"Excellent service"

After years of being passed around the service, and numerous relapses I was finally referred to this service. I was sceptical at first due to my past experiences, but after after a few weeks I started to feel the benefits.

Something I found important initially was the honesty. Previously I had always been given the impression I would be made ‘better’, whereas I was now being told that I couldn’t change my past and experiences, that I needed to learn, with support a way of managing and controlling my thoughts which have lead to my anxiety and depression.

It may sound crazy, but once I could accept I wasn’t going to get completely better as my past couldn’t magically be erased, I started to feel I could start to move forward.

I completed the exercises each week, and have been given the resources I need to deal with those difficult times. I take a few minutes every day to do the CBT exercise which works for me. I now feel positive about my future, something I can honestly say I’ve never felt before. I know and accept that this isn’t the end of my journey and I am likely to have a relapse every now and then - that’s life for you, but now I believe I have the tools necessary to get me through those dark periods and come out the other side. I’m hoping that so long as I keep up my daily exercises these periods will be small blips that I can deal with through the strategies I’ve been taught. I have put the work in and 3 months after my last session I am continuing to reap the benefits and have now been discharged from the service.

Unlike any other time I have completed a period of therapy, I feel confident that this time I won’t be bouncing back to the service for further therapy.

(Although I do know I could get in touch if I really needed to). Stick with it, carry out the exercises, you will be challenged to go outside your comfort zone, but it’s well worth for the benefits you achieve.

What can I say, but a great big thank you 😊