Andrew’s Mental Health Journey

Andrew writes about his journey with his mental health, and how professional support from services such as Breathing Space and our Community Groups, along with his faith, have supported him:

It’s wonderful to get rid of problems and to become more confident. This happened last night at Breathing Space, and two friends and I built on this by going on a hugely enjoyable ramble to Bathampton today and having a lovely three course lunch with coffee afterwards. We were expecting my taxi driver, to arrive at 3pm, but he didn’t arrive. We were all feeling worried. I took control of the situation. I borrowed my friend’s phone and rang him. He hadn’t put the trip into his diary! Luckily he could come straight away and he was with us in a quarter of an hour. Overcoming our problem made me feel closer to my friends: the extra time together enabled us three to put the world to rights. We were in the presence of God, a position of great privilege.

I guess I’m lucky that I put my trust in God so much. Now I’m beginning to trust in people too and I’m getting over my insecurities. There’s bad news, though. My current driver is retiring, but the good news is that he has passed me over to his colleague, who is keen to help me. 

I’m so fortunate to have my Lord, without whom I’d be nothing, but he has seen fit to introduce me to some wonderful people at Breathing Space, in whom only now I am beginning to trust. I was a very loving person before my illness and that has carried me through the subsequent years of chaos and maelstrom. When I became ill, 35 years ago, I was plunged into an abyss and reduced to nothing for so long. The hell I have been through made it difficult for me to trust people. Through the skill of the doctors and my faith, I’m coming up for air at last. I thank God for that.

I have a few more problems to overcome, which I am working on with my GP and by going to Open Opportunities and Bath Mind Breathing Space. I think writing a blog is the most exciting new development, for writing down your problems in a blog helps you to express yourself and put things in perspective.

A huge thank you to Andrew for your honest and open account of your experiences – it is wonderful to hear how you have been supported by Breathing Space and Open Opportunities. Our Breathing Space services are open to all – please click on the link to see how we can help you.