Crushing two vertebrae in her back and shattering her foot, Mandy — not her real name —survived the ordeal, and underwent emergency operations to reconstruct her shattered vertebrae and leg.

She claims that her husband subjected her to years of psychological abuse, driving her to attempt suicide three times.

By speaking to The News, Mandy hopes to show other victims of abuse there is light at the end of the tunnel and is urging them to seek help before it’s too late.

She reveals the emotional trauma behind her decision, and living with the aftermath of her attempted suicide.

The 53-year-old said: “I believe I am a victim of violent psychological abuse.

“But I’ve never been able to prove it, and I feel like no one has ever taken it seriously or listened to me, and the best way I can describe it is like swimming in boiling oil.

“Eventually it becomes too painful to keep swimming when no one is willing to pull you out, and you would rather drown.” Mandy claims that her estranged husband has subjected her to psychological abuse by belittling her, alienating her from friends and family by cutting off her means of contact, and offering her no support as she went through her terrible ordeal.

In fact she claims he showed no emotion when she attempted to kill herself.

Mandy said: “My husband has never shown any remorse for driving me to do what I did.

“He has access to my emails, and my Facebook, and because of that I basically have no way of communicating with friends and family.

“We have now separated but he has taken everything from me, my home, my possessions, my life.

“I can’t even divorce him because he holds all the cards.” Mandy considered taking her own life but admits that she did not want to cause herself prolonged pain or suffering.

However, Mandy’s state of mind became more acute and she described the moment she inched herself out on to the window ledge of her bedroom in her second storey apartment.

She knelt there for around four hours, attempting to work up the courage to take a fatal plunge to the concrete ground below.

She continued: “I knelt there, just saying to myself over and over again that this can’t go on.

“It felt like the only way out for me, and eventually I inched myself off that ledge.” Mandy broke two vertebrae in her back in the fall, and shattered the bones in one of her feet.

She spent almost six months in hospital, where she underwent three operations to her feet, and several operations to her torso and back to repair her damaged spine.

But now she hopes to use her experiences to warn people in similar situations, and tell them that they are not alone in their suffering and to seek help.

Mandy hopes that people will learn to spot the tell-tale signs of psychological abuse.

Scottish Women’s Aid have also offered a word of advice to women who suspect that they are being subjected to non-physical abuse, which will help them gather evidence.

A spokeswoman said: “Firstly, we would suggest that you see your GP and tell them about how you’re feeling.

“If the GP keeps notes of this visit and or offers a referral to counselling etc, this may be something you can use as evidence. If you call the National Domestic Violence Helpline and give them express permission to make a record of the call, containing any notes on how you’ve been affected by your partner’s behaviour, this may be called upon as evidence. You can access these records by writing to the helpline manager — but call records are only kept for one year.

“It may be useful for you to start keeping a record of the emotional abuse that you’re experiencing.

“Note down the time and date, what was said, any threats he makes and if anyone else was present at the time. Keep any abusive text messages, emails or voicemail messages, as this information will really help when you come to discuss your situation with a solicitor.

“If other people have witnessed any of the emotional abuse then their testimony could also be used.” Additionally, if you are affected by thoughts of suicide, or self harm, you can call Samaritans 24 hours a day, year-round where you can speak to someone about your situation in confidence 08457 90 90 90.