Natalie's story
Natalie, from Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, shares her experience of Thistle's support.
I was born with Spina Bifida so I’m no stranger to dealing with health difficulties. Despite this, I always managed to lead a full life. I’m a ceramic artist with a degree in 3D Design and have spent years volunteering for a local charity. It was there, while I was volunteering, that someone noticed I was struggling to walk more than usual. I had started developing some new symptoms, but I think sometimes when you’re disabled you say, “Oh well, it’s just another thing to deal with.” With her encouragement I went to the doctor and was soon diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder, or FND.
My energy levels had dropped even lower than usual, and I’d developed a stutter which was getting worse and worse until the point that I stopped being able to speak altogether. I found this really frustrating which probably just made it even worse. The symptoms of FND can vary so much from one person to the next, making it harder for people to understand. I’ve lost friends as a result of this, which has been really painful for me.
Someone I volunteered with told me that he had FND too, and that he’d been on a Lifestyle Management course (LMC) with Thistle which really helped him. He told me about some of the things he’d learned and said he thought I would benefit from doing it too. I knew after talking to him that this was definitely something I wanted to do. I felt like I’d found a way forward and was reassured to know that there was help available. I signed up for the course and took part remotely over Zoom. Everyone attending had different disabilities, but we had lots of similar experiences. It was a nice environment and I enjoyed feeling like I was learning with others, as part of a community.
I learned so much from the course, not only from my health and wellbeing practitioner but from the other attendees too. Hearing other people standing up for themselves and their rights made me feel that I have the right to say what I need as well and gave me the confidence to say it. Every subject was taken at a slower pace and broken down to make it easy to understand. I left with a better understanding of myself, my disability and how I can improve things for myself, but also about how I can help others. Self-understanding has been so empowering for me.
Doing the LMC helped me to gain perspective over my situation and has allowed for my inner voice to grow stronger so I can be my own cheerleader. I now give myself permission to take more time for myself and to go to bed early. These small changes mean I have more energy which hugely impacts on my wellbeing. I’m quite an introverted person, but I’ve learned to tell people about my needs and what doesn’t work for me.
I’ve even had the confidence to set up a Facebook group for people in my area with FND. We have 55 members now and we meet up every month for a coffee. It gives me a lot of joy to help others who are in the same position as me, but I don’t think I would have had the confidence to do this without Thistle. I’m currently organising a fundraising dinner to say thank you to them and help raise money so that they can help more people like me.
I have so many plans for my future. I’ve been working on my Adult Achievement Award which is almost complete. In the back of my mind I always wanted to do a Master’s in Art Therapy, so I’ve decided that this will be the next step for me. I also plan to go skiing at some point. When I was diagnosed with Spina Bifida, the doctor told my parents that I would never walk, go to university or ski. I’ve done the first two and now I’m determined to get up on those slopes even if I fall right back down. To others considering doing the LMC, I’d say it’s well worth it. There are so many subjects that have helped me, and my life has gotten so much better. I really recommend it. Go for it!