What is the Wellbeing Community?
Recovery from a mental health challenge is a difficult and sometimes complicated journey. We’ve started the Wellbeing Community so that recovery can become a little easier…
What is the Wellbeing Community?
Space to Breathe has been supporting individuals wellbeing and mental health since 2017. We grew out of our own lived experiences of mental health challenges.
One of the things we immediately noticed that being discharged from support is a double-edged sword. On one side, it’s a brilliant achievement - you’re on the road to recovery and professionals believe you’ve made steps forward. On the other side, you lose support networks you’ve come to rely on and rarely do we feel completely recovered - even if our support has come to an end.
Most studies and data back up the idea of this as a challenging time, especially when you consider about 1 in 3 who are discharged may need more support and intervention in the future.
So what can we do to change this?
Year on year, Space to Breathe gets more and more requests to support people after discharge. This could be from NHS or Community Mental Health settings. It could be at the end of therapy or when specialised support is coming to a conclusion. What next? What support can help people to bed in and build on the techniques, ideas and responses that have helped them recover this far?
We’ve set up this community with four issues in mind.
That it’s very hard to recover alone. The Wellbeing Community gives you a place of connection for as long as you want (for life if you’d like) and in whatever way works best for you. We want everyone to build positive attachments and grow support networks that make sense for their lives.
That regular check-in’s help. Every member gets the opportunity to access our IROC tool (Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter.) This tool (which is already part of our daily work) allows you to monitor your mental health, relational networks, physical activity and sense of empowerment over 2-3 month intervals. It allows us to see early if anything is changing and offer help.
That routine and rhythms help recovery. A key part of the Wellbeing Community is our “Wheel of the Year” - a series of events and gatherings that give us a chance to connect with ourselves and to engage in the natural rhythms and routines of the seasons. You can visit our events page for more. There is also a huge selection of events through Space to Breathe that you can access too.
That sometimes we just need to know someone’s there. The Wellbeing Community provides a valuable safety net as you seek to grow and recover in your mental health. You can know someone is there to be a listening ear, to signpost you to help when you need it and to check in and make sure all is okay. We know the difference it makes to simply be available and to be supportive.
You can join the Wellbeing Community today if you are in and around the Sheffield area. Just use the button below to start your journey with us.