Like a person who knows you and helps you achieve your goals.

That having a mentor helps you to become more introspective and actually spend time understanding yourself. Because at the end of the day all you really have is you and you spend the most time with yourself so you need to know who you are!

The best thing to exist! Mentoring has helped my life in so many areas, it’s bought me a lot of peace and clarity. I thought I was self aware to begin with but I soon learnt I’m only self aware of the behaviours that I want to be, I wasn’t recognising both the good and bad. Mentoring has helped me break down my own wall that I’ve built up through my life, it’s helped me understand myself much more than I imagined.

Just the bond we had with each other, made it so nice to know I could be myself.

Coming to terms with how far I have come, and why everything led me to where I am now. I feel like it’s transformed the way I deal with negative situations in my life.

Definitely being more self aware. I feel there is so much that can branch off from this. Being self aware you’re able to recognise your emotions and regulate them more effectively, you’re able to decrease levels of anxiety through feeling more control over your situations. I also think it has improved my communication with others massively, as I now respond instead of reacting, leaving me feeling more calmer.

I have been working with Jas for 2 years now. I was introduced to Jas during my university studies, where I was studying to become a mental health nurse. Since working with Jas I have grown emotionally and mentally through engaging in mindfulness material, and incorporating it into my daily activities. Jas has educated me on my mental health, she has taught me that my mental health doesn’t define me. Over the past year I have noticed a shift in my mindset, there has been a significant improvement. I look at situations more rationally, challenge my negative thoughts, and when my feelings become too much I alleviate them through engaging in meditations, journaling and practising my gratitude.

Having Jas as my specialist mental health mentor has been a blessing. Each time I speak with Jas my anxieties lessen, we challenge negative thoughts together and make a plan of how I can tackle these feelings sooner next time. I think of Jas as a close friend, during sessions I am vulnerable and speak how I feel; but this is because my sessions with Jas are considered a safe space for me. This has helped Jas when creating a plan of how I can tackle my challenging thoughts, making it person centred to me.

During my time at University I have faced setbacks, I had failed assignments and was beginning to feel overwhelmed; thinking how am I going to manage with work, placement, upcoming assignment and now a resubmission? But when I spoke with Jas these feelings decreased, Jas listens to me and gives me the time to offload my feelings. At times I feel I’ve hit a wall, I’ve done everything and I don’t know what else to do. Jas always finds a way to overcome this wall in an approach that’s achievable for me.

Jas has been my safe space for the past couple of years, during the time we’ve worked together I have experienced breakthroughs in my mental health. The skills Jas has taught me are skills that work! I am fortunate to share these skills with my colleagues, friends and service users when they face challenges.

To this day when either myself or someone I know is struggling or just simply having a bad day, I practice mindfulness with them. I ask them what they’re grateful for, what made them smile today and how they’re feeling emotionally, physically and mentally. This is a self check in activity that Jas introduced to me. At times when I feel overwhelmed I will complete this independently, this leaves me feeling self assured and calmer.

Overall, mentoring has helped me in indescribable ways. With Jas I have experienced significant ‘breakthrough’ moments where it’s left me feeling calm and in tune with my emotions. After every session with Jas I learn something new about myself. Jas has taught me how to channel my inner calmness and reassurance through meditating and journaling activities. But for me, I’ve had to experience raw emotions, be vulnerable and transparent with Jas, this is the key for me.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is that I can’t control everything. At first this was difficult to navigate and one of my personal values is control. I remind myself that I’m in control of myself therefore I choose how much time to spend worrying over situations that are out of my control. Jas told me a phrase, which was like a lightbulb moment to me “everyone has 24 hours in a day, you are the only person who can choose how you spend your 24 hours.

I would recommend Jas to anyone! Jas has helped me navigate difficult times, we’ve learnt a lot from one another. Jas is an amazing woman, she listens to me and validates my feelings. Jas helps me challenge my anxieties and constantly reminds me of my achievements; pushing me to be the best version of myself.