'I became enthusiastic about life again'

'I became enthusiastic about life again'

Posted Monday 14th March 2016...

''My husband Alan and I both regularly come to the community classes at Made in Hackney and I absolutely love coming and am so grateful for them.

The classes have improved my cooking so very much, especially with foods that I knew nothing much about like new kinds of grains and oils like coconut oil. I always loved my veggies but Made in Hackney has helped me tremendously to improve the way I cook them (or eat them raw) and the nutrition I get out of them. The classes have improved my confidence with cooking and made me more adventurous.  I also cannot believe what lovely food I get at the end of each class and the social aspect of learning something new.

I learnt about the classes when I was recovering from anxiety and depression and was attending a centre. They mentioned it and I immediately went on the internet to look it up. Preceding this I had read a book by Charles Linden who was a former sufferer who said that having strong interests and becoming enthusiastic about a sport, hobby or venture was more effective for mental health than psychotherapy.

Unfortunately, it is not easy to be enthusiastic about anything when suffering from depression/anxiety as every day seems hard. It really is a more devastating illness than more people recognise and not just like an ‘off’ day. As I recovered I began to buy cookery books from charity shops as I had been interested in nutrition from a very young age. With this my mind I turned to improving my cookery skills and planning dishes to make, and yes I became enthusiastic about life again :-) The community classes at Made in Hackney have helped me so much and I cannot be more thankful.

Without having a job it is much more difficult to afford paying for further education classes especially as there are no longer concessions for pensioners who are not on benefits. This makes me so grateful to Made in Hackney and I would like to give something back (when I can) by helping with the classes on Sundays.''

By Sue Sidloff, regular attendee of Sunday Community Classes at Made in Hackney

Want to experience the same? Have a look at our upcoming programme of classes.

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