Cathy Wield was born and raised overseas before being sent back to the UK for her education. She considers herself a boarding school survivor. She has spent most of her career as a doctor specialising in Emergency Medicine. As an author, she has written and spoken extensively about her experience as a psychiatric patient, and is passionate to improve care, and offer hope to those who experience emotional crises.
Unshackled Mind is a story of hope and resilience, written by an A&E doctor who endured years as a psychiatric patient, diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression.
Cathy’s life has been a constant battle, marked by frequent hospital detentions, episodes of suicidal thoughts, and self-harm. Despite psychiatry’s best efforts to treat her—including numerous medications, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and even brain surgery—these interventions only deepened her suffering. However, through profound self-discovery, she uncovered the true causes of her emotional turmoil, sparking a transformative shift in her mindset.
Unshackled Mind outlines her extraordinary journey to freedom and the remarkable healing that followed.