The Yorkshire Vet star Grace Olson details harrowing moment she attempted to take her own life
Grace Olson, star of The Yorkshire Vet, has bravely opened up about her teenage suicide attempt, revealing that a relentless bully "filled her life with fear".
The TV personality shared the harrowing experiences she endured as a child, explaining how she was mercilessly targeted by a classmate from the age of seven to 14.
Despite being popular in school, Grace struggled to win over one particular girl who she had tried hard to impress. Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Grace revealed: "I was a very sensitive person...I was one of the most popular people in the school and had loads of friends but a girl at school just didn't like me, and I was so soft-natured that I wanted to appease her.
"My mother was amazing and very loving but overprotective. I wasn't taught how to stand up for myself and I was filled with fear every morning before school."
Now 50, Grace confessed that due to her sensitive nature, she found it difficult not to internalise the bully's cruel words. She recalled waking up with a sense of dread each morning, feeling she had no other option but to end her life.
After coming home from school one day, Grace says she "swallowed a whole bottle of painkillers and went upstairs to my room to lie down to die."
Grace courageously opened up about the moment she reached breaking point, sharing: "It was like I snapped. I just walked home and very calmly I swallowed a whole bottle of painkillers and went upstairs to my room to lie down to die.
"Then suddenly this voice within me said: 'You have got to sort this out,'" she added as she recounted the harrowing experience, reports the Mirror. She confided in her neighbour because she realized she "didn't want to die."
Her quick-thinking neighbour immediately called for an ambulance, leading to Grace being taken to the hospital where she underwent a stomach pump procedure and was assessed by a psychiatrist.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Grace expressed regret for not having confided in her mother sooner.
She said: "I told the lady across the road and she called an ambulance. I had to have my stomach pumped and see a psychiatrist. My poor mother was not aware of me being bullied or how bad I was feeling it was just hideous."
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this story you can contact Samaritans in the UK and Ireland on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie.
