Talk Changes
Improving Access to Psychological Therapies in
City and Hackney

What is Depression?

Depression is a word commonly used to describe feeling low in mood. When low mood lasts a long time or feels overwhelming then this may indicate a depressive disorder. Symptoms of depression usually last for at least 2 weeks and significantly interfere with people’s day to day lives. People often report feeling depressed in mood and experience a loss of interest or pleasure in doing things. Other symptoms include, fatigue or loss of energy and feelings of worthlessness. People with depression often find it hard to concentrate; they lose motivation to get things done and often stop doing the things they used to enjoy. If you find yourself feeling low and withdrawn, depression can be effectively treated with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

What is OCD?

People often think of OCD meaning someone who likes things to be a certain way, such as a tidy house but OCD is much more than this. Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety-related condition where a person experiences intrusive and unwelcome obsessional thoughts, often followed by repetitive compulsions, impulses or urges, such as checking or counting.

An obsession is often an unwanted and unpleasant thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters a person’s mind, causing heightened feelings of anxiety. A compulsion is a repetitive behaviour or mental act that a person does to try and provide some relief from the distressing thought but the relief is often only short lived.

OCD can have a significant impact on a person’s life, whereby they spend an hour or more a day on their compulsions or urges. OCD interferes with everyday life including home, school or work, family life and relationships.

If you experience frequent obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours, OCD has been proven to be effectively treated with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Panic Disorder

Panic attacks describes an overwhelming sense of fear and anxiety that comes on suddenly and reaches a peak within 10 minutes. During these panic attacks people usually experience physical symptoms such as:

• Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate.
• Sweating.
• Trembling or shaking.
• Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering.
• A feeling of choking.
• Chest pain or discomfort.
• Nausea or abdominal distress.
• Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint.
• Fear of losing control or going crazy.
• Fear of dying.

Panic attacks can be very frightening and intense, but they are not dangerous. An attack won't cause you any physical harm; although due to the strong physical symptoms many people do believe that something is physically wrong.

If you are experiencing panic attacks, a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be effective in treating panic attacks.

What is Postnatal Depression?

Postnatal Depression (PND) is a depressive illness that can start any time in the first year after having a baby. It is different to baby blues, which usually starts 3-4 days after birth and stops by the time the baby is 10 days old. PND continues for over 2 weeks and without treatment it can last for months. Symptoms usually include persistent sadness, irritability, inability to enjoy things, low energy, changes in sleeping or eating patterns, reduced libido, poor concentration, difficulty bonding with the baby and anxiety about harming the baby.

What is Self-Esteem?

People with low self-esteem tend to themselves down, despite what their family and friends might think of them.
As a result, low self-esteem can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety when fear they have failed or may be criticised in some way. This can have a negative impact on a person’s life.

If you recognise that you have low self-esteem, a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be effective.

What is Social Anxiety?

The fear of being judged negatively by other people. Even the most confident people can feel anxious for example when giving a presentation, but people with social anxiety find lots of social situations difficult. The feelings can be overwhelming in lots of different social situations. Physical symptoms can include trembling, shaking, heart palpations and blushing. As a result people with social anxiety may try to avoid social events or find different ways to cope with them that are less helpful, such as drinking alcohol or avoid eye contact with new people.

If you are experiencing social anxiety, a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be effective.

What is Stress?

A certain amount of stress is a normal part of life and it can be a useful motivator to take action, helping to improve performance. However too much stress can be overwhelming and lead to symptoms of anxiety and low mood. People who experience stress over a long period of time can feel the physical effects of stress such as headaches, tiredness, heart palpitations and fatigue. People cope with stress in different ways and a course of CBT can help you to manage stress better.

What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

PTSD describes the problems people experience after a traumatic event (a shocking, terrifying event that threatens your sense of safety in the world and/or directly threatens your life). The three main areas of difficulty are:

• Re-experiencing the traumatic event as if it is happening again. This could be in the form of flashbacks, images, nightmares, intrusive thoughts or bodily sensations, such as pain.
• Avoidance of the traumatic event. This can take many forms including avoiding talking/thinking about the event, avoiding people, places and activities that may remind you of the event, feeling numb, losing pleasure in activities that were previously enjoyed, feeling distant from people around you or having a sense that your future will be cut short. If these difficulties are more extreme, you may have difficulties experiencing positive feelings, such as love or happiness or notice self-destructive/risky behaviours emerging.
• Hyperarousal. This means increased levels of physiological arousal, such as feeling ‘on edge’, frightened, anxious, unsafe, angry or irritable. It is also common to notice an exaggerated startle response to loud noises. There also may be difficulty concentrating and sleep problems.

People can feel that they’re going mad, but they’re not. All of these are normal reactions to extreme and terrible events and they are usually our minds way of trying to process what has happened to us.