Turning a corner
My story starts in the mid noughties. Whilst working as a Database analyst, out of the blue I suddenly found myself made redundant. Assuming I’d easily find another job I had a break for a couple of months then started searching for rewarding, fulfilling and meaningful employment, while relying on my redundancy, mini-cabbing and the odd IT and PC support job to make ends meet.
I'd re-written my CV umpteen times, applied for a vast range of jobs and even offered to work unpaid, all without success. My redundancy and confidence dwindling, I felt as if I’d hit a brick wall and began to doubt my own ability and sanity. As months turned into years I became despondent, disillusioned, downhearted and depressed. I had also become stressed and anxious and started to suffer from lack of sleep. After several panic attacks and a psychotic episode in May 2015, I ended up in Lambeth hospital being treated with antipsychotics and antidepressants.
"The staff are friendly, approachable, helpful and knowledgeable"
Whilst under the care of Lambeth hospital I was introduced to Mosaic Clubhouse, it was described as a vital stepping stone towards mental health improvement and recovery. The club offers an extensive range of mental health improvement services and its ethos promotes good working practices, camaraderie, inclusion and re-familiarisation of working environment and duties, albeit minus the time constraints normally expected in a full time job. The staff are friendly, approachable, helpful, knowledgeable, have positive can-do attitudes and work with members side-by-side. They are always open to ideas and suggestions from us members.
Consequently, thanks to the help I’ve received at Mosaic I feel I’ve turned a corner on the road to mental recovery. Not only have I re-discovered the 'joys' of working in an office environment, it's boosted my confidence tenfold and I feel way more positive about life. I never thought I’d feel lucky to live in Lambeth and would heartily recommend that other boroughs follow the Mosaic Clubhouse model.
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