Hey everyone, hope you’re all well. It’s been a while since I’ve posted as I’ve just started going to therapy. The aim is that it gives me a boost and this is what I’m going to talk to you about today.

So just before the start of covid I found out that my local Mind, which is a health organisation, do a course called Waves which is based on DBT. This course runs for a year, I missed that years start date and then divide happened and they have to change the way they did the course. This meant I had to wait for the next year for the interviews to come around.

Well it turns out they came around quite quickly and I had my application form filled out and sent it straight back. I got a date for my interview and I was nervous but I knew I wanted this so much. Having to have an interview to get help was something that seemed odd to me though.

On the day of the interview I was nervous, I got to the venue early after travelling an hour and 45 minutes from where I live.

About a month later I got a response saying that I didn’t get a spot but I had to double check with the team because the letter I received didn’t have my name on it. Part of me was hopeful that I still had a chance of getting a spot how were my hopes for crushed when I got the letter back with my name on it saying I didn’t get a spot this year. They asked if I would like an application for next year when the next course stated so I said yes please otherwise I knew I would forget.

So a year passed and I received an email asking if I would like the application form sent out to me and I said yes please. Once I received it I had a month to send it back to them, I asked Sue from Lift Loud for Danny if she could help me fill the form out. I struggle with things like that. We send it off and then I got a date back for an interview which one of my friends took me to, it was nice because we chatted on the way which helped me chill out.

n the interview there were two ladies that made me feel safe and like I could open up to them about my mental health without feeling judged. They told me I had a strong interview and would hear back in February. Well when February rolled around I emailed them asking if I would hear back but they replied saying there had been a problem so they will get back to me soon.

I was sitting at home one day on my own and my phone rang. The lady said who she was and where she was from, she also then said that I had been successful in gaining a spot on the course. I should ‘YES’ down the phone to the last on the other end, she must’ve thought what a weirdo hahaha. It was then left that they would be sending me some paperwork to confirm everything.

While I had been waiting for confirmation I had been dealing with a duty worker for Victoria House who said we could try and get me a free bus pass. This would help with the cost of travelling to and from the course. I filled out the online application form but the next day it got declined due to them not accepting my picture and they wanted a diagnosis in the letter. So we reapplied and the next day I got approved, I was so happy.

When I received my letter from Mind to confirm the first day of the course it said that my first and second day would only be for an hour and a half. This seemed pointless to me but after actually doing those first two sessions I felt like the way they did it made sense. On those days I got to meet other people on the course and get all the boring paperwork side done and out of the way.

So coming to my first full day of the course, I had to get the bus at 8am to be there for 10am. I was nervous as anything but once I arrived, walked through the door and saw everyone I felt safe. It was a nice environment to be in and I felt like I took a lot away from my first full day.

The second session I really struggled with, we spoke about biology, psychology and sociology of being unwell. I couldn’t retain the information and I just wanted to walk out. However a lady that worked for mind came over and I asked her to explain it to me because I couldn’t understand it. She explained it to me in laymen’s terms and I was able to complete the task.

We now have two weeks off due to the bank holidays and the Kings Coronation.

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next session.

Thank you for reading, I wish you all good mental health