The Blemished Rose

Everyone has issues, and sometimes issues related to everyday life can affect people in their place of work. However, being in the workplace is a lot more difficult for those with mental health problems. Many people are unable to work due to disabilities including mental health. In fact, in the UK 40% of people unable to work are claiming disability benefits due to psychological issues (according to the OECD report). Part of the problem in the UK stems from the Government and their lack of understanding about these issues. The NHS are only able to offer help for 2 years, it might seem a long time but in complex cases, much longer would be needed in order to heal. In my case, I was offered 6 counselling sessions from the NHS, thankfully it was extended and my therapist assured me that I would not be left in a raw state. Being offered support is better than nothing but still may not be enough time for a survivor to heal. Questions I believe that the UK Government should be asking...

I’ve decided to write a follow-up post about my experience of EMDR therapy. I want to share my experience as much as possible in the hope that other survivors will become aware of how beneficial EMDR can be. I didn’t know anything about EMDR prior to my counsellor suggesting it but when I did my own research, I found it quite fascinating.                         I’m going to try to analyse my own case. I was sexually abused repeatedly over many years so my natural coping mechanisms became overloaded. As a result, the memories remained frozen in my brain and unprocessed, in a raw form. Every time I heard the perpetrator's name I would experience painful feelings such as panic and anger, those feelings were constantly triggered and I was unable to live in the present. EMDR enabled me to process the traumatic memories in a natural way and has enabled me to live in the present again.             ...