ABSTRACT
Florence was thirty-six when she attempted her third overdose. The first one was when she was twenty-two and the second when she was thirty, both involving ingesting low doses of paracetamol in combination with alcohol. On both these occasions she telephoned her best friend soon after taking the "cocktail" and was not detained more than one night at the accident and emergency department. She was offered the opportunity of psychiatric and/or psychological help, but she turned down these offers both times, saying it was a "spur of the moment" thing and that she would be perfectly fine.
