Charity helps Cambridgeshire woman change 'outlook on world' after mental health battle
She's now working with the charity after seeking help in 2023
A woman who lived in isolation has told us she's still in disbelief by the progress she's made in her recovery from mental health issues.
Belle Cornell went to a good mood café in St Ives in 2023 - run by Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire (CPSL) Mind - as a way of meeting others in a relaxed setting.
Since then, she has become a voluntary peer mentor at the charity.
"If you'd have told me back in 2023 that my life would look like this and I'd be the person I am now, I wouldn't have believed it, and it still doesn't make sense half the time," Belle said.
In her new role, Belle is now delivering one-to-one sessions with people who are struggling with their own mental health as well as helping run the good mood cafés.
It is a role that Belle has worked towards since coming out of isolation, a time in her life she described as "petrifying".
And recovering from her own setback has been far from easy, but without finding help, Belle has been able to look forwards.
"Recovery is one of the hardest things you can ever do, but once you start doing it and when you've got the right support, you find that recovery," she said.
"I don't have to feel sad about it because now, I use that (lived experience) in a positive way to support other people, so I've been able to heal and come to peace with things, and move on through volunteering in a way I never expected."
CPSL Mind has come up with a strategy up until 2030, which it said has been shaped by those who have received support from the charity.
Some of the key areas CPSL Mind aim to tackle include improving access to the right support at the right, building resilience amongst local communities and making mental health help work better for everyone.
According to a report by Mind published last year, around one in five adults live with a common mental health condition.
While the charity has found within Cambridgeshire, suicide rates in Peterborough and Fenland are above the national average.
Ashley Bunn, chief executive officer at CPSL Mind, said the strategy marks "a pivotal moment.
“Demand for mental health support is rising; needs are becoming more complex, and too many people still reach services only at the point of crisis," he said.
"We face the challenge of doing more with less, whilst maintaining a relentless focus on delivering the best possible outcomes for the people of Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire."
Mr Bunn added that working alongside local authorities, health and social care services can help deliver "meaningful change" to people's lives.
Hattie suffered from the likes of anxiety before going to one of CPSL Mind's good mood cafés five years ago and becoming a full-time member of staff there.
"I just felt really low, isolated, anxious to leave the house because of the Covid lockdown; my whole life had just stopped at that point," she said.
"I was happy to have that space to go to where there were like-minded people to take my mind off what I was going through.
"In my role now, I've been able to meet people, understanding what they're going through, and it makes me realise the impact I have on people, the same that the first contact with Mind had on me."
As part of CPSL Mind's strategy, named 'Time For Action: Together for Mental Health', Hattie took part in a video to share how she has overcome mental health challenges.
Belle also contributed, and said the charity has helped her look differently at life.
"It's changed my whole outlook on the world and the way I see myself," she added.
"I lost complete touch with who I was; finding that again and a community, having the support from them all, I can make steps to find my place in life and find my own recovery.
"When you've been unwell for a long time and told it's complex, and you struggle with the things people tell you that you need to do, you feel it when people don't believe in you and I think that was the touch paper I needed (to get help)."