Was quite a big step for me in honesty, I've been pretty solitary during my time here and with the exception of a few patients who are pretty rational, I've kept to myself and been given the space I need. Mentioned a couple of incidents where other patients have tried it on... I've not raised a hand to any, but... lets just say I'm left alone now.

The staff here have been strongly encouraging me to take part in activities which I was nervous about... since coming here I've become hyper sensitive to noise (was manageable for most of my life as I always had a retreat to go to - home, or walks alone along the canal) but here, added to the stress of the depression and anxiety it's been a nightmare and for the most part I have my earphones in listening to noise of my choosing.

What I didn't mention above was that I almost didn't go due to an anxiety attack brought on by a mixed messaged trigger. Had mentioned my intent to attend the session well before time... but when it came to actually going, the nurse in charge was in the office making phone calls to check to see if I could go... 10 minutes went by (I was now late) and another nurse said it was due to what had happened yesterday. I had previously spoke about this with others with lots of emphasis on moving forward... well, I got very upset, smacked the wall, went into my room and burst into tears.

Junior nurse came in and said that due to my state of mind I now definitely could not go. I waited 5 minutes and used my grounding activities... went back out and found the nurse in charge who was surprised when I explained why I'd got upset... that that was not the reason he'd been calling at all... it was just to update my leave sheet as outside ward activities were not on there and he wanted to make sure the dr was happy with it... transpired the dr was. Nurse in charge asked if I was calm enough to attend and allowed me to go (half an hour late).

The member of staff told me later that she'd actually come looking for me once it dawned on her that I'd gone out with a very low mood. Been advised by a nurse tonight that in situations like that it is much better to speak to a nurse as some support workers have had training... but are prone to ignorance or being unable to relate to the state of mind of the patients on the ward.

To be honest, the T session is what helped... she did a number of grounding exercises that reduced my lack of clarity and improved my focus. Helped me to think things through logically and just be honest for my own good.