![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_Margarette-ODonnell-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA member of staff at the Northern Trust\u2019s Recovery College has described how her own mental health journey inspired her to help others<\/p>\n
Margarette O\u2019Donnell <\/p>\n
A member of staff at the Northern Trust’s Recovery College has spoken about how her own mental health struggles have inspired her to help others.<\/p>\n
Margarette O\u2019Donnell works as a peer trainer with the college, and she credits it with bringing hope back into her life when she needed it the most.<\/p>\n
After a recent difficult period, she was admitted to the Ross Thompson Unit at Causeway Hospital, and is now sharing her story to raise awareness during Mental Health Awareness Week.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: ‘Initially it was a real shock’ says young mum diagnosed with Parkinson’s<\/a>READ MORE: Co Down paediatric nurse honoured for courageous sea rescue of five siblings<\/a><\/p>\n For a lot of people, asking for help can feel like the hardest step. For Marzarette, the fear of what people would think once stood in her way of getting the support she needed \u2013 until it all became too much.<\/p>\n \u201cI was losing the battle day by day. All I wanted was for everything to be okay and not to have to pretend, until I couldn\u2019t do it anymore\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n During those first weeks of admission, Margarette explained how hopeless she felt:<\/p>\n \u201cI felt no better than the day I was admitted \u2013 having no hope, or want for my life to go on\u201d, she recalled.<\/p>\n Until one day, something changed for Margarette. While in hospital, she was invited to attend an introduction session to WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan), delivered by The Recovery College.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time, I didn\u2019t think it would make a difference,\u201d she admitted. \u201cI was just going through the motions \u2013 doing what was expected, putting on a brave face, but feeling no better.\u201d<\/p>\n During the session, participants were tasked with writing down five things that mattered to them, then one was taken away.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I looked and saw what was left and what was missing, I quickly realised that I did have hope\u201d, she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was the moment I realised I wanted things to change, I did have hope and my hopes were worth fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n Margarette hopes that sharing her experience highlights not only the importance of seeking support but the power of a recovery-focused approach.<\/p>\n The Recovery College aims to provide a safe, educational space where people can build skills, confidence, and understanding to manage their mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is when everything started to change for me,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Recovery College brought hope back into my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Margarette continued to take part in a range of college courses before deciding she wanted to become a Peer Trainer and help others.<\/p>\n She began volunteering and when an opportunity arose, she successfully applied for a Peer Trainer role.<\/p>\n \u201cSeven years on and I am loving every moment of it.<\/p>\n \u201cWords cannot express how grateful I am to the Recovery College and mental health professionals who have supported me on my journey\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n Margarette feels neither stigma nor shame in opening up about her journey with someone’s lived experience being an important part of The Recovery College\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n She now says with pride: \u201cMy name is Margarette. I am a Peer Trainer at the Recovery College, and I have lived experience of mental health challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n The Northern Trust Recovery College continues to offer a wide range of courses designed to support wellbeing, resilience, and recovery for students across the Northern Trust area.<\/p>\n \u201cThe College invites us all to learn how to support ourselves and others through challenges,\u201d Margarette said. \u201cEvery experience is unique but together, we learn the tools we need.\u201d<\/p>\n You can learn more about the wide variety of courses on offer on The Recovery College website<\/a> or contact them directly – Email: recovery.college@northerntrust.hscni.net<\/a> Telephone: 028 9441 3449<\/p>\n For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here<\/a> and sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A member of staff at the Northern Trust\u2019s Recovery College has described how her own mental health journey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[103,61,60,410,411,197518],"class_list":["post-455112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-northern-trust"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}