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Giving me my life back

Posted By A.C.F.

"Giving me my life back"

About: Highly Specialist Services / Eating disorder service Highly Specialist Services / Specialist psychotherapy services

(as a service user),

I have suffered with mental health issues since I was a teenager. My mental health issues arose due to severe childhood trauma from the age of 5 up. During my 45 years, I have spent most of those in adolescent units, general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals and eating disorder clinics. I have received in part good support by honest nurses and therapists who seriously wanted to help me but nobody ever seemed to want to tackle the true reason for my mental health issues - sexual abuse.

So, the revolving door just kept on revolving. Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day. Until (after my final cry for help) I was referred to St Georges Hospital, Sheffield where I was introduced to a therapist who finally helped me to rebuild my life and give it back to it's rightful owner. I cannot thank the therapist who helped me enough. He wasn't afraid to tackle the issues that needed tackling. He has given me a whole new prospective on my past, my present and my future. If I had not received the help when I did by the kind and understanding therapist I was given, then I can truly say I fear to think which path my life may have gone down. But it hasn't! With the support I have had it has given me a new protective on my life and life itself.

More imprtantly though, it is slowly giving me that life back. I still have a way to go but by the support I have had from my therapist, I can live for this moment and not dread every second I'm alive. I can look to the past and not fear it as much as I once did. I can now embrace the future and not always retreat into fear which was always a natural way of life for me. 

Change can happen. I am finally on my way and ready for discharge. I no longer fear the unknown as much as I did. Sure, there will be hiccups but hiccups never last. I have more knowledge about myself now than I ever have before. With that, I understand myself more and I understand the world a little better. 

Life is good with good people in it. I hope that the person who is to follow me next is as lucky as I am. I hope they too are given a chance to reclaim back their life.  
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Responses

Response from Sheffield Health and Social Care 2 years ago
Sheffield Health and Social Care

Submitted on 18/11/2021 at 10:12
Published on Care Opinion at 10:12

Dear ACF,

Thank you so much for taking the time to post about your experiences of engaging with services and taking brave steps forward. Wishing you all in continuing forward in a brighter chapter ahead.

Best Wishes

Update posted by A.C.F. (a service user)

Many thanks. I appreciate you posting my story and for your response to it. May I just add to my story and say that during this pandemic and the long periods of lockdown, the mental health service suffered in a way that was indescribable.

As a service user I know how it affected me just as I was becoming independent and growing with confidence. I can’t imagine how much it affected all who work in mental health knowing that the patients you were dealing with were isolated even further and months of hard work slowly being unravelled.

I began weekly sessions with my therapist over the internet and I have to say that was the turning point for me. It allowed me to open up more in an environment that was safe. Whatever occurred in those sessions was dealt with differently by me than if I were in an office. This was paramount for my recovery.

In some ways, the lockdown helped me. Private sessions over the internet helped me even further. Even though I fully understand the need to get patients and service user back into buildings, maybe there are people who could benefit more from this type of therapy injection with face to face appointments.

All the best.

ACF

Response from Maggie Young, Head of Eating Disorders, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust 2 years ago
Maggie Young
Head of Eating Disorders,
Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 18/11/2021 at 15:22
Published on Care Opinion at 15:22

Dear ACF

Thankyou so much for taking the time to provide feedback. It is so rewarding to read and we 're so glad you have been able to reclaim your life. I'm so pleased you can start to enjoy and live your life again. I hope you are looking forward to good things in the future

Best wishes for your ongoing recovery

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Update posted by A.C.F. (a service user)

I would like to add further to my story. Though the responses have been from the eating disorder team, I would like to point out that the eating disorder team had no part in my care nor my recovery. The man responsible is Richard (St George’s Psychotherapy). He is the gentleman I would like to thank personally. Without his support and understanding I would not be where I am today. I have received a lot of therapy over the years that sadly never really moved me forward. Whether it was the right or wrong type of therapy is no longer important in my life now. What is important is that I finally found the right therapist who believed in me.

I hope this response can be forwarded to the correct department so the right team and service users can read this.

Many thanks.

Regards.

Response from Maggie Young, Head of Eating Disorders, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust 2 years ago
Maggie Young
Head of Eating Disorders,
Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 09/12/2021 at 14:57
Published on Care Opinion at 14:57

Thankyou for clarifying this. I had always wondered if we were the right Team to respond. I will ensure all the email thread is passed in to Richard from Psychotherapy.

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Update posted by A.C.F. (a service user)

Thank you. I would appreciate that.

Thanks once again for all your previous replies too.

All the very best and a Merry Christmas to all the team at St George's, Sheffield.

ACF

Response from Joe Curran, Consultant Adult Psychotherapist, MAPPS, Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust 2 years ago
Joe Curran
Consultant Adult Psychotherapist, MAPPS,
Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 09/12/2021 at 15:48
Published on Care Opinion on 10/12/2021 at 08:41

Dear ACF,

Thank you for providing such a personal and rich account of your experience of therapy with us here in the MAPPS team. I am very pleased that you have been helped by the work you have done with us, and with Richard in particular.

Your experience of therapy over the internet is very helpful to hear too. As therapists used to working with people in the therapy room we were a little unsure about how this would work, so I'm glad that you found it a useful part of therapy as this will help us offer it to others.

Thanks again, and best wishes for the future

Joe Curran

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