Flat Troubles

“I’d describe myself as pretty laid-back; normally very few things get to me. In fact, I sometimes get other people talking to me about what’s going wrong in their lives – I like to help out if I can.

When I came across CALM I thought it was a good idea, but didn’t think of using it ‘til I started to get hassle from the people I share a house with.

It all kicked off when the guy who lived in the same house as me began stirring it. Tensions had been running high for a while, with some petty backstabbing going on. I could put up with it short-term ‘cause it wasn’t in your face all the time; it was more this niggling feeling of never knowing when he was going to start on me that did it. He’d be OK with you one minute, then turn nasty, and I could just do without the stress.

This had been going on for weeks. The whole atmosphere was too much so one night I rang CALM and told them how I felt. In all honesty, I felt like lashing out at this guy ‘cause it was so bad, and I’m not a violent person. That was the point when I thought, “Whoa - just hang on a minute”.

The bloke on the end of the line listened and didn’t make me feel like my problems weren’t important. But the best thing about making the call was being able to let off a bit of steam. I was well stressed-out, but having someone neutral listening helped loads. A couple of nights later I rang again, partly because I was feeling more together and wanted to take in more of what the counsellor was saying, and partly to say thanks for defusing the whole thing.”

I first thought of CALM as a way of supporting people at the end of their tether, but it helped me deal with things that might not seem like a big deal to anyone else. At the time it was real help and though things are still not brilliant, I feel a bit more sorted.”