Leon shares how his mum uses virtual tours for her wellbeing

Coping with bipolar and social isolation during the pandemic

Leon Dickson is a Service Desk Analyst with our Health Informatics Service. He has shared a story about his mum for Mental Health Awareness Week as she has not been able to enjoy getting outdoors over the past year due to her health and shielding during the pandemic:

“My mother suffers with bipolar disorder and has many other health issues. She is classed as clinically vulnerable so has been in full shielding since March last year. She also lives alone so saw no-one.

“Her mental health was dropping and she became depressed again.

“Then someone told her about a website called www.Heygo.com which lets people watch free live virtual tours around the world.

“Now she does several tours a day and her mental health is vastly improved. When I video chat with her I can see how happy she is now.

“Her first words are ‘’Guess where I have been today’’. Having shielded fully for 14 months these tours have improved her mental health and I don’t need to worry about her as much any more.”