This year’s World Mental Health Day theme highlights the importance of access to mental health care in the face of catastrophe and emergency.

For some people those catastrophes and emergencies may be something they connect with through their news feed or experience in light of world and national events.

For others it may be closer to home – experiencing the challenges of illness or injury, prejudice, homelessness, job insecurity or crime. It could be feeling the blows of educational exclusion or caring for a loved one.

Josef Landsberg, Deputy Clinical Lead for Buckinghamshire Talking Therapies, said:

“Feeling overwhelmed isn’t just an emotional response to continual stress. Being exposed to a threat triggers our stress response of fight, flight, freeze or fawn. People may say they are fine or even faint. It can affect both our physical and mental health.”

Sam Sadler, Deputy Clinical Lead, for Oxfordshire Talking Therapies, said:

“There are steps we can take to help protect ourselves from overwhelm. And mental health support available if it all gets too much. It is okay to not be okay. Importantly, there are numerous services offering mental health support – to make sure people are able to access the type of care which is right for them and their circumstances.”

Simple steps you can take

There are some simple steps you can take to help manage overwhelm and reach out for mental health support.

• Set boundaries with the news: Ask yourself how much news content you’re happy to take in, and how often.
• Use grounding exercises: Grounding yourself in the here and now can ease your stress response.
• Talk with others: When you feel overwhelmed, it can help to connect with other people. You could spend some quality time with loved ones.
• Have phone-free times: If you often find yourself doom scrolling, having set phone-free times or zones could help break this habit.
• Focus on what you can control: Small actions still matter. Taking positive action can help shift feelings out of helplessness and into purposefulness.
• Give yourself permission to rest: Taking time to look after yourself doesn’t mean you’ve stopped caring about anything else; it means that you are looking after yourself so that you can keep on caring.

Get the support you need

Access support for your mental health.

NHS Talking Therapies

• Oxfordshire www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/oxon-talking-therapies
• Buckinghamshire www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/bucks-talking-therapies

Mental Health Helpline

Contact NHS 111 Option 2 to speak to Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 24/7 Mental Health Helpline

Text ‘SUNRISE’ to 85258 for urgent mental health support

Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership

Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership offers mental health care and holistic support for people in all aspects of their lives which are affected by and effect their mental health. www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/omhp

Carers

Find out more about the support available to people who care for loved ones accessing our services: www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/carers.