David is an IT officer in the finance department of a private company located in South Wales (UK). David has always loved his job; however, the deterioration of his mental health started to impact his work and home life.
His manager raised concerns after he had noticed David was coming into work late, unkempt and not working to his usual standard, withdrawing from his colleagues and subsequently becoming absent from work. He had a history of suffering from anxiety and depression and has been diagnosed with PTSD which is a result of historical sexual abuse as a child. His coping mechanism to manage his thoughts and feelings included consuming high levels of alcohol and drugs which in turn hurt his relationships with colleagues and friends.
David felt that he had become too ‘clingy’ in relationships and had fears of rejection, many of his relationships had broken down due to this and he also struggled with having a close relationship with his family.
He had previously accessed a short programme of counselling which helped him explore his emotions to a point where he had built up trust to share his thoughts and emotions. However, when the counselling sessions finished, David was unable to access further support which resulted in him feeling abandoned and rejected and still unable to go to work. He Contacted Case-UK for help and he was referred to our Able Futures programme for 9 months of personal support
Case-UK's Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant (VRC) supported David by;
Managing his diagnosis by accessing bespoke information, advice and support to implement strategies that built resilience to overcome his fears. This also included self-confidence building and acceptance strategies that enabled him to deal with his past healthily and positively.
Managing his anxiety and maintaining healthy relationships. This was done by integrating him into social situations which reduced his feelings of isolation.
With issues and events that arose during the week and was an external point of contact outside of work when things got stressful.
David has now returned to work and is doing much better and the employer is now making reasonable adjustments after the VRC supported him to ask for help. Through the guidance, encouragement and support from the VRC David started to integrate himself into social situations. He now travels to work with a friend, which initially was outside of his comfort zone and this has had a positive impact on his mental health and overall well-being. David is facing his fears head-on and actively seeking help for issues that arise. For the first time in over 10 years, David feels he has the confidence to think independently and is positively rebuilding his life.