‘After the first meeting I felt I wasn’t alone any more...’
Here’s the story of Christine Jones, 64...
“In September 2016, my partner of 16 years had an affair and subsequently left our home.
“I was devastated but decided that I wouldn’t let it stop my life and continued to work, with the support of my line manager, as an area manager for a large private retirement management company.
“At the same time as my relationship breakdown, my elderly parents also became more dependent on me.
“My father was in the later stages of dementia and my mother who, although completely mentally fit, was disabled.
“Looking back, I realise now that although I carried on, my personal life was suffering.
“At the beginning of 2017 my father became extremely violent because of his illness and threatened not only to kill himself, but also my mother.
“Luckily Mum’s carers were there and were able to alert the authorities.
“My father was taken to hospital and was ultimately sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
“All this, coupled with a new, less understanding manager, resulted in it coming to the point when I could no longer cope so I went to see my doctor.
“I was not able to see him straight away and was referred to see Lucy at Healthy Prestatyn.
“At this point, after previous disastrous counselling sessions which just left me even more upset, I was very low, isolated and anxious.
“I was struggling to get out of bed in the mornings and had withdrawn from daily life.
“Lucy invited me to join a sixweek course, ‘Getting your life back’, along with eight other individuals, run by occupational therapists.
“This was the point at which my life literally changed. I was welcomed as an equal, after feeling belittled and frightened by talking therapy, and was treated with empathy and care.
“Even after the very first meeting I felt I was not alone any more.
“Over the six meetings we worked together to understand the reasons we were there. Initially we worked on targets, things to aim for, and I realised that my target was actually to get out of bed by 9am.
“I had gone from a person who was out and on the road by 7am to someone who struggled to get out of bed.
“This small task was an important thing for me and my occupational therapy team helped me achieve something which had felt impossible at the beginning of the course.
“Next, they helped me manage to do a full shop without having a panic attack.
“Now, I can go about daily life again without problems and, thanks to the exercises we worked through to help me get started, I have the confidence to overcome the challenges that come my way.
“My mother passed away in January, and my father shortly after.
“Coupled with my grief at losing my parents I was terrified I would revert back to anxiety and depression.
“But I didn’t. What the occupational therapy team at Healthy Prestatyn had taught me was how to live healthily and manage the day-to-day through occupation.
“I’m so glad my GP was busy when I needed to see him, otherwise I may not have had the chance to understand the value of healthy occupations for my mental health.”
I had gone from being on the road by 7am to someone who struggled to get out of bed CHRISTINE JONES