"I'm very pleased I found the Hub and all the people who are part of it - thank you so much". 'Sarah', Hub Client.

Recently, my mental health declined and I ended up in Eastbourne Mental Hospital under the care of the crisis team. I woke there from time to time feeling trapped, trying to escape and hallucinating frequently.

Because of the help of my family and the professionals, I am in a better place now.

Looking back at my time in hospital, I'm enormously grateful to my family and the doctors and nurses for their care and compassion towards me. The crisis team are excellent at crisis management but as we all know, it's the time after crisis that is often hard because support from secondary health services are now practically non-existent.

The Hub

The support and company of The Hub here in Tunbridge Wells is so very valuable to me. Meeting with other people, all of whom understand what it's like to be struggling, and sharing together without the pressure of being expected to be 'successful' (as is often the case with my peers) is very helpful for me.

It's easy to become isolated when feeling mentally unwell. It's also extremely unhelpful to end up that way (isolated). I would avoid talking to my friends and wider family as I'd feel unable to compete with their 'success' and amazing holidays. But here at the Hub, I know that I don't need to impress anyone that my life is going great guns. This is so comforting. We can just be ourselves.

I've always been a creative person but when unwell, I find it hard to paint and write as I do when well. The Hub has been an opportunity to do both these things; the writing group and the art group are both in a safe environment.

I look around the room and see all these wonderful individuals all so unique, carrying their personal pain and difficulties, but by being here in the Hub, they want to learn, grown and share with others. This is the stuff of life in a world where people are becoming more and more isolated from each other.

So, I'm very pleased I found the Hub and all the people who are part of it - thank you so much.

Sarah*.

*not her real name.