Breakthrough A Story of Hope, Resilience and Mental Health Recovery

“Breakthrough is a toolkit for turning hopelessness into success, sadness into deep joy and stigmatisation into fuel for positively transforming others’ lives. Please, please, please read this inspirational book—it will change your life.”
Professor Ged Byrne, MBE, Consultant Surgeon and Director of Global Health at NHS England

“Ahmed Hankir has given us a gift—a true Breakthrough. This timely book reminds us that mental health ‘flaws’ can be tools: that vulnerability and shared humanity can be deployed to heal our fellow wounded travelers.”
Andrés Martin, MD, PhD, Professor, Yale Child Study Center and Medical Director, Children’s Psychiatric Inpatient Service at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, Connecticut USA

There is no health without mental health.

We all know that people with mental illness deserve relief from their suffering, but why do so many of us remain reluctant to seek treatment and help?

Defeat the stigma. You deserve to be healthy.

In Breakthrough, World Health Organization Award-Winning psychiatrist, former psychiatric patient and mental health advocate Dr Ahmed Hankir delivers a unique and powerful insight into mental health and wellness, mental illness, mental health treatment, and the culture surrounding mental health by tracing his own personal recovery journey from impoverished and shunned psychiatric patient, to becoming an NHS Consultant Psychiatrist.

The book explores many of the issues currently dominating the discussion of mental health and illness, including the impacts of poverty, unemployment, homelessness, the use of medication to treat mental illness, the widespread prevalence of stigma, discrimination and racism in mental health and much more.

Breakthrough is a resource of hope and a companion for people suffering in silence who feel isolated and disconnected from society. The take home messages are clear: living with a mental health condition is nothing to be ashamed about and, with the right support, recovery is a reality for the many and not the few.

“An honest, engaging and most of all, hopeful book.”
―Adam Kay, BAFTA-winning, multi-million-bestselling author, TV writer and performer.

"Warm, funny and devastatingly honest. An incredibly insightful story full of hope and resilience."
―Dr Amir Khan, Sunday Times bestselling author and Resident Doctor for ITV's Lorraine and Good Morning Britain

"An inspiring rebuke to the nihilism which prevails in society about persons living with mental illness due to myths, misinformation and stigma...Professor Hankir's personal journey bursts with courage, resilience and hope."
―Vikram Patel, Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, USA

Explore mental health, wellness, and illness in this engaging and insightful discussion from a practicing psychiatrist who himself lives with a mental health condition

In Breakthrough: A Story of Hope, Resilience and Mental Health Recovery, World Health Organization Award Winning psychiatrist, former psychiatric patient and mental health advocate Dr. Ahmed Hankir delivers a unique and powerful insight into mental health and wellness, mental illness, mental health treatment, and the culture surrounding mental health by tracing his own personal recovery journey from impoverished and shunned psychiatric patient, to becoming an NHS Consultant psychiatrist. In the book you’ll explore many of the issues currently dominating the discussion of mental health and illness, including the impacts of poverty, unemployment, the cost of living crisis, homelessness, addictions, the use of medication to treat mental illness, the widespread prevalence of stigma, discrimination and racism in mental health and much more.

You’ll also find:

• Comprehensive discussions about how to overcome shame and stigma to seek help if you’re suffering from a mental illness.
• Explorations of how mental health practitioners and family members of people living with mental health conditions can themselves remain healthy as they care for others.
• Examinations of why mental health related stigma remains so stubbornly common in our societies and what we can do to combat it.

Breakthrough is a resource of hope and a companion for people suffering in silence who feel isolated and disconnected from society. It will also be of interest to mental health practitioners, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counsellors, addictions specialists, carers and clients. The take home messages are clear: living with a mental health condition is nothing to be ashamed about and, with the right support, recovery is a reality for the many and not the few.