A Thank you to NAWARC

Dear Jeanette and Team

It is no exaggeration to say that you restored me as a person with renewed self-worth & joy. I realised whilst talking to Nadia this morning, about her research project, that the Recovery College didn’t just save my life – you saved my soul/core as a person. I wasn’t ‘living’ for the past 10yrs – I was ‘surviving’. A perpetual patient trapped in an NHS cycle rather than student with the ability to take ownership of my mental health and experience a tangible Hope.

And you have all restored my Hope. And I’m starting to dream again. I will never have a bitter ‘victim’ mentality ever again. – I am a strong-willed (slightly stubborn) woman who has been taught by the Recovery College and armed with the tools, ability and critical thinking to take control of my mental health, future opportunities and enjoy what this world has.

What the Recovery College has done for me can’t be quantified (but I’m sure a few millions pounds worth of funding applications could take a crack at it).

What you do goes beyond monetary value (if I was my choice you’d be funded forever and expanded across Scotland) but the team of people you have gathered are unparalleled in empathy, energy and positivity. They are all phenomenal and I mean Everyone from peers to staff – the vision you have as a working group is a talent and skill in its own right.

You have all restored my joy for living  – which, before I started the Recovery, I didn’t think was even a possibility for me. I was bitter, twisted and lost in a darkness I didn’t realise had actually swallowed me. But the endless positivity of the Recovery College punched a beam of light through the dark and eventually lit up my perception to see beyond my, almost self-imposed, perception of ‘limitations’ (tempered by chronic pain) and your team opened up new choices, potential adventures and pathways.

I wanted to make sure you all know what you did for me. The surgery I am scheduled for on Friday is complicated but I’m not naive – I know the risks.

I suppose in amongst flowery metaphors and general ramblings – I really want to say Thankyou. Thankyou to all of you that make the Recovery College a Beacon of Hope for all of us and a place of true healing, education and recovery. Thankyou for giving me the tools to manage my mental health, have control of my mindset and live a vastly improved (by your courses, events and opportunities) life.

Recovery is Inevitable.

Kind Regards

Alison

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