Healing through connection

Marion suffered bullying and harassment in her workplace and became unable to work. She began to suffer from anxiety, severe depression, panic attacks, PTSD and rarely left the house.

Marion had been experiencing mental health issues since late in 2015 but was misdiagnosed and spent 18 months in therapy that did not provide her with tangible benefits.

“I was unable to leave home except to see psychologist and I stopped driving. I only left home if my husband was with me. I was anxious and depressed. I had panic attacks if I went out. This left me feeling isolated and reliving trauma over and over again. I lost interest in everything including taking care of myself and my home. My husband did all of the household chores and took care of me.

“I was unable to complete simple tasks such as paying bills and repeatedly paid bills twice or not at all. I had no attention to detail or confidence in myself. This was extremely confronting as I had been working at a high level, multitasking and problem solving.

Marion eventually saw a Psychiatrist, Dr Dushy, who suggested she attend the trauma recovery day program at South Eastern Private Hospital. So Marion registered to attend the group.

“Ros, the therapist, comes with life experience which means she is an excellent therapist and gently leads the group and allows for each person in the group to work through their own issues in a safe environment.

“This program was a real eye-opener for me. I finally understood what had been going on for me. I learnt that other people were experiencing similar symptoms to mine and I was not alone. I enjoyed meetings with the group and gained some confidence in being able to interact with others.

“Connecting with the group was my favourite component. We were very well matched and had different experiences but with very similar symptoms. Ros was an excellent facilitator and therapist. There was not one week where I didn’t learn something from Ros and the group.

For others wondering if the day programs at South Eastern Private Hospital are for them, Marion advises that attending the group was the first time she realised how ill she had been. “The group was the beginning of my healing so much so that I attended a second session of group. This really helped me as I now had some idea of my condition and also was more in control of my cognitive abilities which enabled me to get more out of the therapy.

“I am now attending a building resilience course and although different in nature. I feel the group are connecting well now and again we all learn from each other and benefit from each other’s experiences.”

Thanks for sharing your story Marion, we wish you well on your journey to recovery.