It can also bring change – and it’s often hard to find someone who understands.
Maureen and Brian clearly enjoy their delightful garden. But a year ago Maureen was dogged by depression and anxiety to the point where she struggled to get out of bed.
The 68 year-old has battled cancer, escaped an unhappy and violent first marriage and they’ve dealt with Brian losing his job.
The bond between the couple is clear to see. They fell in love by chance when Maureen went on a last minute night out with workmates and met Brian in a local social club. They were blissfully happy, then in 2001 Maureen, then 53, developed cancer, then five years later, chronic arthritis.
In constant pain her resilience finally caved in. A year on she’s still tearful as she recalls the worst times: “I couldn’t go to the shops or do housework. I stopped putting on make up and avoided friends. I even turned on Brian and my daughter. I was a mess.”
Brian takes up the story: “Mo’s a very strong willed woman. When she’s had problems in the past she’d always get ‘back on the horse’. I’d never seen her in that state. She’d lost her sense of humour; I think it was because her independence had been taken away.”
It was Maureen’s GP who suggested talking therapies, but she found it hard to take the first step. “I couldn’t speak at the session; Brian had to fill in the forms".
Talk Liverpool’s courses encourage people to make the changes that will help them regain all or part of the lifestyle they had before they became unwell.
Participants keep a journal marking activities as routine, necessary, and pleasurable then identify what’s important and what’s not.
Therapist Orianna Mulvenna says while retirement can be liberating lack of routine can remove the sense of purpose that makes us get up and go each day. “When someone retires they no longer have the structure of the working day and they can lose their sense of purpose. The situation may be made worse by ill health so it’s important to focus on what someone can still do rather than what they can’t and build on that.”
Orianna says success is reliant on input from the participant. “There’s a lot of homework and Maureen was totally committed – that’s why she’s gaining so much from the therapy.”
HOW IT WORKS Participants have a one to one therapy session with a Talk Liverpool counsellor. The course requires you to read materials and complete exercises – these will be the staple part of your therapeutic process and will improve your chances of recovery. Contact Talk Liverpool: Tel: 0151 228 2300 Email: [email protected]