New video spotlights anxiety during Mental Health Awareness Week

This Mental Health Awareness Week (15-21 May), a local NHS talking therapies service is highlighting the help and support available for people struggling with anxiety.

Anxiety is one of the UK’s most common mental health conditions, affecting six in ten adults at some point in their lifetime, according to the Mental Health Foundation.

Feelings of anxiety can lead to a range of unpleasant physical and mental symptoms, including:

• feeling on edge or fearing the worst
• having trouble sleeping
• feeling disconnected from the world around you
• feeling sick
• a fast heartbeat.

Now Dorset HealthCare’s Steps2Wellbeing service has produced a short, easy-to-understand video on the topic of anxiety – what it feels like and how to manage it.

You can watch the video on the service’s YouTube channel or below.

Liz Doyle, Senior Service Manager at Steps2Wellbeing, said:

“Anxiety is a normal emotion for us all. We may feel anxious when we are sitting a driving test, starting a new job or before a big event.

“There are things we can do to manage our own anxiety, but when feelings of anxiety and worry get out of control, it’s important to remember that there is help available.”

Steps2Wellbeing is an NHS talking therapies service that specialises in helping people to manage anxiety and depression. Its treatments for anxiety are based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which can help people recognise and overcome patterns of thinking and behaviour, to change how they feel for the better.

If you are over 18 and registered with a GP in Dorset and Southampton City, you can refer yourself directly to Steps2Wellbeing.

Referrals can be made online, over the phone or by using a friendly chatbot called Wysa. Just visit www.steps2wellbeing.co.uk