Skip to navigation | Skip to main content | Skip to footer
Menu
Search the Staffnet siteSearch StaffNet

Staff wellbeing

Mental Health Conditions

Around 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem this year. Not all mental health problems will develop into a mental health condition diagnosis. Below you can find out more on some mental health conditions including signs, symptoms and where to get support. This is not an exhaustive list as there are many mental health conditions. You can find out more on mental health conditions here.  

Anxiety

There are many different types of Anxiety Disorders: feelings of fear and danger can be ongoing and interrupt your daily routine long after the threat has gone. They can make you feel as though things are worse than they actually are. Everyone’s experience of anxiety disorders is different. Not everyone who has an anxiety disorder will experience the same symptoms.

Psychological symptoms can include: racing thoughts/going blank, uncontrollable over-thinking, excessive worrying, difficulties concentrating, feeling irritable, problems with sleep, changes in appetite.

Physical symptoms can include: Sweating, heavy and fast breathing, dry mouth, shaking, fast heartbeat, palpitations, dizziness and fainting, stomach aches and sickness.

 

Bi-polar disorder

Bipolar is a severe mental illness that impacts and causes changes in a person's energy, mood and the ability to perform everyday activities, affecting over 1 million people in the UK. Mood swings, or episodes, can make someone feel very high (mania) or very low (depressive). The cyclic episodes are punctuated by ‘normal’ moods.

Mania episode signs and symptoms may include: Increased energy, activity, restlessness, euphoric mood, extreme irritability, poor concentration, racing thoughts, fast talking, jumping between ideas, sleeplessness, heightened sense of self-importance, drug and alcohol abuse, provocative, intrusive or aggressive behaviour, denial that anything is wrong

Depressive episode signs and symptoms: Sad, anxious or empty-feeling mood, feelings of hopelessness and pessimism, feelings of guilt, worthlessness and helplessness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, decreased energy, difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions, sleeplessness or sleeping too much, change in appetite, unintended weight loss or gain, thoughts of death or suicide.

 

Depression

Depression is a long-lasting mood disorder. Depression occurs when people feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days. It affects your ability to do everyday things, feel pleasure in activities, and can affect sleep and appetite. The symptoms of depression can be complex and vary widely between people.

Symptoms can include: continuous low mood or sadness, lacking energy or feeling exhausted, experiencing 'brain fog', find it hard to think clearly, not wanting to talk to or be with people, feeling hopeless and helpless, not wanting to do things you usually enjoy, using alcohol or drugs to cope with feelings, finding it hard to cope with everyday things and tasks, having thoughts about self-harm. 

 

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses affecting people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds. People with eating disorders use disordered eating behaviour as a way to cope with difficult situations or feelings. This behaviour can include limiting the amount of food eaten, eating very large quantities of food at once, getting rid of food eaten through unhealthy means (e.g. making themselves sick, misusing laxatives, fasting, or excessive exercise), or a combination of these behaviours.

If you have an eating problem, you might: Restrict the amount of food you eat, eat more than you need or feel out of control when you eat, eat regularly in secret or have a fear of eating in public, feel very anxious about eating or digesting food, stick to a rigid set of diet rules or certain foods, feel anxious and upset if you have to eat something else, do things to get rid of what you eat, sometimes known as purging, feel scared of certain types of food, think about food and eating a lot, even all the time, compare your body to other people's and think a lot about its shape or size, check, test and weigh your body very often.

There are different types of eating disorders and it is essential that if you or someone you know is experiencing difficulty, to reach out for support.

 

Post-natal Depression

Postnatal depression is a type of depression that many parents experience after having a baby. It’s a common problem, affecting more than 1 in every 10 women within a year of giving birth. It can also affect fathers and partners. It’s important to get help as soon as possible if you think you might be depressed, as your symptoms could last for months or get worse and have a significant impact on you, your baby and your family.

With the right support most people make a full recovery.

Many women feel a bit down, tearful or anxious in the first week after giving birth. This is often called the "baby blues" and is so common that it's considered ‘normal’. The "baby blues" do not last for more than 2 weeks after giving birth.

Signs and symptoms may include: a persistent feeling of sadness and low mood, lack of enjoyment and loss of interest in the wider world, lack of energy and feeling tired all the time, trouble sleeping at night and feeling sleepy during the day, finding it difficult to look after yourself and your baby, withdrawing from contact with other people, problems concentrating and making decisions, frightening thoughts – for example, about hurting your baby.

Speak to a GP, midwife or health visitor as soon as possible.

 

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complicated mental health problem related to psychosis. There's lots of misconceptions about it. Many experiences and behaviours can be part of schizophrenia. They can start suddenly, or they might develop gradually over time. Each person's experience is unique.

Symptoms may include: a lack of interest in things, feeling disconnected from your emotions, difficulty concentrating, wanting to avoid people, hallucinations such as hearing voices or seeing things others don't, delusions (strong beliefs that others don't share) including paranoid delusions, disorganised thinking and speech, not wanting to look after yourself.