John can...
NAME: John
FROM: Middlesbrough
ABOUT: Mental Health - Anxiety
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MY #BOROMANCAN STORY:
“I make sure that I take time for myself, I took back control and have worked to understand myself and become comfortable in my own skin as well as making good diet and exercise a full part of my life”
Two months after a marriage breakdown, John found himself experiencing very low mood for a couple of weeks, which didn’t go unnoticed by his boss at work, who recognised the symptoms of mental health problems. “My boss approached me and told me he thought I was struggling and offered to refer me to a counsellor.” John said “I was sceptical and didn’t really think mental health was anything other than lazy people, was a load of boll**ks”. John’s experience was life changing and describes living with anxiety following a fairly short period of depression as being the “present that depression left behind”. Counselling allowed John to explore his losses in life and manage control over key elements including being more assertive, surrounding himself with good people and appreciate the support from his own partner, so important in his recovery to help him keep his control elements in check.
His employer is doing the North East Better Health at Work award enabling John to be a health advocate and get involved in spreading the messages about mental health to reduce the stigma.
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FIND OUR MORE
- Tell your GP, friends and close family about how you feel.
- Get free NHS counselling from We Can Talk.ORG
- Speak to Mind about a range of their services Middlesbrough and Stockton MIND or 01642 257020
