Just 30 secs from death when they smashed down door

Mum tells Paige Oldfield how she turned her life around after mental health problems took her to a very dark place

- Paige Oldfield

NICOLA Parker had everything planned out. The doors and windows were all locked, the last text to her partner had been sent.

The mum finally felt a sense of peace. Having struggled with poor mental health for years, she didn't see any other way out.

Nicola was just 30 seconds from death when paramedics smashed their way into her home. Her boyfriend had alerted emergency services after becoming concerned by her message. She had hoped a second chance at life might turn things around. Sadly, that just wouldn't be the case.

"Everything came crashing down on me," she told the Manchester Evening News. "I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to get away from the noise in my head."

Nicola, from the Greenfield area of Oldham, first began experiencing mental health problems after difficulties in childhood. The 37-year-old can recall feeling "different to everyone else" at school and dealt with anger issues - the problem becoming so bad she was kicked out of her anger management class. The mum-of-four started self-harming at the age of 12 and tried to end her life for the first time a year later.

Nicola was still struggling mentally when she gave birth to her first child Brogan at age 17, separating from her partner six years later.