BRAVE Elaine Hanzak is laying her ghosts to rest and putting her dark days well and truly behind her as she breaks the silence surrounding mental illness.

Elaine, aged 41, was admitted to a mental hospital after being diagnosed with post natal depression months after giving birth to her son Dominic.

Despite medication, the depression quickly spiralled into a complete mental breakdown.

She was found by her father and brother wandering the streets in her nightie one cold and rainy December night after finally cracking under the strain of the illness.

But now, fully recovered, Elaine, a special needs teacher, refuses to bow to the stigma surrounding metal illness.

She has received much acclaim from mental health professionals and other sufferers with the release of her book Eyes Without Sparkle.

It chronicles Elaine's story from beginning to end. From her elation at first learning she was pregnant, through to her darkest days of depression and the long road back to a full recovery.

She said: "My message is predominantly one of hope. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and as unlikely as it may seem at times, there is a way back.

"There's been an overwhelming response to the book, I find myself in tears at some of the letters people write telling me how wonderful it is to have someone to relate to.

"No-one wants to talk about mental illness but when you do it's surprising just how many families have been touched by it."

Since Eyes Without Sparkle was published in January, she has been interviewed on BBC Breakfast, Radio Merseyside, LBC London Radio and will feature on Radio 4's Women's Hour today, Thursday.

Elaine, who lives in Runcorn, has also addressed mental health professionals at conferences where she talks about her own experience of the treatment she received and how she responded to it.

She added: "The book has been very cathartic for me but it's also taken on another momentum.

"It has made me want to inspire others and let them know that you can make a recovery.

"I know from my own experience that there is no support for partners or families.

"I received all the treatment while my long-suffering husband Nick just had to put up with what he was feeling.

"These are the things that must change but there is hope and there is a way back to happiness."