Dear Ailsa,

I’ll start by saying a massive thank you for helping me to get my life back. When I first met you it felt like I couldnt have sunken any lower, I didn’t want to wake up in the morning, the thought of work or being around people depressed me because I had to pretend to be happy for their sake and overall it was a tiring battle to get through every day.

You made me feel completely at ease, I trusted you from the first time we met and just the fact that you understood me and insisted other people did get social anxiety made me feel so much better and less alone. Over the weeks it was hard to remember my past, sometimes good, but most of the time upsetting because those were the memories I’d buried deep down. We brought them to the surface together, you were there for me every week when I would get upset and I am still amazed to this day that the main reason for my social anxiety came to me knowing the week you said it would.

Since our last meeting, I have wanted to seize every day and make the most of it. I love being with my family and friends and when I am faced with a situation that I would have previously found uncomfortable I use the exercises you taught me about anticipatory anxiety and change my thoughts straight away and most of the time it works. I will continue to this over the course of my life and hopefully I will get better at it.

Once again, thank you for helping me find myself, I could of done with speaking to you 20 years ago, because I’ve carried this problem around with me through primary school, high school. my first job, college, university and even into my flying career. I now say to myself, ‘Never act or be a certain way just because you believe other people will frown upon you or think less of you if you don’t’. You taught me to love myself again and I’ve got the God given right to be whoever I want to be. If ever in the future I let other peoples perceptions of me get me down, I would come to you. You are absolutely lovely and I often wonder how your doing, I just hope that you are as happy as you have made me feel again.

All my love Susan  x