rivers2cross

Six months ago I contacted my GP about my mental health and referred myself to Talking Therapies. My doctor prescribed me a low daily dosage of Sertraline and I had a course of CBT therapy on Talking Therapies. Today I had my three monthly check up to see how I am doing. The good news is that, as I thought, I am making massive progress and moving in the right direction, but also acknowledging that there is no quick fix and it’s something I will have to keep on working at. However, after talking about whether I felt that I needed counselling with my therapist, she agreed with my thoughts about wanting to focus forwards at the moment, and I can always look at counselling at a later date if I want to. For now I have been signed off treatment ❤

When I referred myself last October I had to write down the basics of what I felt was wrong. Below is the short paragraph I submitted. No-one has ever seen this apart from Talking Therapies and my GP. When my therapist read this back to me today, I said that it sounded like a very different person to who I am now. Here you go x

“I have been feeling unhappy and lonely for a number of years, so I just continuously feel low. I find it difficult to like myself or see why others would like me either. I have guilty feelings that I hurt people close to me. I feel anxious and dread making social contact and being in social situations. I lost my mum to bowel cancer 5 years ago and fundraising kept me busy but perhaps meant I didn’t allow myself time to grieve… I’ve not really been able to talk about any of this with anyone.” October 2021

Last October I was worried what people might think, and there are still some people who I know, who won’t be aware of my problems. I now know that there is no shame to any of this. I have had some incredible support and understanding from family and friends since I sought out help. I’m at the start of new beginnings, and look forward to where life now takes me x