Mandy's Story

Mental health and the Pandemic

I couldn't engage with online lessons

“I'm Mandy and I struggled with adjusting to the pandemic, especially because of my impaired hearing. I was attending college but then it all went online. Not only was it difficult to adjust to not seeing friends everyday, but I struggled to engage with the online lessons as I'm deaf and couldn't lip read on a screen.”

Low point

“Without purpose from college or people to talk to, I felt like a lost cause. I was so anxious and depressed that I stopped going outside altogether. Life beyond my bedroom didn't really exist. I thought about suicide.”

Building my confidence

“Reframe got me out of this rut. They helped me to connect with others virtually, which was what everyone else was doing. We worked together to think of practical ways to alleviate my anxiety. My support worker suggested practising speaking on video call, talking extra slowly so I got used to lip reading from a screen. This built my confidence enough and I returned to online college.”

Coping with change

“While the pandemic knocked me down, Response gave me coping skills to deal with it. I hope to be able to progress into adult life and pursue a dream career of working with animals. There is life beyond teenagehood in a pandemic.”