BLOG: Wendy’s Story

BLOG: Wendy’s Story

We thought we would share a story from one of our lovely clients Wendy, in the hope of reminding those of you who might struggle with your mental health that you are not alone and help is always available.

We want to share with you Wendy’s story:

“When I first started attending Oakleaf I was in a deep depression, with high anxiety and strong feelings of isolation. So much so, I only left my flat to attend my part time job in a small shop.

That was until I was offered a place on Oakleaf’s watercolour painting class. When I arrived I was so anxious I just stood there until the art teacher told me where to sit. Within a few minutes of starting the carefully guided activity, I became so focused on it that all the chaos in my head drifted away, and I experienced some calmness for the first time in a long time. I gradually grew in confidence until I was helping the other students.

I later joined the yoga class, and began chatting with more people after the session. As I tackled my social anxiety, I started volunteering with a local organisation, helping to teach classes for people with mental health conditions, and I even enrolled on a counselling skills course.

When I learned that I would soon be made redundant, I asked to join the IT courses. I brushed up on my out of date computer skills, and learned new ones, gaining OCR level 1 and 2 certification in IT user skills. One of the Oakleaf team helped me to write a CV (something I hadn’t done for more than 15 years), which helped me gain an interview for a wonderful job.

I now have an exciting new career working in mental health. I aim to help and support other people the same way that Oakleaf helped me.”

It is so important that we continue to involve ourselves in the conversation surrounding mental health online.

#BeKind #KindnessMatters #MentalHealthMatters

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