achievable. “Recovery for me was a gradual process, rather than an overnight change but recovery is possible and that is the message I want to convey. Reaching out for help is a brave and courageous step and it is completely understandable that there will be many fears in doing so. However, I know from experience that asking for help is a valuable, and sometimes life-changing step. Nobody has to go through these issues on their own.” Jessica has now spent the last three years working as a counsellor in an NHS setting as part of a team of in-house counsellors at a local GP Surgery. She also works from a dedicated therapy room at her home in Barnack, where she provides a quiet, relaxed setting. Passions and Beliefs: “I am keen to raise awareness of eating disorders and self harm and I am passionate about the benefits of counselling to help with these issues. Counselling helped me to understand why I was struggling with food and self-harm. It enabled me to talk about and understand my emotions and then find less destructive ways to manage my emotions. I see people who have diagnosed eating disorders, but I also support clients who are struggling with weight issues, body image issues, disordered eating or a difficult relationship with food. It saddens me to see how many people are using food to manage their lives. Using food becomes a way of regulating our emotions when no other coping mechanism works - such as chatting to a friend or going for a run.”
Antonia Scott speaks to Jessica Towle MBACP on her passion for helping others How it all began: Jessica Towle grew up in Ketton and went to Stamford High School where she did her GCSEs before moving to Stamford College to study Modern Languages at A Level. After studying French at University College, London she returned to Stamford and has lived in Barnack since 2002. “Whilst studying for my GCSE exams in the late 1980s, I developed Bulimia Nervosa. (Definition, according to Beat, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity: ‘A serious mental illness where people feel that they have lost control over their eating and evaluate themselves according to their body shape and weight.) Although at first it was about losing weight and altering my body shape, it soon became a way I coped with my emotions, in particular, the pressure of exams, studying and fitting in at school. I continued to struggle with this illness and self-harming behaviours during my teens and throughout my twenties. At this time, there was little specialist support available and even less openness or awareness of mental health problems. It was incredibly hard to reach out for help because of the shame and stigma attached. I felt guilty and ashamed for having these problems – being pre Internet, I had little or no support and often felt like I was the only person in the world who selfharmed. It was my dark secret, but it was also my coping mechanism. It was a physical release for the emotional pain I felt. Looking back, I realise that keeping it secret drove it further underground and compounded my negative feelings. Despite wanting to get better, it took many years to find the help and support I needed. I saw numerous counsellors before I found the person that was right for me. I believe a counsellor should make you feel validated, safe, heard, comfortable, understood, seen for who you are and occasionally challenged, but never threatened. There really does need to be a good ‘fit’ and connection between counsellor and client. It was my positive experience of counselling that finally enabled me to begin my recovery and ignited a desire to support others on their own unique journey to emotionally healthier and happier places.” Coming Full Circle: Having fully recovered over ten years ago, Jessica decided to train as a counsellor, drawing on and sharing her own personal experience to give others hope that recovery from mental distress is
Raising Awareness: A recent report from YoungMinds shows that teenage girls today are facing unprecedented levels of stress and pressures which are damaging their wellbeing – describing it as the ‘perfect storm’ of social, emotional, school and sexual pressures, including the need to look ‘right’, to do well in school, to fit in and to get a good job. Jessica firmly believes that social media exacerbates many of these worries and fears, making it hard to shut out pressures or gain perspective on realistic expectations. “I feel there is a huge pressure on young people to be constantly ‘available’ online - I would say it has never been a more difficult time to be a teenager. The pressure caused by social media can increase anxiety levels, disrupt sleep and lead to depression.” Speaking out about mental illness can change lives. Jessica hopes that one day we reach a point where our mental health is given the same value as our physical health and that we end the stigma so often associated with mental health.
Jessica Towle MBACP Tel: 07920118454 www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/ jessica-towle USEFUL WEBSITES: www.youngminds.org.uk www.mind.org.uk www.time-to-change.org.uk www.b-eat.co.uk www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk www.self.harm.co.uk www.rethink.org STAMFORD LIVING NOVEMBER 2016
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