[00:00:00] – Samantha

Welcome to Calder Navigation, the podcast that embarks on a transformative journey through the lives and stories of the incredible people of Calderdale. I’m your host, Samantha McCormick, Artistic Director and founder of Curious Motion, and I’m thrilled to have you join me on this adventure.

 

[00:00:20] – Samantha

Calder Navigation invites you to open your hearts and minds to the tapestry, everyday moments and significant events that shape our lives. Through authentic and relaxed conversations, we’ll delve into the complexities of what it means to be human, celebrating the diversity and resilience of our community. This podcast is not just a collection of stories. Each episode is a unique exploration, a tribute to the rich tapestry of our shared experiences.

 

[00:00:48] – Samantha

So come and join us on this journey, and let’s celebrate the remarkable individuals who call the Calder Valley home and let’s uncover the depth and beauty of the human experience together.

 

[00:01:00] – Samantha

We are thrilled to welcome Caroline Seaborne to Calder Navigation. Caroline is a survivor. She is a beacon of resilience who has overcome immense challenges. Escaping domestic violence, she found solace in Yorkshire, particularly in our vibrant community of Elland. Her dream of helping others with their mental health led her to volunteer at Healthy Minds, Calderdale’s very own mental health charity, which has supported her and many others with their wellbeing.

 

[00:01:27] – Samantha

In this interview, Caroline will share her extraordinary experiences and shed light on the power of reducing stigma, community support, and the importance of nurturing our own mental wellbeing. Her story is an inspiration to us all.

 

[00:01:41] – Samantha

Before we go into the podcast, please note there is a content warning for this episode. Caroline will be sharing her personal experiences with bipolar disorder and mental health challenges. We understand that these topics can be sensitive to some listeners, and we want to ensure everyone’s well being as best we can. If you feel that this content may be triggering, please take care of yourself and consider skipping this episode or listening with care.

 

[00:02:08] – Samantha

Welcome, Caroline. Thank you very much for coming along to chat to me today. I’m really excited to talk to you.

 

[00:02:15] – Caroline

That’s great. Thank you. I’m excited to talk too.

 

[00:02:19] – Samantha

So could we start with just a little bit about yourself and your background? Can you introduce yourself for us?

 

[00:02:24] – Caroline

Yeah, I’m Caroline. I’m 59, 16 October. I live in Elland and I’m a volunteer for Healthy Minds Calderdale. I do quite a lot of volunteering. I’m married and I have two children that are nicely grown up now and living independently. My daughter lives in London and my son lives in Boothtown, which is not far from Elland. I came to Elland twelve years ago. Before that, I lived in Illingworth but for a couple of years, and before that, I lived in Huddersfield for two years, and then before that, I lived in London.

 

[00:03:21] – Samantha

Oh okay, so you’ve been both ends of England in a way?

 

[00:03:25] – Caroline

Yeah. I’ve moved around a little bit. I’ve moved around, but I’ve actually settled in Elland. We’ve been here for twelve years now.

 

[00:03:34] – Samantha

Great. And you feel settled here?

 

[00:03:36] – Caroline

I do. This is home.

 

[00:03:38] – Samantha

Lovely.

 

[00:03:39] – Caroline

This is home.

 

[00:03:40] – Samantha

Lovely. And do you find that that feeling of being settled, does that come from knowing your neighbours or do you feel like you get involved? I know your volunteering is a key part in that as well, isn’t it?

 

[00:03:49] – Caroline

It is, definitely. I mean, the neighbors are lovely. The street, because it’s a very long street and there are certain parts that you don’t really go to, but I think that’s everywhere. I think that’s a global thing. But generally the people are really nice, the neighbours are really nice and helpful. I love the house and I love Elland. You know, everything you need, because I’m disabled, so I find it difficult getting around. And everything I need, like the butchers, the fruit and veg shop, it’s all here. I mean, okay, it’s not great. Well, we have got big supermarkets, actually, we’ve got Morrisons and we’ve got Aldi, but I tend to try and shop locally, you know.

 

[00:04:40] – Samantha

Yeah.

 

[00:04:42] – Caroline

So, yeah, I’m pretty settled.

 

[00:04:45] – Samantha

Lovely.

 

[00:04:45] – Caroline

Pretty settled.

 

[00:04:47] – Samantha

That’s great. And we’re going to talk a little bit about your volunteering because you volunteer for something that happens right in the center of Elland, don’t you? But before we get there, I know when we were chatting before today, you were keen to come on and have a chat with me because you’re really passionate about supporting people with their mental health.

 

[00:05:07] – Caroline

Yes.

 

[00:05:07] – Samantha

And I just wondered where that passion comes from.

 

[00:05:11] – Caroline

Well, I’ve got type two bipolar.

 

[00:05:14] – Samantha

Okay.

 

[00:05:15] – Caroline

And I’ve struggled most of my adult life with mental health since I was 16, so I’m 59 now, so that’s a lot of years of struggle. And I’ve managed to find-, or the doctors have found the right medication to keep me even, on an even keel. And I’ve actually been in recovery now for six years.

 

[00:05:41] – Samantha

Wonderful.

 

[00:05:41] – Caroline

So I haven’t had any episodes, you know, of bipolar. You get a few spikes, but nothing to worry about. So my personal experiences of mental health lights the fire in my soul about mental health. And then I’ve got friends and-, plus family members that have suffered from mental health and seeing the lack of support and the help that’s not available in their particular towns. And I think it’s shocking. I think it’s absolutely shocking. And they wonder why there’s so many problems. People are having so many problems, people are having so many difficulties. And, you know, politically speaking, obviously, we need more money.

 

[00:06:41] – Samantha

We always need more money, don’t we?

 

[00:06:43] – Caroline

We need more money. But it’s not only the money, it’s the stigma. We need to get rid of the stigma and people need to start either educating themselves or accepting that mental health is here and it’s here to stay. I’ve got friends, if they haven’t suffered from mental health, they’ve got family members who have, or they’ve got friends who have. So it’s global. You know, it’s not-,

 

[00:07:17] – Samantha

Totally. Everybody has mental health, don’t they? Whether it’s good, bad or anywhere in between that, it’s not something separate to other people. All of us experience our own mental wellbeing, and that’s everything from great days really feeling very well in our own mental wellbeing and emotional wellbeing and sort of psychological things to, like, you’ve shared mental health challenges and conditions and things that are diagnosed and everything else. And it’s a really key part of being a human being, really, isn’t it?

 

[00:07:53] – Caroline

Absolutely. I mean, if you can keep your mental health in check, good for you, you go. But share that. Share it. Perhaps people who don’t know, or family members even, that are too embarrassed to say that they’re struggling, but you notice something, just share that information and pass it around and support other people that are struggling. I don’t think we talk about it enough.

 

[00:08:32] – Samantha

No.

 

[00:08:33] – Caroline

I don’t think we talk about it enough. And I think it should be in homes and it should be in classrooms. I mean, I’ve been told by some of my colleagues at Healthy Minds that things are starting to improve as far as education is concerned in schools and homes. But I’m not so sure. I’m not so convinced. I think we’ve still got a long way to go.

 

[00:09:01] – Samantha

It is tricky, isn’t it? Because it is sort of, I suppose, on the agenda in terms of, it’s maybe more in the media now, we hear lots of maybe well known people, famous people, saying, talk about your mental health, do this, do that. And it’s hard, isn’t it, to find that-, you know, what does that actually mean, talking about your mental health? It’s not putting anybody in a situation where suddenly you have to share the deepest, darkest experiences of your life with somebody you don’t know, all of this sort of stuff.

 

[00:09:37] – Samantha

And it’s the nuances of what that means, isn’t it, that maybe we’re not getting across very well and that it’s personal and that it’s individual, and there isn’t a one way way to say do this, do that, is there? It’s about, like you said, it’s about that stigma, breaking that stigma down. Because if we didn’t have that stigma and that shame around sharing that you’re struggling or even I sometimes find I don’t know if you’ve ever found this, but when I want to just talk about it generally in a positive way, people are like, oh, well. And you kind of feel bad for even just mentioning it, let alone talking about any challenges.

 

[00:10:17] – Caroline

I don’t anymore feel bad.

 

[00:10:19] – Samantha

Great.

 

[00:10:19] – Caroline

Now I’m very forthright. Because I feel so, so strongly about it. There was a bit of a challenge the other day talking about stigma and stuff, but they were going to change and mend. I facilitate the anxiety and depression group in Elland once a fortnight.

 

[00:10:43] – Samantha

That’s for Healthy Minds, isn’t it?

 

[00:10:44] – Caroline

That’s for Healthy Minds Calderdale and they were talking about changing the name of the group, which I strongly objected.

 

[00:10:55] – Samantha

Right.

 

[00:10:55] – Caroline

Because it’s all good and well, trying to pretty things up and soften things. But people go there because they’re anxious or they’re depressed. They were talking about calling it a wellbeing club, and for me, that just doesn’t do it because-, how can I put it? The stigma is there. And it’s almost like you’re saying, well, okay, okay, we’ll call it Hairy Fairy, then no one’s offended. But why should people be offended going-, a group being called anxiety and depression? That’s what it is.

 

[00:11:46] – Samantha

And if we use the words more and we have more awareness, then you would hope that that does reduce over time, that feeling of shame and stigma.

 

[00:11:55] – Caroline

Exactly. So, yes, I strongly objected and they met me for the first time, so I don’t know what impression I’ve given. I think I came across quite scary.

 

[00:12:06] – Samantha

Well, you’re sticking to your guns for a very important reason, aren’t you?

 

[00:12:10] – Caroline

Yeah, absolutely. I think so. I think so.

 

[00:12:14] – Samantha

So let’s talk a little bit more about that group because I know it’s something that’s really important to the people that attend. And it’s open, is it? Every two weeks that it’s on in Elland?

 

[00:12:26] – Caroline

Every second Tuesday in the month.

 

[00:12:29] – Samantha

Okay, great. And it can be open to anybody who-,

 

[00:12:31] – Caroline

You can’t just walk in.

 

[00:12:34] – Samantha

Right.

 

[00:12:35] – Caroline

You have to contact Healthy Minds Calderdale, and speak to either Cath McNally or Di Darby and they’ll get you rolling for the group, then they’ll let me know that you’re coming so I can sort of welcome you and then you’re in the group.

 

[00:13:01] – Samantha

Lovely. And what’s it like? We’ll talk a moment about the impact for the people who come to the group, but I wondered what’s it like for you to facilitate that group? What’s that experience like?

 

[00:13:14] – Caroline

Do you know, people often say that to me and ask me that, and they say, is it stressful, everyone’s problems? I said, but it’s not everyone’s problems. It’s not stressful. It’s actually quite gratifying. And I feel quite humble to be able to facilitate the group and that Healthy Minds have given me all the training that I need and more to be able to help people. And that’s what it is. It’s helping. It’s supporting people during those dark times. And I think that’s really important, and I think that’s why the group is so-, because the group that’s there now, they’re very strong, very strong. It’s a very strong group and they welcome anyone that comes into the group. And I think people feel that and pick up on that. So, yeah, yeah, I feel quite humble.

 

[00:14:26] – Samantha

It feels like a privilege, in a way.

 

[00:14:28] – Caroline

It does. And, you know, seeing people come in and they’re at their worst, and then perhaps six, eight weeks later, you do a bit of resilience work and all that sort of thing, and they’re not happy, but they’re chirping and they’re feeling stronger. And seeing that, witnessing that is second to none for me. Second to none.

 

[00:14:57] – Samantha

Yeah. Really wonderful

 

[00:14:59] – Caroline

Which is why I want to be a counsellor.

 

[00:15:01] – Caroline

Right, yes, you’re training to be a counsellor at the moment?

 

[00:15:05] – Caroline

Yeah, and that’s going well. That’s heavy.

 

[00:15:08] – Samantha

Yeah, I bet. That must be intense.

 

[00:15:11] – Caroline

It really is. It’s a diploma, so, yes, it’s quite heavy, but I love it, absolutely love it. My husband said to me, don’t you get fed up reading the same subject, the same thing? But it’s not the same. There’s lots of different aspects of mental health, and I love it. I love it.

 

[00:15:39] – Samantha

So in the group, without obviously sharing any individuals or anything like that, what sorts of things-, are there sort of particular things you take people through that are very structured, or is it very open or is it a mix? Can you give us a couple of examples of sort of what somebody might experience if they came to the group?

 

[00:15:59] – Caroline

Okay. Obviously the group would welcome them as they do because they’re a great group, and our first step is the group agreement, where we talk about confidentiality and empathy and things like that, and then we have the check in. Now it’s entirely up to people what they want to do, if they want to check in or not. Some people decide, not today, I’m not feeling up to it, and you just pass around to the next person. But most people do have something they want to say.

 

[00:16:42] – Samantha

From that check in, do you just support people with sort of what arises in the room that day?

 

[00:16:46] – Caroline

Yeah, I support and the group support. Each individual supports and some individuals offer advice because they’ve been through a similar thing. If I’ve experienced that-, because it’s peer support. It’s not counselling, it’s peer support. So that’s working with lived experience. And so if I’ve shared a similar experience with someone, I will say, well, have you tried this? Or what about contacting that person? And I do have quite a big address book. You know, there’s always someone there that I can point them towards for help or for support. And I think the most important thing about the group is they get it out. It’s shared. It’s like they say, a problem shared is a problem aired. And I think that’s a big relief for people, is just getting it all out there.

 

[00:17:59] – Samantha

Yeah, there’s something very powerful about that, isn’t there?

 

[00:18:02] – Caroline

Especially with mental health, I think. You know, because we don’t talk about it. We’re so busy pretending to everyone that we’re okay and there’s nothing wrong when really inside you’re actually screaming.

 

[00:18:18] – Samantha

Yeah. It’s like wearing a mask all day, every day.

 

[00:18:21] – Caroline

It is. And you do that not just because of the stigma, but because you don’t want to worry your mum.

 

[00:18:28] – Samantha

Sure.

 

[00:18:28] – Caroline

I don’t-, like me, I don’t like worrying my children, but now the way I look after myself is if I don’t feel right, I’m saying so.

 

[00:18:38] – Samantha

And do you share that with your children and your family?

 

[00:18:40] – Caroline

I share it with my children, I share it with my husband because I don’t want to go backwards.

 

[00:18:47] – Samantha

Sure.

 

[00:18:48] – Caroline

You know, I want to keep going forward, but years ago, I would have been that person. No, I’m fine. Everything’s fine. Don’t worry about me. That’s another one.

 

[00:18:59] – Samantha

Yeah.

 

[00:19:01] – Caroline

Don’t worry about me. When you need someone to worry about you sometimes.

 

[00:19:06] – Samantha

You do. And also, I wonder, I’m sure you’ve heard this, people might say things like, oh, but what I’m dealing with isn’t anywhere near as bad as what this person’s dealing with or you’re dealing with. And it can be difficult sometimes for all of us, I think, and myself included, to go, for yourself, that might not be, in your experience, as serious as X, but it’s just as valid.

 

[00:19:34] – Caroline

Of course.

 

[00:19:35] – Samantha

And it’s not about some things are worth more attention than others either, is it?

 

[00:19:40] – Caroline

No, it’s not, absolutely not.

 

[00:19:42] – Samantha

Yeah.

 

[00:19:43] – Caroline

I mean, I believe that people suffering from mental health should be treated as well as what cancer patients are treated and like, they’ve got Macmillan and places like that. I think mental health should be up there with any other illness.

 

[00:20:00] – Samantha

Same. I totally agree. Yeah. And also because we can’t fully separate, really, our physical and mental health are actually completely one thing. Interlinked.

 

[00:20:11] – Caroline

It is.

 

[00:20:11] – Samantha

And if you have a physical illness or diagnosis that will impact your mental health and vice versa. And a lot of the time, I think, our culture in this part of the world, we separate everything to try and understand it. And we have specialists in minute details of one thing, and nobody talks to each other, and it’s incredibly frustrating and always comes back to adding more stress onto people, adding-, taking away their emotional energy. And it can cause more issues as well, this kind of very separated understanding of our overall health, which includes everything rather than just our sort of physical health, doesn’t it?

 

[00:20:53] – Caroline

Yes. It’s interesting you say that, because I’ve been reading a book, I’ve been doing a lot of reading.

 

[00:20:58] – Samantha

Yeah, I can imagine.

 

[00:21:00.470] – Caroline

The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate.

 

[00:21:04.150] – Samantha

Oh, I am a massive fan of Gabor Mate.

 

[00:21:06] – Caroline

Right. So you probably know what I’m about to say.

 

[00:21:09] – Samantha

No, please share. Yeah.

 

[00:21:12] – Caroline

This book is about-, what he’s saying, very very basically, is that your mental health can spark off your physical health. He goes into neurotransmitters and all that sort of stuff, but if you can get beyond that from what he’s saying, and he’s saying, like, for example, I’ve got rheumatoid arthritis and I’m at stage two. There are three stages.

 

[00:21:43] – Samantha

Right.

 

[00:21:44] – Caroline

And it’s quite painful. It’s quite painful. Now, what Gabor is saying is that when I was young, if I had trauma, which I did have trauma as a child, this could have damaged some of these neurotransmitters. And somehow, or in some way, however the body works, you know, it sparked off my physical illnesses because I’ve actually got eight illnesses.

 

[00:22:17] – Samantha

Right, okay.

 

[00:22:19] – Caroline

And I’m starting to think to myself, well, actually, he could be right. He could be right. Because if I can get my therapy and talk about these issues, this childhood trauma and get it out and get the help that I need to do that, maybe then my rheumatoid arthritis will never go away, I know that, I’m aware of that, but I might be able to control it a little bit better. And plus, I’ll know what sort of treatment I might need, but that’s sort of a bit up in the air at the moment. But it’s just a thought that your mental health, if you don’t take care of your mental health, how it can spark off physical ailments.

 

[00:23:10] – Samantha

Absolutely.

 

[00:23:12] – Caroline

If we know about that beforehand, then we can be pre warned and we can try and avoid it.

 

[00:23:21] – Samantha

Absolutely. And we can approach our wellbeing in a different way that’s more, hopefully, more positive and preventative.

 

[00:23:28] – Caroline

Yeah, exactly, preventative. Yeah, exactly.

 

[00:23:32] – Samantha

It is really fascinating, isn’t it? The whole body link.

 

[00:23:36] – Caroline

It really is. It’s like, is it really like that? Could that be?

 

[00:23:42] – Samantha

Yeah.

 

[00:23:43] – Caroline

And then I think, well, yeah, that’s possible.

 

[00:23:47] – Samantha

Yeah. I think if you’ve had lived experience along any type of lines where you have, like you said, experienced trauma, challenges with your emotional wellbeing and things like that, and you think back to maybe how your body was or is or maybe it’s just like physical sensation, like aches, pains. Lower back pain particularly can be sparked a lot from emotional-, from my experience personally and professionally, working with people through the body, things like lower back pain seem to be very linked to stress and other things. And I’m sure it’s far more complex than-,

 

[00:24:24] – Caroline

I get lower back pain. I really do.

 

[00:24:29] – Samantha

There’s some research I read recently about that around lower back pain is often not coming just from a physical. Like, you’ll be told, oh, strengthen your core, for example, which is valid for some people, but for others, that may not actually be where that’s coming from. And again, it’s that approaching the body separately from the mind, which is just becoming more and more and more unhelpful, I think. Yeah, it’s fascinating, isn’t it? We could talk about that all day.

 

[00:24:58] – Caroline

We could talk about it all day. Definitely.

 

[00:25:03] – Samantha

I wanted to ask you as a sort of final question, it’s a big question. So it’s a finalish. When we chatted before today, before we were recording and we were just having a little chat about what you might like to talk about and things like that. You said to me that you’re 59, as I shared earlier, and that you felt you were starting your life again.

 

[00:25:29] – Caroline

Yes.

 

[00:25:30] – Samantha

And that was really interesting to me, and I wondered if you’d be happy to share a little bit about why you said that.

 

[00:25:35] – Caroline

Sure. It’s mainly bipolar related.

 

[00:25:40] – Samantha

Okay.

 

[00:25:41] – Caroline

Because I went undiagnosed for many years of bipolar, so I didn’t receive the right treatment, I didn’t receive the right support, and this is over a span of 30 years. And my life was in such a mess, it was chaotic, as bipolar is chaotic. I went from one horrific mistake to another and I moved to Yorkshire 30 years ago to be with my family, because I left because of domestic violence. And things were still very up and down because I was still not being diagnosed. And to try and cut a long story short, I was diagnosed, and although my physical health was going downhill very rapidly, my mental health was improving because I was getting the right treatment. I was being in hospital a couple of times on a secure unit, but they sorted me out. And it wasn’t in Halifax, it was in Dewsbury, because I got a bee in my bonnet about the Dales.

 

[00:27:05] – Samantha

Right.

 

[00:27:06] – Caroline

But that’s another story. So I’ve got the bipolar, I think, under control, and that’s when I started volunteering. Because I’ve been in recovery six years, I’ve been a volunteer for six years, and I’ve decided that I’d like to be a counsellor. And I’m redoing all my studies and all that sort of thing, GCSEs, a diploma. And it is, my life’s starting over again. I’m 59 and some people have said to me, don’t you just want to chill out and relax? And I said, no, because I missed my opportunities in the past because of my mental health. And now that it’s under control, I want my life to start again.

 

[00:27:56] – Samantha

Yeah. And I suppose you’ve seen, sadly, had to see the lack of support that you had and the fact that had it been, I’m assuming, much better understood and there are much more services and resource in place, you wouldn’t have had to go through that.

 

[00:28:16] – Caroline

Absolutely.

 

[00:28:18] – Samantha

So that’s part of your drive, isn’t it, now?

 

[00:28:21] – Caroline

Absolutely, it really is. It is part of my drive, you’re right. You’ve hit the nail on the head. I wouldn’t like anyone to go through what I went through. And that actually brings tears to my eyes, because it shouldn’t be like that. It shouldn’t be like that. It’s 2023. We’re one of the richest countries, islands in the world. Why are we treating people like that?

 

[00:28:56] – Samantha

Absolutely.

 

[00:28:57] – Caroline

You know, why are we doing this? I think the more publicity, the more education, the more money, obviously takes money. But having said that, Healthy Minds Calderdale. They have funding issues as most charities do. But the group in Elland, the only thing it costs to run that group is the hire of the room. Everything else is-,

 

[00:29:33] – Samantha

Yeah. Community based services are so powerful, aren’t they? Like you’ve shared, peer to peer support in somebody’s local area where they live is essential. It’s not all about hospitals and medical environments, it’s about lives in their towns, where people live with their peers, with their family, with their friends.

 

[00:29:56] – Caroline

It is. I mean, the groups are essential and they’re in mental health. I mean, they’ve got loads of groups for drug addiction, they’ve got loads of groups for alcohol abuse. But what about mental health?

 

[00:30:14] – Samantha

Just generally, because people will come to, I assume, to your group, with anxiety or depression or a very combined mixture for very different reasons, I would imagine. But it’s sometimes about, this is what I’m feeling and being able, like you said, to share that.

 

[00:30:33] – Caroline

Yeah, definitely.

 

[00:30:35] – Samantha

So just remind us again how we can access if anybody would really like some more information on that group in Elland, can you just remind us?

 

[00:30:42] – Caroline

It’s Healthy Minds Calderdale. If they ask for Cath McNally, spelt with a C, and Dianne Darby, they’ll point them into the right direction.

 

[00:30:56] – Samantha

We’ll put that information in the episode show notes as well, so if anybody is looking for it, they can go on our website or on their podcast app, that information will be there as well.

 

[00:31:06] – Caroline

Brilliant. Healthy Minds Calderdale are absolutely wonderful. They really are. The work they do is amazing.

 

[00:31:14] – Samantha

Yeah, we have to definitely give them a big shout out.

 

[00:31:17] – Caroline

Definitely.

 

[00:31:18] – Samantha

And to Nicola from Healthy Minds for connecting us particularly as well.

 

[00:31:23] – Caroline

Absolutely. She’s lovely is Nicola.

 

[00:31:25] – Samantha

Yeah, we’ve been working quite closely with Nicola and the wider team to make sure our services are accessible to people locally as well. And I agree, they’re a wonderful charity and we just need more and more people, don’t we, to be doing what they can to break this stigma down and open up mental health so that we can all access support if we need it. Or just live in a life where you can be yourself instead of having to pretend.

 

[00:31:48] – Caroline

Or if it’s a close family member or a relative needs that support and you’re not sure what to do. Give someone like Healthy Minds a call. Just say support other people, it’s not just about suffering from mental health, it’s support families and relatives and-,

 

[00:32:09] – Caroline

You don’t need to have a diagnosis or have a specific thing, do you? It can be anybody can access their services.

 

[00:32:15] – Samantha

Anybody.

 

[00:32:16] – Samantha

Great. Wonderful. Well, Caroline, I am so grateful to you for sharing your personal experience with us so openly and your passion is just wonderful. We need more of you in the world, I think.

 

[00:32:31] – Caroline

Oh, thank you.

 

[00:32:33] – Samantha

And wishing you all the luck with your counselling course as well. When are you hoping to finish that?

 

[00:32:40] – Caroline

It won’t be till next year, next September, I think it is. And then if I decide I want to specialise, I’ve got to go on a little bit more.

 

[00:32:52] – Samantha

Right, great.

 

[00:32:53] – Caroline

But we reckon in two years.

 

[00:32:56] – Samantha

Fantastic. How exciting.

 

[00:32:58] – Caroline

I know.

 

[00:32:59] – Samantha

That’s wonderful. And just thank you so much for everything that you do.

 

[00:33:03] – Caroline

Thank you.

 

[00:33:03] – Samantha

Thank you for coming on. It’s been wonderful.

 

[00:33:06] – Caroline

It’s been a pleasure.

 

[00:35:40]

A big thank you to Caroline for sharing her story with us. What an inspiration she is. A reminder of the details for the peer support group in Elland, in case you or someone you know might benefit from attending. They’re held on the second and fourth Tuesday afternoons of each month at Southgate Methodist Church. Healthy Minds also offer lots of other peer support groups and activities across Calderdale, including mindfulness sessions, gardening and groups from people with long term health conditions. To attend a group, you need to register first, so please contact Healthy Minds directly. To do that, you can email them on info@healthymindscalderdale.co.uk or call them on 01422 345154. They also have offices in Halifax and Todmorden. This information is included in this episode’s show notes too, which you can access via your podcast platform of choice or on Curious Motion’s website.

 

[00:33:10] – Samantha

And that brings us to the end of another captivating episode of Calder Navigation. Thank you for joining us on this voyage through the stories that shape Calderdale, we hope that these conversations have touched your heart, inspired your mind and reminded you of the power of human connection. As we navigate life together, let’s carry these stories with us, cherishing the lessons they teach us and the bonds they strengthen.

 

[00:34:24] – Samantha

Remember, Calder Navigation is just one part of the Welland Activator Project, a collective effort to combat loneliness and isolation in our community. We encourage you to explore the various classes, workshops and walks offered through the program and join us at our special showcase event, Welland, where we can come together and celebrate the magic of Elland and Colderdale. You can find out more about the project at curiousmotion.org.uk.

 

[00:34:51] – Samantha

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Calderdale Council, Reaching Communities from the National Lottery Community Fund and Arts Council England for their invaluable support in making this podcast and the Welland Activator possible. Thanks to Untold Creative for production support.

 

[00:35:07] – Samantha

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to Calder Navigation on your preferred podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And please help us spread the word by sharing the podcast with your friends, family and anyone who might find solace, inspiration or a sense of belonging in these stories. As we conclude this chapter, we invite you to keep exploring, keep connecting, and keep navigating the currents of life with curiosity and compassion. Remember, the journey continues and together we can make a difference. Until next time, fair winds and warm hearts.