Keep ‘Adulting’ is written by Ollie, a participant of the Life Course.

Unprepared for life out of prison

Having spent a few years in prison for offences committed under the influence of, or related to, my use of Class A drugs, I was feeling very overwhelmed and anxious.  I constantly felt unable to cope and utterly unprepared for life out and sober.  I had a list of things I needed and wanted to do but had no idea where or how to start.

Needing to do things differently

For many years I had struggled with anxiety and depression, and used drugs to avoid the triggers and escape the thoughts.  Over the course of many years, this helped me to get by, but my problems were still there, simply stored up with their effects delayed and ultimately magnified.  Now I had to do things differently.  I did not want to fall back into the old patterns of behaviour.

Finding the Life Course

With this in mind, I attended the Recovery Festival in September 2022 to find out what was available.  I was incredibly anxious about discussing my situation in such a public space with people I would me meeting for the first time.  The inHope stand was suggested to me as having a course that might meet my needs.  I spoke briefly with Ant on the stand about what the course was about and I felt sure it was the best fit for me.

Just what I needed

A few days later, Ant called me to arrange an informal chat.  We met at the office and he instantly made me feel comfortable and answered all my questions.  The combination of areas the Life Course covered and the course’s focus on the future really struck me as being what I needed.

I took away something every week

The Life Course covered many things I needed help on, be that a refresher around managing my anxiety to developing goals for the future.  Each topic was tailored to the needs of the group which meant we were all able to share our experiences and successes while getting help and ideas for areas we needed to work on.  For me, the most useful were on understanding my needs, goal setting, sleep and healthy thinking.  But I took away something useful every week.

A peer led weekly drop in

Having a couple of brilliant volunteers who had been through the course helping to facilitate was also really helpful.  Their enthusiasm was infectious.  I always felt able to ask questions, felt understood, and valued their perspective.  The course materials that I got to take away are a great reference to go back to and if there’s anything I want to discuss or review the volunteers are available at a weekly drop in.  Being able to do this after the course has finished is a real bonus and helps keep the momentum on my recovery journey.

Advice for future participants

If I could impart any advice to future attendees it would be: do not be afraid to ask anything and do not be afraid to answer too.  The course works so well because we are all on similar journeys in different places.  I am honoured to have met some amazing people on the course and my life is definitely richer for having them as part of it, and I hope they feel the same too.

The future is less daunting – keep ‘adulting’

Now, thanks to the Life Course, I have confidence in being able to deal with the future.  Thoughts about managing life no longer fuel my anxiety day-to-day which has made the future less daunting.  During our last session, we were asked to come up with a goal for the new year.  For the first time in my life I felt that I am able to function as an adult and feel in charge of my life.  So my big 2023 goal was to “Keep Adulting.”

Find out more about the Life Course here.

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