Mind Magazine July 2017 Mind Magazine July 2017 | Page 12

Real-life stories
Erica, pictured
far right, found
her talent for
pyrography
also helped her
cope with her
anxiety.
Someone like you
Erica Terry-Rose
In our series about how mental health can impact
on your day-to-day life, we look at the benefits
of finding a new focus.
Erica is 29 years old, and she’s
diagnosed with borderline
personality disorder (BPD),
depression and anxiety. The
impact of BPD on her daily life
became critical when Erica found
it impossible to hold down a job.
She started therapy and, over
the past few years, Erica also
discovered that her love of
jewellery making and pyrography
(decorating wood or leather with
a heated pen) can be more than
just a relaxing hobby – it’s a
really positive coping mechanism.
‘Discovering a craft that I
enjoyed definitely allowed me to
12 Mind Magazine
focus my energies, and helped
ground me whenever things were
too much.
‘When I’m crafting, I feel as
though I have nothing else going
on. It’s also opened me up to so
many exciting, although scary,
opportunities. And I’m proud
to be able to say that I’ve got
through them all!’
Erica is a member of the support
group at her local Mind, but she’s
always found that art offers her
an easy way to communicate. So,
a year ago, she decided to set up
a craft group. It’s been hugely
successful, and Erica recently