Category: Mental Health Conditions

Anxiety and stress at work are sharply on the rise, and worryingly only a quarter of workplaces are estimated to actually have plans in place to support people should they experience chronic stress. What are the common themes at work that people find anxiety inducing? Tackling these could reduce chances of chronic stress or burnout. We’ve broken down common workplace anxieties and what you can do to support people experiencing them.

My name is Damien and I’ve been working with ISG as a Design Manager for 2.5 years. I have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety for several years now, and I manage my symptoms both through personal methods and also thanks to the support I received from my workplace, which I originally didn’t know existed.

Anxiety can present itself in many different ways for us all, and we have different ways of coping with symptoms and managing our mental health. We spoke to Josh and Mellissa, who told us their unique experiences with anxiety and poor mental health, and how exercise and cycling helped them both to improve their mood and ease feelings of anxiety.

Anxiety is not linear, nor one dimensional and it affects people in different ways. My experience with anxiety started when I was a child. I would not go to sleepovers as I was anxious that I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I was also anxious in school and didn’t really mix with other kids particularly. I was bullied my whole school life. When I was a teenager I suffered very badly with anxiety, I would avoid situations I didn’t feel safe in and hide in my room a lot.

Money worries are leading to suicidal thoughts and panic attacks in people living with severe mental illness amid the cost-of-living crisis, new data from Mental Health UK has revealed, with significant numbers of people experiencing a relapse and having to increase their medication dosage.

Health anxiety is a lesser spoken about condition that can have a severe impact on someone’s life. The anxiety that you’re going to get unwell or that you are unwell can cause daily life to consist of panic and fear. We spoke to Lillian about her experience with health anxiety and how she reached out for support.

Christian was born with facial differences known as severe craniofacial anomalies. Growing up, he had over fifty reconstructive surgeries to transform his appearance and improve his confidence and life outcomes. Opening up to the people he loved is what helped Christian change how he thinks and feels about himself physically, which in turn eased his mental health difficulties.

Fundraiser, Luke Hamer tells us why putting his mental health first made him stronger – as part of our World Mental Health Day campaign encouraging people to make their mental health a priority.

Ramses Oliva is a valued colleague at Mental Health UK, as well as a transgender inclusion specialist and writer. One of his biggest struggles growing up was not having the words to describe his identity. Not only did this not stop him from being gay and transgender, but it also made it extremely difficult to ask for and receive help. Here’s his story.