Name: Jason
Position: Service user
Project: Coping Through Football (London)
Grant amount: £212,034
"My anxiety is like being imprisoned, yet I am both the inmate and jailor. Instead of being in a 6ft by 4ft cell, my walls are all encompassing, like an invisible force field continuously pulling me down emotionally, and it is my thoughts that keep me here.
"It is a debilitating condition and not a happy place to be. My natural inclination is to avoid places, people and situations that can arouse my fear. My answer for years has been to hide away, to stay indoors creating a comfort zone that I could live with. This only exasperates the problem as the isolation fuels my anxiety, creating panic, paranoia and inevitably depression.
"Thanks to Coping Through Football I have been able to pierce some of this destructive emotion. I’ve always enjoyed sport and not only has this helped me regain some of my fitness but I’ve made new friends from different walks of life, yet with similar situations to mine. Making these contacts helps you realise you’re not alone. I’ve built up a lot of my lost confidence, and broken many of the shackles that were holding me in my self-imposed prison.
"I might still be an inmate, but during my Coping Through Football time, I feel like I’m on day release!"
