Rachel thanks TALKWORKS and shares her story

Rachel struggled with the emotional and physical symptoms of anxiety for a number of years in silence. When she contacted TALKWORKS for support, she found that therapy played a key part in her recovery:

“For years I had been struggling with anxiety but never told anyone. To me, it was my personal struggle that I didn’t want to bother anyone else with. I struggled for a very long time with many things, from university stress to general everyday life activities. I was in an endless cycle of worrying thoughts to the point I started having physical anxiety symptoms. From sweaty palms to chest pains, I was truly experiencing the full spectrum of weird and wonderful symptoms that I never knew to be linked to anxiety. This was all new to me and soon the added worries of physical symptoms led to even more anxiety.

After trying my best to ‘just cope’, I quickly realised that wouldn’t work when it came to my anxiety, and I needed to open up. After a few quick googles and some guidance from my university website, I found TALKWORKS.

I spent my summer having therapy with TALKWORKS which ended up being the change I needed. It monumentally changed how I have been living. For years I had heard friends and family say how much therapy helped, but I never believed it - until I did it myself! From weekly talking sessions, homework, online guidance, and support groups – I suddenly started to feel less lonely and like I was starting my path to recovery!

I will forever be grateful for the help TALKWORKS gave me when I needed it. They were absolutely brilliant and a massive help to me! I would recommend them to anyone!”

Anxiety can vary from person to person, but it can include feeling stressed, overwhelmed and experiencing constant worry. This can lead to from withdrawal from activities you previously enjoyed to try and avoid situations which may increase anxiety. If you would like to access support for managing stress and anxiety, TALKWORKS is here to help.

Our NHS therapists will listen to understand more about the emotional and physical difficulties you are experiencing, and then work with you to help get you feeling more like yourself again. If you’re age 18+ living in Devon (outside of Plymouth which has its own service, Plymouth Options) you can self-refer to our service by calling 0300 555 3344 or by completing the online self-referral form on our website.