Robert's Story
I started to hear voices. At first they were like friends and would just say "Hi Rob" once in a while.
But in 1994, when I was 22, I lost my job as a security man and the voices become more menacing, telling me to harm people.
Those voices got worse over the next few years. I did everything I could to help himself, including starting new jobs, even working abroad, but in the end I just couldn't cope.
When I came back to England from working in Israel, I got a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and went to stay in a psychiatric hospital. For the next two years I was in a horrible cycle of hospital-home, home-hospital.
When I left hospital the last time, I went to RF's Hawthorns service in Ipswich.
Hawthorns is a nine bedroom rehabilitation home that works with people to help them lead more independent lives. I had a one-month trial period there, before becoming part of the Hawthorn family.
While there, I made new friends amongst the other residents and the staff team. I could not believe how different it was from hospital. I was encouraged to do new things and allowed to really talk. Eventually, I stopped hearing the voices altogether. I really enjoyed the way I was treated when I was there, all the people were very helpful and I believed that they actually cared about me. That felt good and made you want to try things.
Now, I'm living totally independently, enjoying kickboxing lessons, playing snooker and the occasional horse ride. I have started a college course learning basic internet skills but now my main aim is to be a support worker.