Strength in connecting with others

Our Peer Support Workers offer amazing support to HeadsUp participants, but it’s also important that the project supports them too as being an ear for others is a tricky and often intense role to have. All of our PSW’s have lived experience of common mental health problems themselves so providing them with opportunities to share thoughts, concerns and ideas is vital to the overall health of our team and in turn provides the best possible opportunity to deliver a positive and healthy project.

One way that we look after our PSW’s is through Group Supervision sessions and one of our PSW’s shares the benefit that she felt from attending as she says ‘I didn’t realise how much I needed it or appreciate how much it would benefit me’, it was;

• Great to meet colleagues from other project areas
• It was good to talk about absolutely anything – home life, work life, how you’re feeling etc
• When you get things off your chest it does feel like a cloud has floated away
• It’s equally beneficial to be able to assist others in some way
• Received some really good advice about what you can do if feeling low
• I have always lived alone and don’t like group settings so try to avoid them if I can. I can be quite quiet in a group and this makes me feel awkward, but this group meeting was quite
different – hugely beneficial

And the key statement here I think is this one which just goes to show how important interacting with other human beings is especially when things are feeling a little tough.

‘Connecting with others lifted my spirits and am looking forward to meeting and chatting with HeadsUp colleagues in December when we will all don something Christmassy’