Not feeling like yourself right now? Maybe you’re feeling irritable, worried, scared, struggling to make decisions and continually feeling overwhelmed? These can all be signs of stress.
Stress is common. It’s something we will all experience at some point of our lives, whether it’s a house move, money worries, pressures of a busy family or multiple deadlines at work, there will be times when we simply cannot see the wood for the trees – in fact in small doses stress can be a great motivator and help us navigate certain challenges. However, when it becomes a continual part of our day-to-day life, it can impact our mental health, leading to anxiety and/or depression and, in some cases, our physical health.
As this month is Stress Awareness Month, we wanted to highlight the support available via our Talking Therapies service. This free NHS service is for those over 18 who are registered with a GP in Gloucestershire, and mainly uses evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to treat common mental health problems.
If you are struggling with stress, we want you to know that you are not alone, nor is how you are feeling something you just have to deal with. This April we really want to focus on highlighting the importance of prioritising our own mental wellbeing to minimise the effect stress can have on our daily lives.
As part of the support we provide at NHS Gloucestershire NHS Talking Therapies, we create a safe and supportive space to identify what the main causes of your stress are and work with you to create strategies to help manage its impact and empower you to make positive changes. We want to help you feel like you again.
CBT, which is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), can help you understand and manage the relationship between your behaviours, thoughts and feelings, and physical sensations, and how this maintains your stress. It provides techniques to better manage how you are feeling and helps break down the vicious circle so often associated with stress.
To find out more about the service and to make a self-referral, visit www.letstalkglos.nhs.uk or call 0800 073 2200. You do not need to visit your GP in order to access the support. After referring yourself to the service, you will be invited to an assessment call with a trained clinician who will discuss how you are feeling and the treatment options available to you. Treatments are delivered by trained therapists and will either be provided online, on the phone or in person.
