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Most of us have gotten at least a little emotional at some point recently. It’s natural. But why do we have emotions and how much should we pay attention to them on any given day? Can we learn to skillfully choose which emotions to listen to and which ones to just let move on by? In More Than A Feeling, the latest podcast from Ten Percent Happier, host Saleem Reshamwala goes on a real life quest to find the answers to these questions. He’ll experiment with neuroscientists, dive into stories ...
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🎧 Episode Description
In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Breda O'Toole shares her extraordinary journey of trauma, survival, and ultimately, healing. Her life was marked by poverty, abuse, war-related family trauma, institutional mistreatment, and years of being misdiagnosed within psychiatric care. For 23 years, she was prescribed heavy medication, underwent 29 shock treatments, and spent time in psychiatric institutions — including being restrained in a straitjacket for 11 days. Yet none of it treated the real wound: trauma.
Breda explains how no professional ever asked about her life or experiences — only symptoms. She felt unseen, unheard, and misunderstood. The turning point came when a priest told her: “Take back control of your life.” That moment sparked her recovery journey — off medication, back to herself, and finally into true healing.
This episode is painful, inspiring, and illuminating — a moving reminder that trauma is not mental illness, and recovery is possible when we are truly seen, heard, and believed.
🔑 Key Points
Trauma vs. Mental Illness
Her suffering was rooted in trauma, not a disorder.
Misdiagnosis & Overmedication
She lived under 8+ incorrect diagnoses and was on up to 15 tablets daily.
Electric Shock Therapy (ECT)
29 ECT sessions — each followed in her records by: “Still depressed.”
The Straitjacket
She was involuntarily restrained for 11 days — until her father rescued her.
Loss & Grief
She lost three baby boys — through negligence, miscarriage, and stillbirth.
The Words That Changed Everything
“Take back control of your life” — the moment her recovery truly began.
Recovery Begins With Being Heard
One doctor finally asked: “What happened to you?” — not “What’s wrong with you?”
📚 Mentioned in This Episode
• Unseen — Breda’s memoir
• St. Patrick’s Institution, St. Brigid’s, St. Vincent’s
• Valium, Lithium, Optimax
• Straitjacket institutional practices
• Father Walsh, Father Pat
• Tommy — Breda’s husband
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Introducing Breda & her story
01:00 – Childhood trauma: war, poverty, abuse
08:00 – First Valium prescription & addiction
10:00 – Misdiagnosis & medication spiral
13:00 – Shock therapy and lost identity
16:00 – Being detained & rescued by her father
24:00 – Loss of her babies & emotional impact
33:00 – Straitjacket and institutional trauma
40:00 – “What happened to you?” — turning point
46:00 – Coming off medication & reclaiming life
52:00 – Real recovery, healing, and hope
Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.
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