Norfolk
Mental health
Andy’s story
Just before COVID hit, Andy was going through a rough patch due to various things happening in his life. At the time he was a member of two lodges and a few side orders.
I had a lot on my plate. I had not long lost my parents, and the admin of sorting out their things and the house had taken its toll. Plus, by that time, I had retired after a 40-year career in the offshore oil and gas industry on the subsea side. I spent 18 years as a deep saturation diver, and the next 22 years running jobs, which brought a certain amount of stress. It took its toll. Everything seemed to build up at that point.
Andy was in conversation with the Secretary of one of his lodges and it became apparent to him that Andy needed support, so he reached out to the PGA, and put Andy in touch with the MCF to see if we could help.
“This wasn’t the first time I came across the charity. A good friend of my parents had health issues – physical ones – and the charity helped him and his wife when he was going blind. This is one of the things that attracted me to masonry in the first place.”
“The charity contacted me and asked what they could do to assist, and we landed on counselling. They connected me with a chap for one-on-one counselling over the phone. I was reluctant at first about having the sessions on the phone, but because of COVID, it turned out to be the best thing. If it had been face-to-face, I probably wouldn’t have completed the course.”
We had regular calls, and there was also an email exchange with links to exercises I could do. In the end, we came to the conclusion that I had mild PTSD from my job and that I was suffering from anxiety. The counsellor and I developed a strategy to deal with the anxiety. We landed on a plan where I could A: identify the issue, B: determine if there was anything I could do about it, and C: decide if I needed to do anything about it at all. We worked through it, and I now feel I have the tools to handle it.
Over the last four years, I’ve really focused on Freemasonry. The support I got from the Secretary and DC enabled me to become an Installed Master this year. I have recently seen my GP which has a wellbeing scheme, and I was able to talk to a wellbeing coach for six sessions. We went over everything I had done through the MCF, revisiting it, and we came to the conclusion that I just needed to talk about it and get it off my chest. Now, I’m back on track for another few years!
“Talking to family or friends doesn’t always work. In my experience, they have their own opinions. But someone totally independent, who can listen dispassionately, is really helpful. And if sharing it this way helps someone else, that’s even better, isn’t it?”
