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Animal lover took own life after party
A 'SENSITIVE and quiet girl' who spent years bravely fighting depression took her own life just days after her 22nd birthday, an inquest heard.
Family and friends joined popular Natalie McCreanney at her party at Bibendum in Eastbourne town centre on November 21 last year.
A week later, her body was found on a secluded part of the beach, near the foot of Beachy Head.
An inquest on Tuesday heard that Natalie, an animal lover who studied at Plumpton College, had suffered ill health as a child, which limited her sight and held her back at school.
Natalie paid for regular counselling sessions for several years at the Eastbourne Clinic, but these ended a couple of months before her death as she was thought to be too dependent on staff.
Her regular GP, Dr Christopher Bedford-Turner, said Natalie had taken an overdose in 2005 and later self-harmed on occasions.
On November 24 last year, she had a 15-minute chat with Dr Caroline Hunt, a locum working at Dr Bedford-Turner's surgery.
Dr Hunt told the inquest, "She told me she had been depressed for several years and had been taking anti-depressants for two years.
"She said she had been feeling very low again. I asked her if she had any suicidal thoughts. She was non-committal and shrugged her shoulders."
They discussed the possibility of increasing her medication, Dr Hunt said, but Natalie hurried out of the surgery before the consultation was over.
Her counsellor, Julia Ryder, said sessions with Natalie ended after she had found a flat and a job.
"I felt it was no longer beneficial to consider counselling indefinitely as it was not treating any specific depressive symptoms and was more about her reliance on me and some of my colleagues."
Mum Jackie paid tribute to her daughter, who had 'struggled to come to terms with her illness'.
She said, "She was a quiet, sensitive girl with a passion for animals and a group of supportive friends."
In the last few months of her life, Natalie was working at Debenhams and shared a flat in Barbuda Quay.
Second cousin Diane Mounir recounted an emotional phone call Natalie made to her.
"I asked her if it was a good idea her being there. She said, 'I like it here'.
"She wanted to carry on talking but I cut her off to phone 999. When I phoned her back, her phone was dead."
Coroner Alan Craze said Natalie's 'general descent into crisis' had led to an 'enormous tragedy'. He recorded a verdict of suicide, while the balance of her mind was disturbed.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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