily - a habit she credits as life-changing.
Now in full recovery, Toni is working with the same Trust as a Lived Experience Consultant, using her insight to influence how care is delivered and understood. For example, she shares her story at the Trust’s induction for new staff and board meetings and co-produces and delivers training to staff. As a result of her insightful work with Black Country Healthcare, Tori won a Healthcare Hero award at the Trust’s recognition awards last year.
“I didn’t want to stay silent. People like me - people you’d never expect to end up in crisis every day. If someone had told me back then, ‘You can come back from this,’ I might have believed in myself sooner.”
Her account brings to life the reality of mental health crises, how quickly they can escalate, how disorientating they can be, and how vital it is that services offer empathy as well as expertise.
“I was afraid to sleep, afraid to speak. I had bruises, I’d lost three stone, and I felt invisible. But I’m still here. And if I’m still here, others can be too.”
Her message to others is simple but powerful: “This is not forever. You’re not broken. And you are not alone.”
Toni’s story is a striking reminder that mental health challenges can affect anyone - and that with the right support, recovery isn’t just possible. It’s real.