Mind Your Mind

As lockdown eases, months of stress and anxiety are taking their toll on many people's mental wellbeing.To help ease some of that pressure Stepping Stones, a local mental health charity that provides support to people in West Dunbartonshire, is re-opening for self-referrals.And they are now offering some face-to-face appointments as well as 1-1 telephone counselling and online group activities.John White, Operations Director for the charity, said: "At the start of lockdown people we were supporting were experiencing high levels of anxiety and stress."As the lockdown progressed and people didn't feel under any pressure to go out, or when they did it was pretty quiet, it seemed to make things more manageable."We continued to provide telephone support throughout but we were only taking referrals from other support services and GPs."Now we're re-opening our self-referrals and offering a blend of support as we know some people are still anxious to go outside or use public transport."The Stepping Stones office in Clydebank has been adapted to include space for telephone counselling while some of their team will continue to work from home.If you are feeling depressed or struggling with anxiety or stress you can give them a call on 0141 9412929 or email admin@stepstones.org.uk