Very early on a good friend of ours who was a GP, recommended that Al find a GP he really liked & make a monthly appointment.
She explained that if Al wrote a list of questions, worries & symptoms throughout the month then took these to his GP it would help him keep on top of his health & well being.
After a couple of months seeing Dr Miles this become a large part of Al's support & self care package that helped him feel he had a little bit of control over his health & wellbeing, it also had a huge positive effect on his mental health.
In Al's words what this process means to him...
To begin with the appointment felt unnecessary & I was thinking why me? I don't need to regularly see a doctor! I never go to the doctor!
I also felt it was a waste of NHS resources. Why should I need this? There must be someone else who needs this time more than me? Am I not just wasting the doctors time?
But very quickly I realised this was a really positive & important process for me to go through. Both my physical & mental health benefited massively from these regular appointments. It helped build self respect back up, it gave me structure, I felt like a had a tiny it of control back of a situation I had no control over.
Knowing that I could go & chat about whatever.
