We were contacted by Michael, a painter and decorator who has worked in the construction industry for nearly 20 years. After his marriage ended, he was struggling with depression and told us that he didn’t see the point of living anymore.

Michael was no longer living in the family home and his daughter was living with her mother. He was really struggling with his mental health. Someone at work told Michael about us and thankfully, he reached out for help.

With his mental health in such poor condition, we encouraged Michael to visit his GP who diagnosed him with depression and prescribed medication to help manage his symptoms. Talking to your GP about mental health issues can help provide a diagnosis and rule out any physical illness.

The end of a long relationship can be devastating for anyone so we put in place one of our life coaches who spent time with Michael working through his problems. Even though things were tough for him at the time, they reassured him that life was worth living. Together they developed ways that he could lift his mood, especially at the start of each day, small things such as creating a playlist of his favourite music that he could use to reset his mood. They also discussed creating a vision board to help him focus on what he wanted for the future and recommended attending a Lighthouse Beacon so he could meet other people and feel less isolated.

Michael was then offered counselling. This process took a while as he was reluctant to try it, but with encouraged he eventually agreed. Since completing his counselling, Michael has told us that this was the best thing he has ever done and that he now has a range of tools to help him in future. Michael says that he now knows that he has a lot to live for and no longer has negative thoughts about living. He is continuing to apply the tools that he has learned through the counselling and is in a happier place and seeing his daughter regularly.