Our Claire is reaching out…

This weekend I was looking forward to going to a concert to see a band I’d been wanting to see all my life but had never had the opportunity to. Unfortunately, as the date approached, I became more and more anxious about how I was going to get home afterwards. You see, I’m finding the dark triggers my anxiety and, in the end, I decided I just couldn’t face it and have returned my ticket.

I know I’m doing this to protect my mental health but finding my life more and more limited because I can’t face going out after dark is triggering yet more anxiety in itself. So, finding my anxiety triggering more anxiety (or “spiralling” as some call it), I have this morning sought help.

I’m glad I have the self-awareness to recognise the signs these days because I haven’t always. I’ve been brought to some real lows because of my anxiety. It’s horrible and, unfortunately, I’ve been told to “get over it” or to “snap out of it” more times than I can remember. It’s just not that easy and it makes me feel like I’m failing at life. Even now, in the back of my mind, there’s an inner voice mocking me for being scared of the dark. That’s something adults are supposed to have grown out of! Yet here I am.

So I’m really glad help is out there when I need it. My life would be in a far worse place than it is now if I hadn’t got the help I needed at the time. You know, it’s funny but I’m reminded of when Michael Gove said “people in this country have had enough of experts”. Who else is there to turn to when you need specialist help? There’s no point asking a random bloke in the street to fix your broken leg!

But I think the same applies in all walks of life: If you go down the pub, for example, you want to be served by someone who knows what they’re doing. If you catch the bus, you want it to be driven by someone who knows how to drive! It’s like if I went to my BSL class and found the tutor didn’t know how to sign. Or if I went to the upcycling classes I go to and found the tutor didn’t know the first thing about it. When we need help, we need to seek out the people who know something about it.

This is part of what makes WHISC so great! When you need help they will make sure you get it from someone who knows what they’re doing. That applies to the mental health support as it does to the Tai Chi classes as it does to the financial advice and everything else that they do. There are no ignorant nellies at WHISC! So please take a look at the What’s On page of this website to see if there’s anything there you’d like help with.

WHISC are also continuing to offer their Listening Ear service. So, whatever it is you want to talk about, please call 0151 707 1826 or leave a message on the WHISC Facebook page with your phone number and they’ll ring you back. Please remember that, whatever you’re going through, there’s no need to go it alone.