"Knowing support is there should I need it is reassuring"

I was referred to this service when it felt as though I was unravelling. Struggling with PTSD and trying to hold down a stressful job, there was no surprise when I needed time off to recover. Initially I thought my workplace were considerate and they seemed to go the extra mile to support me back into work. 

Then things changed. I suddenly found that every minute detail of my work performance was being challenged and I was subject to numerous meetings with HR and my manager who seemed to be determined to make me feel worse, putting me on a performance review. This was completely out of the blue and the slow crawl through this every week was decimating my self esteem and making work (and life) intolerable.

In steps Future's Positive (Gedling) to provide critical support during these awful meetings (I just cried during them), and reassuring me that I wasn't imagining the cruel and cold way I was being treated. They helped me look at opportunities, which helped me to move on to another role. More importantly, they stood at my side every time I felt like I would fail. I don't know what I would have done without them. 

Being able to calmly support someone who is watching their life fall apart requires strength and empathy, and I was lucky to have this and more. I was made to feel as if I could still have an impact at work, that I could achieve at work, and that it was worthwhile to find another role where I would be valued. None of this comes from a training course, from a text book or is written in a job description. This comes from being a genuinely compassionate, caring and focused human being.

I still struggle with my mental health, and I recognise that work provides me with a scaffold, the structure to get out of bed in the morning, to wash my hair and put some nice shoes on, even if no one can see them over Teams. Work kept me going at a time when everything was falling apart. Work was important to me, to help me feel as though it was worthwhile still being alive. I'm so grateful that I had the support I did to keep me in work and to keep me going. Knowing that support is there should I need it again is reassuring; I feel a little as though I have taken the stabilisers off my bike and am peddling on my own again! 

Thank you so much, Gedling Future's Positive, for everything.