“This service saved my life”

David has been diagnosed with depression. His symptoms worsened around two years ago when he began to hallucinate, and became increasingly paranoid.

“I was finding myself in different places – and I couldn’t remember how I got there. I thought the plumbers in my house were going to attack me. I had no hope that I’d get better”

Fearful of what he might do if he went outside, David isolated himself, which worsened his mental health problems: “I only went outside to put the bins out – I was scared about what I might do to myself and other people if I went outside.”

One day, David was triggered by an interaction in his local shop and reached tipping point. He phoned Oxleas NHS Crisis line and was referred to Greenwich Mental Health Hub.

David was instantly reassured by Robin, Peer Support Worker, “He was like no one else I’d ever spoken to – I could tell that he really understood me”.

After several telephone calls, Robin encouraged David to come to Woolwich and meet up in person. “Meeting Robin in person was a real turning point for me – it made me not want to sink, to keep my head above the water, because there was someone that truly cared”

Robin worked with David on a personalised recovery plan. “Every time I told him there was progress – he was over the moon, so I felt like he was truly on my side. I could tell he was genuinely happy I was progressing which made me motivated to continue my journey to recovery. Talking to Robin, it was very different to any other service I’d had – his advice was personalised – I knew he was genuinely listening to me”.

Greenwich Mental Health Hub encourages service users to take part ownership of their recovery plans. This approach gave David the confidence to continue his recovery, breaking down his recovery into small, personal and achievable goals:  “It’s like when you hear about people having an awful traffic car accident and they have to learn to walk again – I’m rebuilding myself mentally, building those strongholds. Robin taught me to take small steps and take it day by day”

Without the help that David received from Greenwich Mental Health Hub, he wouldn’t be here today.

“I can’t put a price on the help I received. I would have died by suicide. I couldn’t have coped. Genuinely, I’d be dead. This service saved my life.”