By Claire, a member of the HeadStart team:

This blog is about ‘Transport and Getting Places’ one of the Resilient Moves from the Basics potion of the Resilience Framework.  Basics – implies that it should be easy right?  Something simple, that we should all be able to have as a basic need.  Well for me, it’s the hardest Resilient Move of all!

In my late 20s I struggled with my mental health and became really ill with agoraphobia, and at its worst I didn’t really leave my home for about two years.  Getting anywhere was pretty much impossible and I felt trapped, as I couldn’t get in a car, on a bus or a train, let alone a plane!  I missed many occasions and family events including my Grandma’s 80th Birthday party as it meant a 250-mile journey.

My life today is very different and when I look back, I can work out that I made Resilient Moves without even realising.  The first thing I did that helped me feel better was ‘Find somewhere you feel like you belong’.  I joined a gym and started volunteering at my daughter’s school.  This meant I felt safe in places other than my home.  I enlisted the help of a counselor and talked about my fears and anxieties ‘Using existing help and solutions’.  This really helped me to ‘Know and Understand myself’, Growing up hadn’t been the easiest time for me and I came to ‘understand what had happened in my life’.

I certainly had to ‘Be Brave’ and I did plenty of ‘Leaning on Others’ and gradually my mental health improved.  Now I know more about Resilient Therapy, I use it on a daily basis to help me when things get tough.  I now travel more; I still get anxious at times, but I know what to do about it.  My Grandma is now 96, I see her every 8 weeks or so, making a 250-mile journey to see her, and I’m certainly hoping to go to her 100th Birthday party!  My favourite mode of transport are Blackpool trams.  I’ve still not been on a plane, but fingers crossed the year 2020 will see me overcome that challenge!

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