"ChangeUp"

I attended the weekly ChangeUp sessions for 10 weeks in an attempt to combat my OCD, which has been affecting my daily life for many years.

The sessions were very helpful. They changed the way I think about the challenges I face and gave me practical ways to try to improve my situation, for both the short and long term. The staff did a brilliant job of creating a friendly, welcoming and open space where everyone in the group felt comfortable opening up. They also did well to tailor the course content to the individuals in the room. There is a lot of helpful information I am taking away from it and will be trying to implement in my daily life. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I am glad that I did it. 

The one thing that I think could be improved is time management. Two hours (plus travel time) is already quite a long time to take out of a work day, but then the sessions often went over time. When sessions over-ran, it meant that I had to choose whether to stay longer and potentially learn something that may benefit my mental health but getting anxious about being behind at work and having to work later into the evening, or leave at the time the session should have ended and return to work, meaning that I would potentially miss out on stuff that may be beneficial for me. This was especially frustrating in sessions where the more practical content (e.g. techniques to reduce anxiety) were at the end of the session and therefore had to be rushed through. 

So overall a really good, helpful and personally beneficial course. Just, in the future, try to start and finish on time to avoid causing work-related stress for those with jobs involving working to tight deadlines.