Damian took part in Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Nature & Wellbeing programme for six months as a participant, following a referral from the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). He’s now moved on to become a Nature and Wellbeing volunteer with the team. In this blog he shares his experience and growth:
I was having problems mixing with other people, leaving the house, anxiety and depression, including psychosis, auditory and visual hallucinations. My mental health was causing me to self-harm due to distress and psychosis issues.
I was referred to Nature & Wellbeing by CMHT after discussions with my therapist. I started attending and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust team, staff member Sarah-Jane and volunteer Gill, made the sessions enjoyable.
They addressed my needs and we started creating things in nature. This allowed me to build my confidence, I was socialising, and then I started to help others who were attending. Greenspace is a magical place to be! The sessions improved my anxiety and depression and gave me the ability to manage my psychosis. It has improved my health and wellbeing.
I enjoyed the sessions that much I have now gone through to volunteering myself to help and assist others who are referred to Greenspace.
The environment and setting is a beautiful place for participants to engage and heal over a period of time. I have noticed how this magical environment has improved other service users’ mental health and wellbeing. It has helped service users’ participation in all types of activities.
I would recommend these wonderful sessions to anyone suffering with mental health issues. Most of all I would like to thank CMHT and Greenspace for allowing me to volunteer and attend weekly. By helping others, it is helping me cope with day-to-day life and improving my mental health.