Pat Dring is no ordinary poet. Her work is informed by a 'lost' twenty years of her life when she was struggling with the twin demons of agoraphobia and addiction to valium. Pat's problems began over 30 years ago in 1969, soon after her marriage to her husband George. Pat was prescribed valium to treat severe headache. She was on the slippery slope and soon found she was taking 20 tablets a day and was a frequent visitor to the now defunct psychiatric department at the Nottingham General Hospital.

In 1970 Pat was pregnant with her only son, Paul. Her medication was reduced during her pregnancy and this caused a worsening of her condition. The early years of Paul's life were particularly traumatic "I remember that I bought a pushchair, a lie-back one, for Paul when he was just 18 months. I never used it. I just couldn't face going out of the door." A further blow was to come when her father was diagnosed as suffering from cancer in 1973. Her 'treatment' was an ever increasing dosage of medication. She recalls "I was like a zombie, really. How Paul and George ever got through it I don't know."

She struggled to support Paul through his childhood, her commitment to his upbringing bringing a temporary relief from her problems. When Paul was 12, she relapsed and was diagnosed by her doctor as suffering from agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a psychiatric condition characterised by a a fear of particular physical or social conditions - it may be open space, but often presents as a phobia of being with people or away from the safety of one's home environment. Pat recollects attempting to leave her home environment "By the time I got to the gatepost, I was thinking 'I'm going to die'."

Pat reached her lowest ebb in 1984. Her doctor finally decided to admit her to hospital in an attempt to wean her of her tranquillisers, but when she was discharged her condition deteriorated further.

The turning point came in the late 1980s, when Pat met a psychiatrist called Diana Gross. "For the first time, this lady was talking to me like a human being. She seemed to know what I was talking about and gave me hope." With the help of Dr. Gross, Pat was able to reduce her medication and start to reestablish a normal life. Everyday activities which are taken for granted - walking, shopping and travelling by bus - were being rediscovered by Pat following her years of torment. She was on the road to recovery and got a voluntary job in the Lantern Coffee shop in Ruddington.

Her literary career began in 1990, when she wrote a short story about her life which was published by Woman magazine. She subsequently wrote letters to the Evening Post which alluded to her agoraphobia and brought a flood of replies. Soon she found she was running an informal support network and corresponding with hundred of fellow suffers. Pat has made a number of appearances on television and radio talking about both her tranquilliser addiction and her agoraphobia.

A collection of her work, Pat's Poems, was published in 1998 and she continues to write new poetry which is intimately entwined with her life experiences.

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