A little while ago I was feeling a bit restless, so I thought I’d give myself some more options by learning something new. I hadn’t done any major studying since I was much younger, with perfect eyesight, and a brain like a sponge. Still, that didn’t matter. I was still on the ball and had every confidence that I could do it.
Mental health is something that I’m very interested in, so when I found a course run by Bucks Adult Learning it sounded perfect. It was an on-line course which meant I could study at leisure, and best of all, it was free!
It was a busy period for me when I signed up, with lots of commitments, but I figured that as it was an on-line course I could pick a start date from August onwards, when things had settled down a bit, and at which time I could crack on with it properly.
I turned up for the on-line welcome meeting, where the content of the course was explained to us in more detail and I found out that not only would it be starting immediately, but there would be an assignment every single week! Oh, and while the course was indeed completely free, you did have to complete it within a 12-week period, or you would have to pay in full. Gulp. It was all in the small print of course; I just hadn’t seen it.
My heart sank. I had my job to go to, my new book to get published, a holiday to go on, and a million other things all clamouring for attention that I couldn’t put aside. But it was too late to back out. I was all signed up and there was nothing for it but to buckle up and ‘enjoy’ the ride.
So, each day I dragged myself out of bed at 5.30 am so that I could plough my way through my studies, and it was tough. Learning about anxiety, ADHD, depression, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders is not something that should be rushed. Still, I’m pleased to say that I finished the course, and I’m now waiting to hear whether I passed or not. I’m still proud of the sponge like qualities of my brain, and while Ive learned a lot about mental health disorders, the main thing I learned is that I need glasses to read the small print.
Sherry x
