Anna's Amazing Gift of Poetry
Anna Ballard, a ward clerk at Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust, has a new creative passion – and she believes it’s all down to drug therapy.
Five years ago Anna suffered a nervous breakdown and since then has been prescribed drugs to control depression.
Nine months ago, she was switched to a different drug and, overnight, she developed the urge to write poetry.
Anna said: “I believe the drug switched on the creative side of my brain and my GP thinks so as well. It was like turning on a tap.
“I woke up the day after taking the drug and wrote two lines that rhymed. Then a whole poem flooded out in 20 minutes.”
Anna has now written a whole book of poetry, describing feelings about depression, happiness and life in general.
Before her breakdown, Anna was a PhD-qualified medical researcher and an international canoeist who competed in four World Championships.
She has worked as a clerk on the day case unit for 18 months.
Anna said: “The poems has helped me cope with my depression, and they’re inspiring my daughter as well, because she’s learning the piano and is writing music for them.”
Source : Good Hope | More Information