The Long Way Back To It, by Sarah*
I first started woodworking when I was around 7 or 8. A family friend had a brain tumour and after his brain injury he was unable to read or write and had forgotten how to build things. He had started making a bed for himself and his wife but couldn’t finish it, so I helped him. I measured everything out and he showed me how to cut the wood. That was where my love of woodworking started. I was grateful that he spent the time to teach me.
I grew up in and out of care, and as I got older, I stopped doing woodworking for a while. After my mum died, I became homeless and spent some time living in a cave. I actually have some really happy memories of living there. I made my own fires and loved being surrounded by nature.
When I was 22, I went to a recovery setting in Cornwall where they ran groups in the woods, including woodworking. This got me back into it again. I made my own drum and other things, and it became something that really helped me.
Over the years I was in and out of hospital and had a lot going on, but I turned a negative into a positive and decided I wanted to get back into woodworking properly during Covid. I saved for a shed and started making things for people. I would ask for tools for Christmas and birthdays, and people would often ask me to make things for them. I’ve made fences, signs, planters, bread bins and lots of other things. I really loved having something to focus on, and if I was having a bad day, I could go outside and make something. It helped take my mind off everything and made me feel better.
I continued woodworking until around summer 2025 and then I packed up to move from Cornwall to Lincolnshire in May 2026. Moving was a really big change for me and my mental health deteriorated. I also struggled to get the mental health support I needed after moving, and I lost the routine and something that had always been really important to me.
Since being supported by my Mental Health Navigator, I’ve started finding my way back to woodworking again. She has listened to me and recognised how important this is to my mental health. She has encouraged and empowered me to get back into something I love, found a woodworking/woodturning group for me to attend and supported me to take those first steps. She has also helped me recognise that doing something I enjoy isn’t just a hobby — it’s something that can really help my wellbeing.
I’m now looking forward to starting the woodturning group after having to leave my shed behind where I used to create. I am trying to save for another shed so I can eventually start making things again at home but this could take me years to achieve as I just haven’t got the means for it. I already have my tools and lots of ideas, but without somewhere to work, I’m limited at the moment.
Woodworking gives me something to focus on. It takes my mind away from what’s going on, I find it therapeutic and I feel like myself when I’m creating things. Having the support and encouragement to get back into it has made me feel excited about the future again. I have the vision of what I want to do — I just need the means to get started again.
Getting back to something I love is helping me get back to myself.
