Osteoarthritis, Anxiety, Depression, Social Isolation, Overwhelming Feeling of Failure
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Amy – Written by Neil Silvester “Instead of a slice of happiness, I want the whole cake” Amy is a 53-year-old single mother living with osteoarthritis affecting her mobility, she has also been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Over the last few years, Amy had been struggling to make ends meet due to not being able to work. She faced the possibility of eviction and homelessness several times which only compounded her anxiety and depression. To make things worse she sustained a broken collarbone which has still not healed due to her osteoarthritis. Starting to feel more and more isolated as the pandemic set in, it certainly didn’t help when her friends began to fall off the radar. During a meeting with her work coach, she was offered a leaflet for A Slice of Happiness (ASOH). Initially she was sceptical but decided to give it a go. Amy grew up in rural Ireland and was the youngest of 7 children. She felt like something had been missing her whole life but was unable to identify what “it” was, she had turned to religion in the hope it would provide the answers but to no avail. She had the overwhelming sensation of failure. This was her thinking telling her that she should have learned from her 6 older siblings and been able to succeed at life. This remained a constant thought for so many years. Amy signed up to ASOH and attended 8 online sessions via zoom. The sessions were 3 hours long and after completing the course she still wasn’t 100% sure it was for her. Despite her doubts, something made her sign up for a second course. During that second course, Amy started to understand that she was more than all the negative things in her life, she was more than her thinking and started to enjoy the moment instead of dwelling on the past. This was a huge breakthrough and since then, Amy has been looking for ways to deepen her understanding stating “Instead of a slice of happiness, I want the whole cake” Here are some of the question and answers from our interview. How have the activities that they have taken part in improved their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing / quality of life? I am now aware of what my triggers are and still stay positive. I understand that peace and serenity are within, I have so many more meaningful moments and can appreciate those moments now. What would they say to encourage others to access ASOH? Please just give it a go, you don’t have to contribute. You can just use it to take time and appreciate yourself. What has the individual achieved that can be credited to their use of the service? I now wake up curious not depressed. I have made a conscious effort to walk more. One of the times it was raining, I looked down at a puddle and saw the rain drops hitting it. As the raindrops hit the puddle, they were making bubbles. I looked at that and realised it was just like my thoughts! My thoughts can just disappear like raindrops in a puddle. I now appreciate all the little things in life too. What other impact can we demonstrate? I no longer want anything from the past, I love the present and embrace the joyous moments. A great example was another time I was walking along a road that I have walked thousands of times before. I usually look down to keep an eye on where I’m stepping, but this time I decided to look up and I saw the most beautiful tree I had ever seen in my life. The green colour was so vivid, I had never seen anything as green as that. I realised that now I’m not caught up in my thinking, I’m able to see the beauty of life again. Would you recommend the service? Absolutely. It’s such an uncomplicated service, there aren’t any hoops to jump through like most things have these days. It’s a lovely thing. It is safe to say that by attending ASOH, Amy has seen a dramatic improvement in her life. She has gone from a place of darkness and despair to a beautiful sense of knowing, an ability to appreciate the moment and is now looking to deepen her understanding by signing up to a weekly support group. I would like to add that whilst speaking with Amy, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm and happiness, the only way I can describe it is that our conversation made my heart smile.
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