Deon is a former St Mungo’s client who never imagined leaving us with an entirely new career and passion. She shares how creative arts have been a game changer in her recovery.
“After years of living peacefully in a privately rented flat, I was racially harassed by a new neighbour and the landlord did nothing.
I had to collect evidence so that the person was prosecuted. That took over a year, but my neighbour wasn’t evicted.
So, I had to move into a shared flat which was all I could find. I thought I was a co-tenant, but I was actually a lodger and went through a lot of challenges with the person I was living with.
I left after a couple of months, which contributed to the continued decline in my mental health.
Then I moved to a new place but out of the blue, I was served notice to leave when my landlady decided to sell the flat.
This series of events was stressful to say the least.
I stayed with family several times, but the frequent moves led to a breakdown, and I was admitted to a psychiatric unit in hospital.
Discovering the joy of creativity
Here we did a little bit of air-dry clay work, which is when I first realised that I quite enjoyed being creative.
After leaving hospital, I began creating tiny, beaded bracelets. They’d take me half a day and making them was the only thing that seemed to calm my mind.
Six months later, I was offered a room with St Mungo’s who introduced me to more types of art.
This was incredible – the start of my creative journey and happier times.
I can still picture my plastic bowl with a couple of potatoes in it, which was my very first still life painting!
St Mungo’s encouraged me to join an online art group. Back in school, teachers would look at my artwork and pull a face as if to say, “oh no!” and suggest I try a new sport instead. But here, everyone was so supportive and encouraging.
Painting a new path
Fast forward to today and creativity is my career! I run art workshops and have designed my own course through the contacts I met at St Mungo’s.
Before St Mungo’s, my days were spent working on spreadsheets and things like that.
So, if someone told me back then my life would go down a creative route, I’d have laughed at them!
This feels like a complete departure from everything I went through a few years ago.
My head can be noisy and ruminate on things. But now I can be creative, those jumbled thoughts go away and dissolve for a bit.
I love the way being creative makes me feel.
The only way to describe the feeling is that I go into a flow state, where I’m fully focused and immersed in what I’m creating.
Now I feel a sense of calm and time melts away when I’m so happy. It’s just me and the thing that I’m doing – it’s great.
This is the way I’m meant to be, and now I can just be. It’s fantastic and St Mungo’s has helped me get to that place.
I’d encourage anyone to give creativity a go and see how it makes you feel – there are so many different forms of art to choose from.
Don’t worry about other people’s opinions along the way. If you try something and love it, it’s worth doing.
I’d also say that by supporting St Mungo’s, you’re helping others through their recovery – whatever it is they’re going through.
You’re helping people like me discover new passions, which have brought peace and joy to my life.
