Ben (not his real name), put himself through sixth- form and study and always held down a well-paid skilled job. But all was not what it seemed. “Two and a half years ago, I didn’t want to wake up. I knew there was a better life, but I didn’t know how to get it. “I was painfully shy as a child and had a lot of social anxiety. I’m also dyslexic and at school I was told I was stupid. “I started taking drugs and drinking at age 12 to cope. At 17 I started taking heroin, which seemed to help me at first but by the time you realise it’s not helping, you’re stuck. “I used heroin for 18 years – half my life. I’d tried to get clean in the past, using different drugs like methadone. I’d been to residential rehab before, but only lasted two weeks. “The last residential rehab never really addressed any of the issues behind my using. I was clean for four months, but mentally I was in a worse place than when I went in. “Before I came to The Nelson Trust, there were a couple of years where I was just using and working. “About two and a half years ago, I had just had enough and decided I had rather be dead than go on like this. I tried to end my life. I was (thankfully) unsuccessful, but I was then back in the same cycle of trying to get clean. “The problem is, when you work, you can’t get funding for treatment. I really worry about people who don’t have anyone to help them.” He added:“At NelsonTrust you know howmuch they care about how well you do.That makes a massive difference. At the same time, the staff weren’t hunting you down to participate. I found this better because it put a bit of emphasis on me being responsible for myself.”
residential rehabilitation service during 2017/18 (who answered the question) reported being diagnosed with mental illness,” said a spokeswoman for the service, headquartered in Stroud. People arrive at the door of the charity via referral or self-referral – after they have gone through a de-tox programme. Let’s Talk provides support in a range of ways, depending on the specific needs of the individual.This might be on the telephone, through an educational course, face-to-face or a new service, particularly helpful for people who have busy working lives – online through a system called Silver Cloud l To contact the 2Gether NHS Trust call 0800 073 2200 or complete a self-referral form at www.talk2gether.nhs.uk To contact the Nelson Trust visit nelsontrust.com or call 01453 732867 To reach the Samaritans call 116 123
0800 158 4147 info@tayntons.co.uk 8-12 Clarence Street, Gloucester GL1 1DZ
February 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com | 11
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online