Hi everyone todays blog I’m going to talk to you about how I started my road to recovery and what I’ve learned through this journey of recovery.

When I became ill in 2017 I had to wait to get an appointment to see some one form the local mental health team. After I had this appointment I got put in to something called the recovery information centre which is able to get you some more support and help while waiting to see a psychiatrist. I had this thing pointed out to me called recovery college, I was like really do I want to be doing something like this again and and still feel low afterwards. Well I had a meeting a few weeks later to discuss recovery college with two of the main tutors there. They came across so well and polite and quite enthusiastic towards me, which for was a plus as I saw they had the passion for recovery college.

So they explain to me what recovery college is about and that there are different sessions on all topics surrounding recovery. They explained that it was group work, which I was a bit worried about at first, but they then proceeded to tell me that when you pass and participate in the work, which they do not force you to do it but encourage you to do your best, it gives you new tools to help you with your struggles. I went away still not feeling sure about it but knew I needed to give it ago, which was better than sitting at home in the gloom of despair.

I went away and had long hard think about this, then I filled out the emrollment paper and sent in to the offfice and waited to hear back form them. This was a big step for me, as when I was younger I didn’t want to get the help, as I thought they couldn’t help a hopeless case like me, but now I did. I didn’t want to feel the outsider to the world, I wanted to participate. A few weeks later I got a letter confirming my dates and times for the courses I had signed up for. I thought shit this is starting to get real now. The week went by quickly and I started my first course called wellness planning, which was a six week course. I got to the place and all I wanted to do was turn round and walk away, because in my head I couldn’t get how any of this was going to help at all how big the group was going to be, where are the exit points ……all this was going through my head, and my voices were compounding the feelings I had, telling me I was useless, it won’t work, what’s the point. I was finding it really hard to keep my shit together I can tell you.

But I pulled it together and ventured in. I almost gave a sigh of relief as I saw there wasn’t many people in there. I got really nice welcome form both the tutors and some of the other members of the group. This started to relax me a little and I took my seat. The session started and it was nice an relaxed. The group didn’t really talk much in our first week, but as the weeks went by, we all seemed to open up, which for me, was a relegation. I didn’t feel judged and was comforting to know that other people where going through similar stuff to me, after all those years, I saw wasn’t the only one.

Moving on to the next session, was ‘what is psychosis’ this was just a one session teaching, and the room was quite packed. But what made me feel relaxed was, I knew some of the professionals who where also taking part in the session. This made me feel like I was in a safe place. The tutor for this session showed a clip of how the voices are for him. This clip for me was invaluable, knowing that he had come so far, even though he has these things happening to him. But with the help he had had, he is now helping others like himself, which is what I would like to do.

All these tools I got, just form the first two courses, where brilliant. My wellness plan, that I got form my first course, is like my bible, I’ve used the tools so much now, it’s stuck in my head. This helps, as I don’t have to keep referring to it constantly, only if I want to change or add something new to it.

I then took part in a safety planning session. I found this the hardest one so far, as it was just not one session, it was three, and we had a week between them. I found it hard, talking about some difficult times, but once I had completed the third session, I understood it better, and realised you couldn’t do this topic in just one session.

My next course was called Goal setting. Thankfully only one session. This was a nice relaxed course, and I found out I was setting myself too bigger goals, when I should have been doing one step at a time. I can’t stress enough that taking one step at time has done me the world of good.

I still have more courses I want to participate in on recovery college, and move forward with my recovery. I have been on the tutor training aswell, but once I’m ready and in a place I need to be, I will go back full steam ahead, so that my experience can help other, like me. Recovery college has given me my life back.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has helped me on my recovery journey, especially all the tutors and admins teams.