An incessant, bloodcurdling scream would ring in Emily’s* ears when she felt stressed studying  even if she was alone in her room.

As the pressure piled up she started seeing Jesus, crucified on the Cross, floating in her room. The experience terrified her and reminded her of the out-of-body experiences she had whenever, as a child, she got scared of the dark.

As she feared she might be possessed by the devil, she visited an exorcist who directed her to a psychiatrist. She was shattered to learn she had a mental health problem.

Emily*. Photos: Jason Borg

Aged 25, Emily, who is now 32, was diagnosed with bipolar schizoaffective disorder characterised by psychotic symptoms — such as hallucinations or delusions — and a mood disorder.

“I started crying when the psychiatrist told me. My mother suffered from a serious case of schizophrenia. Since I was a little girl I knew my mother was sick,” she said, sitting in an office at Villa Chelsea, in Birkirkara.

“I could not believe I had her illness even though, in my case, it was not as severe.

“I’m still working on accepting the fact I can only reach a certain level in life and that I cannot allow myself to get stressed for fear of relapsing.

“But it helps to know why I was seeing and hearing those things.”

Before her diagnosis, Emily, who was raised by foster parents, did not speak to anyone about her experiences.

But now she knows how beneficial seeking help can be and urges others to do the same.

“That is why World Mental Health Day [celebrated today] is so important,” she said.

Villa Chelsea is a halfway house for people with mental health problems which is run by the Richmond Foundation, one of nine charities that benefited from funds raised through the sale of the book Kate Gonzi: From the Heart.

The book, about the life of Catherine Gonzi the wife of former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, raised a total of €20,500.

The other organisations were the Mental Health Association, St Jeanne Antide Foundation, Gozo Mental Health Association, Friends of Mount Carmel Hospital, Malta Autism Parents Association, Thursday Group Caritas Malta, Lejn Xefa Ġdid and Suret il-Bniedem.

*Not her real name.

Desperate for support

The lack of people working in the field of mental health needs to be addressed urgently, according to the Mental Health Association.

Figures released in 2010 showed that, back then, there was a shortage of 165 staff members at Mount Carmel Hospital and last April, it emerged in Parliament that the exact figure was still being calculated.

In its recommendations for the 2015 Budget, the association also recommended extending the hours of the Crisis Intervention Team that currently worked between 7am and 7pm.

This meant that if people had to take a relative with mental health problems to Mount Carmel outside those hours, they had to do it themselves.

The association also spoke about improving community services and independent living facilities as well as increasing supported employment initiatives.