Some users and ex-users of mental health services in the WHO European Region agreed to share their personal experiences. Their accounts question the appropriateness of the treatment some of them received and open a debate that should involve all stakeholders. These stories were collected through a questionnaire, inspired by the 2005 Mental Health Declaration for Europe and sent to users and ex-users of services in 18 countries. This work was made possible through a donation from the Margrét Björgólfsdóttir Memorial Fund in Iceland.
 | Wilma's story | |
 If you enter the psychiatric business as a patient, you run a high risk of being reduced to the mental disorder you came with, or to a disturbed object. | ||
| Ricardo's story | |
 The help and company of good friends, the rediscovery of old pleasures, the support of my family, being useful to others, feeling part of the community – these are all essential factors in my recovery. | ||
| Monika's story | |
 The only reason I feel inferior to other people is my difficult economic situation, which is a result of my periods of illness. | ||
| Igor's story | |
 The most important factors in my recovery have been my commitment to my work in a user organization, together with the openness of my doctor to talking therapy without medication | ||
| Lia's story | |
 I am not ashamed of having been “crazy” or “schizophrenic” | ||
| Krista's story | |
 I lived with my depression for years as an adolescent, without knowing what was wrong. | ||
| Anna's story | |
 When I am really sick and my inner-devil voices are strong, I have often tried to break an arm or a leg or some other bone in my body. | ||
| Vahid's story | |
 I think that until a person experiences some kind of disability, they hardly know their inner, hidden qualities. | ||
| Tristano's story | |
 When I am with my peers in the self-help group, I feel I can breathe. I do not know how I would cope with life without them. | ||
