Eimear, a 49-year-old college-educated Dublin woman, has been admitted twice to the Central Mental Hospital (CMH). One of her lowest points was around Christmas 2005 when she was placed in a seclusion unit after becoming psychotic.
"It's the lack of dignity which is very difficult to deal with," she says. "You have a cardboard potty to urinate and defecate into. You're only allowed a magazine if the staples have been taken out, in case you damage someone or yourself. All I was allowed to wear was a nightdress, no underwear.
"I remember being allowed out for Christmas dinner and then having to go back inside afterwards."
Eimear suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and ended up in court after repeatedly pursuing and harassing a man in whom she had developed a romantic interest. After breaching a court order, which directed that she cease contacting him, she was placed in prison and later transferred to the CMH for treatment.
"When I'm psychotic, I get paranoid delusions. I start thinking my food or drink is being poisoned. I get a feeling of nausea in my stomach. I'm not violent, although I have been the victim of violence in my life," she says.
Eimear has mixed feelings about the facility. She criticised the lack of privacy and dignity for patients, but acknowledges the professionalism of many of the staff. In particular, she remembers individual acts of kindness among some of the nursing staff and patients.
"Treatment is good in some ways, with art classes and therapies of different kinds. My doctor was very human. I got on well with him and he treated me well. He didn't talk down to me and I felt he had my welfare at heart. There can be quite a community atmosphere there," she says.
She is unhappy, however, about the lack of counselling and psychotherapy available to her as a patient and insists that seclusion - while necessary in some cases - is overused.
Like many patients who have left the CMH, she has had minimal contact with social workers or therapeutic staff. These days she is getting on with life on her own, trying to cope with her condition without access to proper help or support. Despite this, she remains optimistic for her future.
"I'm quite a tough person in some ways, because I've been through these crises. You either sink or swim in those situations. Luckily, I have friends who have stuck with me through the years. I think I've emerged as a better, stronger person because of what I've been through."
Eimear's name has been changed.