Woman goes days without leaving her bedroom after condition was misdiagnosed

A Liverpool student said she didn't realise her misdiagnosed condition "wasn't normal".

Chloe, who lives in the Baltic Triangle, went to a local GP back in her home city of Birmingham when she was around 10-years-old. There, the now-21-year-old claims she was misdiagnosed as having a heart condition - she said this was because the doctors believed someone of her age couldn’t have anxiety.

The University of Liverpool student was sent for blood tests and various other tests as the panic attacks were assumed to be a physical problem.

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The politics graduate told the ECHO: “Not knowing what was wrong with me at such a young age meant I really struggled, particularly in school. I wasn’t really aware that the severe anxiety I was experiencing every day wasn’t normal, and I always felt different to everyone else.”

When Chloe was finally diagnosed with anxiety as a teenager she was prescribed beta blockers, a medication she declined as her parents wanted her to go through CAMHS initially.

The aspiring politician added: “Secondary school was incredibly hard for me. I suffered from both general and social anxiety, where I did not have any friends and used to eat my lunch in the toilets every day. I would dread going to school and would not speak to anyone throughout the entire day. Having to leave class for therapy was embarrassing at the time.”

Chloe still suffers from anxiety to this day and has been diagnosed with depression and borderline personality disorder. She said with the combination of conditions, her symptoms “manifest into a range”.

She added: “I tend to feel emotions very strongly, and in a depressive episode I will not leave my bed or room for days. Living by myself is hard as I struggle to take care of myself and have no one to help me get motivated to do simple tasks. Some days I just sleep for so long and other days I don’t eat at all, because I don’t leave the house so I don’t have food in.”

Chloe shared her experience in light of M&S Liverpool ONE’s fundraiser for mental health charity, YoungMinds. She hopes by doing so that parents will be more aware of the condition in children.

The city store was one of over 360 across the UK to swap their usual uniforms for bright yellow clothing and ride exercise bikes in the food hall to raise funds. The activity is part of a bigger initiative which aims to raise five million over the next three years to support young people’s wellbeing.

Laura Bunt, chief executive of YoungMinds, said: “Life is increasingly tough for young people and record numbers are in need of support for their mental health. When they’re able to access the help they need, things can get better, but the wait for support is often too long or the right support isn’t available."

Research commissioned last year by the two organisations found that despite struggling with their mental health, 65% of young people hadn’t asked for any kind of formal support – 33% of those said they felt too embarrassed.

Chloe said: “It’s incredibly important to share these stories, as speaking about mental health helps to reduce the stigma and also make people realise they’re not alone; something I struggled with for a while.

“Especially as a 21-year-old, who as a young child was denied the care I needed because they were hesitant to believe someone as young as me could suffer with mental health issues. I am sure that if I had received appropriate treatment at a young age my symptoms could have improved drastically by now.”

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