For Lucy, juggling work while caring for a failing, elderly parent was a fact of life. Like many people, she overlooked her own well-being. She kept her increasing stress to herself, trying to deal with everything on her own – not recognising her growing illness or understanding its cause. As time passed, coping got harder. Providing care was more demanding, enveloping more of her life. Stress and anxiety built up, leading to depression. Something had to give.
Lucy’s situation isn’t unusual. Many of those suffering from mental health issues believe they can get by without help, or don’t know where to go for help, are worried that they may be forced to take medication or are concerned about the views of others.
At work, Lucy was unable to concentrate. She felt overwhelmed. To help, her employer gave her time off. After ten days, they also directed her to MorganAsh, so she could get specialist support.
Lucy spoke to a MorganAsh nurse, Ashley. Offering empathy and understanding, Ashley enabled Lucy to open up about her personal circumstances. Ashley guided Lucy towards understanding the cause of her mental health issues. Lucy was, she admitted, not only struggling to provide the care her parent needed – but was also receiving little support from her family.
Ashley recommended some practical steps to help. These included sitting down with her family and agreeing the need to share her parent’s care, using the free-of-charge counselling service which Ashley recommended, speaking with her GP and utilising a range of suggested self-help resources.
Lucy worked through each of these steps until she was strong enough to return to her job, around four weeks later. Over the next few months, Lucy called Ashley for additional help and support as and when it was needed, making the process of going back to work a smoother, supported transition. MorganAsh helped to halt Lucy’s downward spiral, enabled her to recognise the issues fuelling her illness and directed her to resources and people who could help.
Looking back on the experience, Lucy says that the emotional support provided by Ashley was invaluable. As a direct result of Ashley’s help, Lucy’s family realised the toll that caring alone had taken – and stepped in to provide the help needed. This, along with Ashley’s other recommendations, enabled Lucy to not only return to work but also regain her sense of well-being.
Depression is the predominant mental health problem worldwide. According to the mental health charity Mind, at any one time around one in six people experience a mental health problem such as anxiety or depression. It is estimated that mental health issues cost UK employers almost £35 billion in 2016 – through increased staff turnover, reduced productivity and increased sickness absence.
MorganAsh provides a range of support services, staffed by qualified nurses – helping people get their lives back on track, or enabling them to adjust to changed circumstances.