A Personal Account from a Learner

After experiencing months of debilitating stress my GP referred me to Pentreath, who suggested I enrol with the Recovery College Cornwall (RCC) as they believed the courses would help me. I was so happy to finally find a group of people that really understood how I was feeling – they could put my emotions perfectly into words, which was something I could not do.

The sessions were held online via Skype, which was great for me and worked really well, as at the beginning I would have not ventured out to attend a course. On the first online Skype session I was extremely nervous and emotional, I cried and hardly engaged as I found it completely overwhelming. However, everyone, the tutors, learning support workers and students were always kind, supportive and respectful which made me feel safe, protected and in control. Sharing experiences, tips and ‘gems of wisdom’ with others going through similar situations made a huge difference. I suddenly wasn’t feeling alone or so scared. Over the weeks and months my confidence grew. The RCC sessions gave me numerous tools to try, and the knowledge and understanding to help with what I was going through physically and mentally. So many things just clicked into place and finally made sense. The relief of realising it was ok to feel how I did, and how important it is too to look after yourself instead of others – without mountains of guilt.

I genuinely believe that the support that I received from Pentreath and RCC brought me out of the deep sad lonely cave of anxiety and stress that I was trapped in. I cannot thank them enough for the support they have provided me over the last 4 months as I now have strong foundations and tools which I practice daily to continue to build myself up.

If you are unsure about joining RCC then I would say jump in with both feet, you have a lot to gain and nothing to lose. In my experience the more I engaged the more I got out of it. I appreciate it seems scary right now but the difference in me is huge, I am happy, positive and see a future which is unbelievable compared to where I was a few months ago. I truly believe without the support of Pentreath and RCC I would not be where I am now and nothing would have changed.