mental health
Support for you or someone you care about
Everybody has mental health and we need to take care of it so that we can think, feel and react in ways that we need and want in our lives.
One in four of us will experience a mental health issue every year.
Experiencing a period of poor mental health might mean your thoughts, feelings or reactions become difficult, or even impossible, to cope with.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is what and how we feel when we are worried, tense or afraid – particularly about things that are about to happen, or which we think could happen in the future.
Occasional anxiety is a totally normal human experience. But if your feelings of anxiety are very strong, or last for a long time, they can be overwhelming and affect your day to day life. You might also experience physical symptoms such as sleep problems and panic attacks.
What is depression?
Depression is a feeling of very low mood that lasts for a long time and affects your day to day life. It can make you feel hopeless, despairing, guilty, worthless, unmotivated and exhausted. It can affect your self-esteem, sleep, appetite, sex drive and your physical health.
In its mildest form, depression doesn’t stop you leading a normal life, but it makes everything harder to do and seem less worthwhile. At its most severe, depression can make you feel suicidal, and be life-threatening.
What is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)?
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder. The term is often misused in daily conversation – for example, you might hear people talk about being ‘a bit OCD’, if they like things to be neat and tidy. But the reality of this disorder is a lot more complex and serious.
OCD has two main parts: obsessions (unwelcome thoughts, images, urges, worries or doubts that repeatedly appear in your mind; and compulsions (repetitive activities that you feel you have to do to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession).
What is bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder in the main affects your mood. With this diagnosis you are likely to have times when you experience: manic or hypomanic episodes (feeling high); depressive episodes (feeling low); and potentially some psychotic symptoms.
Everyone has variations in their mood, but in bipolar disorder these swings can feel very extreme and have a big impact on your life. You might have stable times where you experience fewer symptoms.
What are phobias?
A phobia is an extreme form of fear or anxiety triggered by a particular situation (such as going outside) or object (such as wasps or spiders), even when it’s very unlikely to be dangerous.
A fear becomes a phobia if the fear is out of proportion to the danger, it lasts for more than six months, and has a significant impact on how you live your day-to-day life.
What is Schizophrenia?
Lots of people question whether it’s really a distinct condition, or actually a few different conditions that overlap one another. But you may still be given this diagnosis if you experience symptoms such as:
What is personality disorder?
A personality disorder is a type of mental health problem where your attitudes, beliefs and behaviours cause you longstanding problems in your life. It doesn’t mean that you’re fundamentally different from other people – but you may regularly experience difficulties with how you think about yourself and others.
There are several different variations of personality disorder, but most people who are diagnosed with a particular personality disorder don’t fit any single category very clearly or consistently.
Experiencing a mental health problem is often upsetting, confusing and frightening. If you become unwell, you may feel that it’s a sign of weakness, or that you are ‘losing your mind’.
Mental health problems are a common human experience.
There are things you can do to make you feel better:
What can cause me to feel unwell?
Mental health problems can have a wide range of causes. It’s likely that for many people there is a complicated combination of factors that are making them feel unwell.
The following factors could potentially result in a period of poor mental health:
Although lifestyle factors including work, diet, drugs and lack of sleep can all affect your mental health, if you experience a mental health problem there are usually other factors that contribute.
Self-help
Self-care techniques and general lifestyle changes can help you to manage the symptoms of many mental health problems. They may also help prevent some problems from developing or getting worse.
If these work well for you then you may find you don’t need any formal treatment. However, it’s important to remember that there is unlikely to be an instant solution. Recovering from a mental health problem is likely to take time and a lot of energy.
Treatment
Talking treatments will give you regular space for you to talk about your thoughts and experiences and explore difficult feelings with a trained professional. This could help you to:
If you’re referred for therapy through the NHS, you’re likely to be offered a type of talking treatment called cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT is a relatively short-term treatment which aims to identify connections between your thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and to help you develop practical skills to manage any negative patterns that may be causing you difficulties.
The most common type of treatment available is psychiatric medication. These drugs don’t cure mental health problems, but they can ease many symptoms. Which type of drug you are offered will depend on your diagnosis. For example: antidepressants, antipsychotics, sleeping tablets and mood stabilisers.
Arts and creative therapies are a way of using the arts (music, painting, dance or drama) to express and understand yourself in a therapeutic environment, with a trained therapist. This can be especially helpful if you find it difficult to talk about your problems and how you are feeling.
Some people find complementary and alternative therapies helpful to manage stress and other common symptoms of mental health problems. These can include things like yoga, meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy, herbal remedies and acupuncture.
Support services
If your mental health problems are severe or longer lasting, or the treatment your doctor has offered you isn’t working, they can refer you to specialist mental health services such as:
It can be very difficult and distressing to see someone you care about becoming unwell, but you don’t need to be an expert on mental health to offer support. Often small, everyday actions can make the biggest difference.
What to say - and what not to say
It is important to show how concerned you are, rather than disapproval and tell them that you are worried about them.
If you think someone is unwell, don’t be afraid to ask how they are. They might want to talk about it, or they might not. But just letting them know they don’t have to avoid the issue with you is important. Spending time with them lets them know you care, and can help you understand what they’re going through.
Download leaflet for a guide to local support with mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression.
Andy’s Man Club
Real, non-judgmental, talking groups for men, meeting every Monday 7pm, except bank holidays.
The Centre, Brinsworth Lane, Brinsworth, Rotherham, S60 5BU
Be the One – to talk / listen / care
Email: hello@be-the-one.co.uk
Be the One – to talk / listen / care. Working to reduce the number of lives lost to suicide in Rotherham. Website that provides support for those who are in distress and highlights the importance of how to look out for one another and do our bit to help.
IESO Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – online service
0800 074 5560 (confidential)
Monday to Friday, 9am–5.30pm
Online service
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological therapy that helps you spot how some of your thoughts affect your actions and feelings and teaches you about ways in which you can improve how you feel day-to-day.
Therapy such as CBT is traditionally delivered face-to-face. With Ieso, therapy takes place online making it much easier to access as well as less daunting, and allows you to speak to your therapist at a time and place that suits you.
Ieso is working in partnership with the NHS in Rotherham. To be eligible for online CBT on the NHS you must be aged 18 or over and registered with a GP in Rotherham.
Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service
01709 447755
Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm
Local venues (dependent on Coronavirus restrictions)
Interpreting service available
Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) provides an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Service. The service, provided by local therapists, is for Rotherham residents who require support with:
The service offers:
Treatments include:
Mind – Rotherham
Tel: 01709 919929
Email: contactus@rbmind.co.uk
Mind is an independent local provider of high quality mental health services in Rotherham, which offer a variety of services including one-to-one counselling, group sessions, support for young people, training and services for employers. Committed to supporting those in need by promoting good mental health and offering high quality support so that no-one feels alone when dealing with mental health problems.
Bipolar Online Peer Support Group
Bipolar UK are hosting a monthly online peer support groups open to anyone affected by bipolar within Rotherham who is registered with a GP in Rotherham.
If you would like to join the Rotherham support group, the meetings start on Wednesday 16th March online via zoom 7pm – 9pm.
Meetings will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, 7pm – 9pm,
To join, please email supportgroups@bipolaruk.org with “Rotherham 3rd Wednesday online support group” as the subject line, including the name and address of your GP surgery.
The format of the meetings vary, but you will have the opportunity to introduce yourself, say how you are feeling using the Bipolar UK mood scale and may listen to an invited speaker. The groups are organised and facilitated by volunteers who are affected by bipolar in some way.
https://www.bipolaruk.org/rotherham-support-group-online
RDaSH Crisis Team
0800 652 9571 (calls to this number are Free)
If you or someone you know has concerns about their immediate health RDaSH Crisis Team can help. One of our trained call handlers will signpost you to the most appropriate service depending on your level of need. This may include your out of hours GP, a voluntary organisation or our access/crisis team.
Hard of hearing? Deaf? For anyone unable to use the standard telephone line, i.e. hard of hearing, there is a text phone service available.
Please text 07974 603610
RDaSH – Rotherham Early Intervention in Psychosis Team
01709 447446
Swallownest Court, Aughton Road, Swallownest, Sheffield, S26 4TH
The Early Intervention in Psychosis Team work with people who experience a ‘first episode of psychosis’ or are at risk of developing a psychotic illness. Anyone who has concerns that an individual may be experiencing psychosis, including the person themselves, can contact the team for advice, or to make a referral. This service accepts self-referrals which can be made by telephone, in writing, or in person.
Age UK
Tel: 0800 678 1602
Open 8am to 7pm, every day of the year
Age UK is the country’s largest charity dedicated to helping everyone make the most of later life. We provide companionship, advice and support for older people who need it most.
Every Mind Matters
Having good mental health helps us relax more, achieve more and enjoy our lives more. We have expert advice and practical tips to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing.
Shout UK
Text 85258 (24/7 help)
info@giveusashout.org
Shout is the UK’s first 24/7 text service, free on all major mobile networks, for anyone in crisis anytime, anywhere. It’s a place to go if you’re struggling to cope and you need immediate help.
Online NHS Mental Health Help
The NHS website has contact information for a number of mental health helplines.
Combat Stress - Veterans -servicemen and women
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health. Helping former servicemen and women with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The service provides confidential advice and support to veterans and their families.
Tel: 0800 138 1619 (24-hour Helpline, 365 days a year)
Text: 07537 404719
Email: helpline@combatstress.org.uk
Togetherall is an online community for people who are stressed, anxious or feeling low, with round-the-clock support from trained professionals.
Calm Harm provides tasks to help you resist or manage the urge to self-harm.
Catch It – learn how to manage feelings like anxiety and depression.
distrACT gives you easy, quick and discreet access to information and advice about self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Sleepstation is a 6-week online course for people who struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep through the night. The course is tailored to your needs, using the information you provide, and gives you access to a team of sleep experts who will offer helpful advice and support throughout.
My Possible Self: The Mental Health App. Take control of your thoughts, feelings and behaviour with the My Possible Self mental health app. Use the simple learning modules to manage fear, anxiety and stress and tackle unhelpful thinking. Record your experiences and track symptoms to better understand your mental health.
The Pzizz app helps you quickly calm your mind, fall asleep fast, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed.
It uses “dreamscapes” – a mix of music, voiceovers and sound effects designed using the latest clinical research – to help you sleep better at night or take power naps during the day.
With Rotherham Health app you can assess your symptoms, book and manage your appointments, view your medical record and test results, manage your medication and much more, 24/7.
HealthUnlocked is the world’s largest social network for health. Find and connect with people with a similar health condition. The service has over 700 online communities focused on health and wellbeing topics.
Rotherhive is not responsible for content on websites or apps mentioned on the site. Always read the app’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy to see how your data may be used.