Conor’s Story

In the Beginning….

When we first met, I was looking for my first paid job. I had been out of work since leaving school. I felt very low and struggled with mental health issues, especially around my self-esteem and confidence. I worried what people would think of me and that I wasn’t good enough to ever get a job.

How we helped you….

The environment at Working for Health was fun, friendly, genuine and informal as well as helpful. I attended weekly appointments where my keyworker showed sincere interest in who I was and what I needed. I always left saying “thanks for the conversation”. My meetings gave me short-term achievements to focus on which contributed to overall long-term improvements in my confidence and skill set. My keyworker believed in me and so I was able to push myself to try new things – even when I wasn’t sure I could achieve them. I went from worrying about what people would think of me to volunteering at a festival within 2 months. Everybody commented on how naturally I took to it and what a great job I did. I could really trust my keyworker to do what was right by me – I knew they had faith in me so I had faith in them. I was able to start listening to them more and begin to start pushing the negative voices in my head to the side bit by bit. When I had financial and housing troubles, my key worker found agencies that could help me address these problems and they attended these appointments with me, so I had moral support. When one organisation asked me who I turned to for support, I gave them my key workers name. My appointments were about much more than finding a job, writing CVs and practising interview questions, they were my time in the week, they were spent exploring all parts of my life and I wouldn’t have missed them as they were very valuable to me. I also started getting involved in The Workplace at Working for Health, where I could improve my job search skills, and I attended some workshops with them that were really good fun. It turns out I have excellent banter! I was even offered the chance of running my own gaming workshops which I was really excited about, but then . . .

The Future….

I got my first job and am really happy I’ve proved to myself that I could do it. The job suits my needs, and I feel I can be myself in the role I have. I still keep in touch with Working for Health and I’ll be checking in with them over the next few months to keep me on track and enjoying my new start in life.

Statistics according to PHQ9 and GAD 7: Overall Depression reduced by 15%, Overall Anxiety reduced by 5%.

WEMWBS statistics: Overall score steady with increases re interest in others, dealing with problems and interest in new things.