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Care Opinion

Support for feeling stressed and anxious

Posted By Bonica

"Support for feeling stressed and anxious"

About: Back on Track (Hammersmith and Fulham IAPT)

(as a service user),

I had been unhappy and stressed in my job for a while. I wasn't enjoying key elements of my role and I found my manager difficult to deal with. 

I had managed my stress by going to the gym, exercising, running, avoiding alcohol in the week, sleeping and eating healthily but then at the end of last year it all got too much and I found I was crying a lot and feeling so low. 

I went to see my GP, she mentioned Back on Track so I gave them a call. After a few phone calls, I was told I could start attending a 1 to 1 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions. I was very lucky I didn't have to wait. During the sessions,I did exercises with my therapist which helped to challenge my negative thinking patterns, some which I'd probably had for a long time. I also had some homework which really helped too.I had 6 half hour sessions, I think perhaps the sessions could have been longer as 30min is very short. I also attended the mindfulness and assertiveness workshops which were great. Going forwards, I am now equipped with knowledge and know what I need to do should I slip back into negative thinking which is likely. All of this is work in progress, so I need to regularly do relaxation exercises, mindfulness, yoga etc to help me deal with stress. 
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Responses

Response from Katie Jeffs, Deputy Clinical Lead, West London NHS Trust 6 years ago
Katie Jeffs
Deputy Clinical Lead,
West London NHS Trust

Submitted on 27/02/2018 at 17:01
Published on Care Opinion on 28/02/2018 at 09:05

Thank you very much for posting about your experience at Back on Track. We are so pleased to hear that your experience has been a helpful one and that you did not have to wait very long to access this support. We are continuing to make changes at Back on Track to ensure that waiting times are kept to a minimum. It is also great to hear that you now feel you have the tools you need to equip you, should you run into difficulties in the future.

Should you require our support in the future, do feel free to self refer on our main number or speak to your GP about a referral.

We wish you all the best for the future.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Bonica (a service user)

Thank you for your response Katie. I just wanted to add that I think the Back on Track service is a brilliant one, I am so grateful that I was able to attend the sessions for free. I was in despair a couple of months ago and certainly do not have the money to pay for expensive therapists/counsellors. I think the council should publicise this service more and the government should help fund this service. I think this service could go a long way to support people who are depressed, lacking confidence, self-esteem which are the root causes of homelessness, drug abuse and alcoholism,

Thanks again to all the Back on Track team in Hammersmith for their help and support.

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