My Lived Experience

I know what it feels like to need support quickly, with little time to prepare, reflect, or calmly work out what comes next.

While I was self-employed and delivering a Mental Health First Aid training course in St Albans, Hertfordshire, I became seriously unwell. I did not make it to the second day of the course. I was rushed to hospital and, within two days, had major brain surgery following a rare condition called pituitary apoplexy.

I was fortunate. The tumour was benign, but I was told I would need at least eight weeks away from work. My vision was significantly affected, I could not drive, and I suddenly had to think about clients, bills, recovery, and what life would look like after surgery.

What helped me was not one single thing. It was the support ecosystem around me: clients, friends, family, medical professionals, books, podcasts, practical knowledge, and knowing where to go for help.

While I was in hospital, people from neurology, endocrinology, nursing teams, doctors, and hospital staff came to check on me. When they asked, “How are you?”, they were often asking about pain, symptoms, surgery, or medical recovery. They were not always asking about my mental health.

That stayed with me. It reminded me that recovery is not only medical. It can also be emotional, practical, financial, relational, and deeply human.

I knew what to do, where to go, what books to read, which podcasts to listen to, and who to ask for support. But I often wondered what it might feel like for someone who did not know where to start.

That is why I believe support works best when it does not rely on one person, one service, or one moment. Support can often feel easier to access when we know where to look and who to speak to.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou