A TEACHER who suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder after being abused by an ex-boyfriend, has turned her life around by offering confidence-building courses to children and domestic abuse victims across Cumbria.
Laura Marsden, 33, from Barrow, had her confidence shattered after being involved in an abusive relationship for five years.
The relationship ended in 2008 but it's taken Laura seven years to rebuild her self-esteem.
Now, she has decided to combine her 12-year career in teaching with her past experiences of domestic violence to help improve the confidence of those who have suffered at the hands of their partners.
"Domestic abuse can absolutely destroy everything about you and this scheme will help to build you back up piece by piece," the mother-of-one said.
"I'm really hoping that I can inspire others to take control. If they can survive the abuse, they can survive the recovery and take their life so much further than they could ever have imagined."
Laura has helped over 1,000 children during her career. She now uses neuro linguistic programming techniques to boost their confidence.
NLP was developed in the United States in the 1970s and helps to change people's outlook on life by tapping into their subconscious beliefs.
Laura thinks that youngsters today have many more personal issues to deal with such as bereavement, bullying and eating disorders and are often not getting the support that they need to progress in the classroom.
She said: "All children deserve to be happy in the school environment but for many that's unfortunately not the case.
"My aim is to get my resources in all schools across Cumbria and to work on a one-to-one basis with children and young people in order to give them skills which can be transferred to the classroom."
George Hastwell School on Walney has already pledged its support to her initiative, known as Laurus Consultancy, but the teacher wants to further her ambitions by providing one-to-one training courses in an anonymous setting for six weeks over the summer.
These will be aimed at Cumbrian families on lower incomes and for those who are going through a difficult period but she needs £5,000 to see her dreams become a reality and wants people in Barrow to donate to her cause. The money will enable her to deliver these sessions free of charge as well as allow her to complete two training sessions for teachers.
Laura said: "There is nothing like this around the area at all. It's a local project and I think as a community we should all support one another and help to inspire others."
Laura ultimately takes inspiration for the scheme from her son.
She said: "I'm doing this for him. I want him to grow up believing he can do anything."
You can donate to Laura's cause here.
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