What can I do if my chronic health condition is affecting my mental health?
Dec. 22, 2021 Katherine Glyde
Firstly, do know that you absolutely aren't alone in feeling like this. If you do feel like you're in any danger or crisis, please do reach out for charities that can give you immediate support. So somewhere like Samaritans or Shout have 24 hours helplines.
If you do need someone to speak to right away. The first case, I would recommend reaching out to your healthcare practitioner about any mental health support available to you.
If you prefer, you can bypass your GP and do a self referral if you Google it on the NHS website that will take you through to the talking therapies nearby.
You might also want to try reaching out to a private therapist. If you're financially able to do that, there are therapists out there who specialise in chronic health conditions so they will know where you're coming from and have the right tools to support you.
Therapy comes in a massive number of forms. So do some research beforehand to see what you feel like might suit you. And on a daily basis, there are things you can do that will help your mental wellbeing. Journaling, meditation, yoga, all can be super beneficial.
Getting out and getting fresh air, staying hydrated throughout the day, getting good quality sleep each night, and definitely managing your news and social media intake, especially at the moment. Keeping those to a minimum will really help you and just really focusing on the things that make you feel good and giving yourself of that headspace. Potentially look at the calm app or headspace and they have daily meditations that might help you.
If you do need someone to speak to right away. The first case, I would recommend reaching out to your healthcare practitioner about any mental health support available to you.
If you prefer, you can bypass your GP and do a self referral if you Google it on the NHS website that will take you through to the talking therapies nearby.
You might also want to try reaching out to a private therapist. If you're financially able to do that, there are therapists out there who specialise in chronic health conditions so they will know where you're coming from and have the right tools to support you.
Therapy comes in a massive number of forms. So do some research beforehand to see what you feel like might suit you. And on a daily basis, there are things you can do that will help your mental wellbeing. Journaling, meditation, yoga, all can be super beneficial.
Getting out and getting fresh air, staying hydrated throughout the day, getting good quality sleep each night, and definitely managing your news and social media intake, especially at the moment. Keeping those to a minimum will really help you and just really focusing on the things that make you feel good and giving yourself of that headspace. Potentially look at the calm app or headspace and they have daily meditations that might help you.
