A WOMAN was suffered a double tragedy when her mum took her own life and her dad died "from the heartbreak" a little over a year later. Katie Irvine, 28, says her "bubbly mum", Teresa, 50, was hiding a secret mental health battle - which left her "blindsided" when she ended her own life . 5 Katie Irvine with mum Teresa Credit: SWNS 5 Teresa, 50, was diagnosed with depression and bipolar but hid it from Katie, 28, until a few months before her death Credit: SWNS 5 Katie is raising awareness around grief after suicide Credit: SWNS Teresa, a community fundraiser, was diagnosed with bipolar when she was 44, and depression when she was in her early twenties - but hid it from Katie under a "happy" persona.
Having spent her entire adult life worrying something "bad" was going to happen, Katie says she immediately knew what was wrong when police showed up at her work in March 2019 to inform her of her mum's death. But her grief was compounded when she lost her dad, Gary Irvine, 54 - who had suffered from alcohol addiction - just a year and five months later, partially due to "the heartbreak and relief." Katie, a sixth form support officer, from Sutton, Surrey, said: "My mum wanted to protect me from her diagnoses - right up until six months before her death.
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