Grace*, a 30-year-old woman who describes herself as African British, was referred to our Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service after she experienced health anxiety that limited her life.
Grace’s anxiety around her asthma meant that she avoided doing the things she enjoyed for fear of triggering an asthma attack. As a single parent to young children, she was worried about what would happen if she became unwell and unable to care for them.
Over time, her anxiety had a significant impact on her everyday life, leading her to stop working.
These fears meant that Grace only left the house only when absolutely necessary. She would wake up hours earlier than she needed to, worried that rushing may bring on an attack. Over time, she stopped engaging in hobbies like sewing and cooking her favourite African foods because of fears that they could bring on an attack.
Building a support plan
After she was referred to us, Grace started cognitive behavioural therapy sessions through NHS Talking Therapies with one of our therapists, Sarah. Both of them were able to set goals to help Grace overcome some of the challenges she faced.
Over the sessions she had with us, Sarah guided Grace through some techniques and thought experiments to help reduce her avoidant behaviours in a safe way, challenging the thoughts she was having that caused them.
Building back confidence
Using these strategies, Grace pushed herself to participate more in her favourite hobbies, building her confidence and improving her quality of life.
She felt like she was getting back to her own life, doing the things that she enjoyed again. She felt more confident taking her children out to the park and cooking the food she enjoyed the most.
Together with Sarah, Grace was able to create a relapse prevention plan when coming to the end of her sessions, setting challenges for herself to continue her progress.
Find out more about our services for adults here.
*Names are anonymised for confidentiality
