Plymouth mental health nurse shares struggles to show illness does not discriminate

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A registered mental health nurse from Plymouth has opened up about her own mental struggles to show others "it's ok not to be ok".

Gemma Isaac-Henwood has been prescribed beta blockers to help with her anxiety while waiting for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

She found her mental resilience was worn down over the past year, as she faced dealing with two family bereavements and giving birth during the pandemic.

Having a baby during the pandemic was always going to be difficult but it was Gemma's mental health that suffered most. Credit: Gemma Isaac-Henwood

Gemma said things started to escalate from new mum worries to finding herself worrying about her parents, her friends business and how to keep safe in the pandemic.

It was when she was unable to disconnect from the worry when alarm bells starting to ring.

She said: "I had to take quite a hard look at myself and say actually this is getting a bit heavy now even for me.

"I could recognise I need a bit of assistance with this right now and it was easily remedied by ringing my doctor and having a conversation."

Gemma is now on a waiting list for CBT but is trying to use mindful activities with her young family as a way to cope with mental stress.

She told ITV News West Country: "We spend a lot of time as a family, we spend a lot of time doing things together so like baking cooking walking the dogs for example to make everything feel a bit better and that's a perfect way to practice mindfulness."

Going on dog walks with her family is one way Gemma uses mindfulness to settle her anxiety Credit: Gemma Isaac-Henwood

The organisation Livewell offers support service for people struggling with any kind of mental health crisis.

Psychiatrist Dr Soni Bhate the medical director for the service, she says a lot of people find it hard to recognise when they are struggling.

"I think if you've noticed a change in yourself, if you're a little bit more snappy, or you're not sleeping well, or if there have been little change just notice them and think what's this about - do I need to do something?"

Livewell's emergency First Response helpline has taken more than 15,000 calls since May 2020.

If you feel worried about your mental health or that of a loved one or a friend, you can call the helpline on 0800 923 9323.

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