Rachel: Dealing with stress in a healthy way

Rachel started her work journey as a supported intern at Lily&Lime cafe in Portsmouth, one of six social enterprises run by Minstead Trust.

The team at Lily&Lime have supported her for a few years now, enabling her to reach greater independence and make well-informed decisions. Rachel’s approach to mental health is one of understanding that she might not be able to control everything, but a few deep breaths and things will be better.

Here’s Rachel in her own words:

‘Sometimes I have days where I feel stressed, but sometimes this will be over things I can’t do anything about. Working at Lily and Lime has helped because I have made friends and my social skills have improved. I like being in my paid role because I have my own money which means I can control what I do with it. When I’m not in work I like reading and listening to music. I would like to move out of my parents’ house eventually but would like to live with friends and not on my own.’

Rachel’s story is like many people with a learning disability at Minstead Trust. But not everyone has the support of friendships and work. This May, see your donation doubled in Kind2Mind, raising funds to support people with a learning disability improve their mental health and become an indepenedent part of society.