I was an Ally victim

Jaime-Helene Felix, 26, was a successful investment banker in the City. She worked 12-hour days in stressful conditions.

"Anything shorter than a 12-hour day was an easy day - I barely saw daylight. The working culture was such that you didn't want to leave the desk, even to go to the in-house gym, because it didn't look good.

"I joined straight after college, when I was young and naive - initially, the first-class air travel, luxury hotels and expense account seemed exciting.
But it soon became clear that we were expected to sacrifice our personal lives.

"Outside work I became miserable. My free time wasn't leisure time, it was recovery time. At weekends I'd catch up on chores or sleeping. My social life withered. I never went out in the week and often cancelled meeting friends.

"Everyone in my peer group was stressed and I lost a sense of control over my life. I used to be a well-rounded person, running marathons and doing lots of sport. But working such long hours left me feeling run down and older than I really was.

"My mood was completely negative. I'd go home to my parents on holidays and cry. At first, I thought my depression was my fault, but I came to realise it was the pressure of my job.

"Six months ago, after working for three years of feeling like this, I decided to leave. I had fallen in love and I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain a happy relationship with him if I stayed. When I quit, I did so simply because I wanted time for myself and my relationship. The funny thing was, everyone at work congratulated me because many of them wanted to do the same, but didn't have the courage.

"Since then my happiness levels have soared. I went travelling, ran the London Marathon and enrolled on a course in journalism.

"It seems that lots of people remain in jobs that destroy the balance in their lives because they don't want to face the uncertainty of finding a new path. But I am far happier now I have time to spend with the people I care about. I don't regret my decision for an instant."