“I don’t want to keep being in this dark place. I want to be able to be happy again.”

These are the words of Alison Wylie, who one day in February felt like she did not want to go on with life and took an overdose of paracetamol.

The 32-year-old from Enniskillen had been struggling for some time up to February 26 when she went to the shop to buy paracetamol to end her life and get some peace.

“I had been struggling for a while with just different things in general life and stuff,” explained Alison.

“I got married in lockdown and things just kind of got on top of me, and I have been kind of managing.

“And then on the day it happened, it was a normal kind of a day, and someone had just said in conversation – ‘You know, that’s just life’ – and then I thought ‘If that is life..’

“I went to the shop and bought two packets of paracetamol, and took them in a car park.”

Alison admits she did intend to end her life. But she also called a friend, who along with another friend came to her and phoned an ambulance.

Impartial Reporter: Alison Wylie.Alison Wylie.

“I didn’t really think about what was going on. They were keeping me occupied and trying to chat. I had to wait for the ambulance to come and the paramedics were lovely and just chatting with me and making sure I was okay.”

After a two-night stay in the hospital, Alison knew things had to change to get out of the downward spiral she was on.

“I was sitting there thinking, ‘I need to do something with my life’, and I couldn’t go on the way I was going on before.”

She has signed up to walk the Belfast Marathon to raise money for Air Ambulance NI, and has also started seeing a counsellor.

“I have been getting counselling since and I have just realised how it has actually helped me,” Alison said.

“[The Belfast Marathon] give me something to focus on. So, I thought I’m just going to do that. It gave me something positive to think about, and raising a wee bit of money.”

And now Alison wants to tell her story to show there is light at the end of the tunnel. By speaking out, she hopes she can give others the courage to ask for help.

“I just felt like over the years situations kept leading me to this dark place where I felt I couldn’t cope. I never wanted to self-harm before.

“I get a wee bit down about life, and ‘Why is everything going wrong?’, and since I have had a more positive outlook, and I’m not looking at the negatives, and trying to find something positive to focus on.

“It is helping me every time, just talking about it.”

Alison was grateful to her friends and family who have rallied around her as well as the paramedics and staff in the hospital who looked after her.

“I just wanted peace in my life, and things were going on. I didn’t want to be feeling I had no control over my life, and if I ended my life then that peace would happen.

“But it is not always the way.

“When you get into that place where you don’t know how to cope, you don’t know [what to do]. That could have been the end of it.

“I am just so thankful and lucky that I am here.”

If you are in crisis or distress and need to talk to someone, you can call free, 24/7, Lifeline at 0808 808 8000; The Samaritans at 116 123; or alternatively, e-mail jo@samaritans.org.

Enniskillen-based Aisling Centre offers a free, confidential and professional counselling and psychotherapy service; call 028 66 325811.