"Condition management programme Northern Trust"

I suffer from depression and several physical conditions which, over a period of time, have presented obstacles to my working life having worked continuously from the age of 14 to now. I felt isolated and trapped by my conditions, anxious about returning to the workforce after 3 years of being on benefits; something I thought would never happen to me!

I commenced on CMP with no real idea of what to expect and slightly hesitant of conducting sessions by Zoom, the "new normal" as is the saying. 

I was, however, quickly disabused of any negative perceptions and looked forward to the weekly sessions. I was pleased to find that there was no judgement and no requirement to justify myself.

The wide range of topics covered in the sessions gave me ample resources and tools to allow me to reconsider my perspective and begin to see hope, where before I had none. The individual therapists, from occupational health and dieticians to physiotherapy were supportive, positive and very engaging, creating a relaxed environment to a point where the fact that we were conversing online seemed irrelevant. 

I was given the opportunity to meet one on one with a physiotherapist and had several sessions which I found very useful.

Each online session was accompanied by a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation emailed beforehand to allow better comprehension of the discussion topics. I found it particularly useful to be able to read through at my own convenience.

I joined the programme slightly late and was given an extension to my participation to ensure I had all the topics covered. This suited my learning style of reading and repetition of the subjects allowing some points, theories and ideas to be reiterated, and therefore hammered home.

I feel I have benefitted greatly from the programme and feel much more positive and enlightened as to my future. I feel that being present for an hour each week online is so much more valuable than the alternative of a ten minute session with a GP who may not, in that time space, achieve any real long term change in condition. The programme, I feel, is about tackling the underlying causes and issues rather than treating symptoms, and as such I would highly recommend it. I can now see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel and feel enthused about the future. I feel able now to reflect rather than ruminate on my conditions and hope to translate this into the positive energy required to begin work again.