"Breathing Space"

I just had a really positive experience with Breathing Space, which ironically was about the problems I was facing with other NHS services.

I was a bit hesitant to call for a couple of reasons: one of which was not being sure whether things were bad enough to warrant it, and the other being that my problem was very practical in nature and I was afraid that they wouldn't be allowed to say anything real about the problem itself, as opposed to just listening and giving more passive consolation.

Of course, the first problem turned out not at all to be the case, as I was listened to very em-pathetically, but I was particularly surprised and heartened by how wrong I was about the second point. The person I spoke to really helped me to make a decision in practical terms, sharing their perspective and helping me to realise how I was basically gearing up to de-prioritise my own treatment/care in order to not risk annoying other service providers. It was more like calling up a very caring friend and getting their input than talking to somebody with a generic dealing with sad people script.

I'm really thankful that Breathing Space allows its advisers to engage with the problems themselves where that is appropriate, as I have benefited greatly from that.