It is normal to feel anxious, sad or depressed during these difficult times. However, there is support out there to help you get through it.

Our Wellbeing Manager, Vicki Burns provides information on how we can support you.

It’s now a full year since we heard that two people with COVID-19 were receiving treatment in a UK hospital and more than 10 months since the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown on live television.

Almost every day of that year has brought us news which can cause anxiety and uncertainty. The pandemic has meant that many of us have sadly experienced losses.

Even if we have been fortunate enough to have remained well and our income secure, we have lived without being able to see our friends and families and our lives are very different from how they were a year ago.

Coupled with the cold weather and long dark nights it’s no wonder that 1 in 4 of us are finding this lockdown harder than we did last Spring.

Normal to feel anxious, sad or depressed

At Epilepsy Scotland we want you to remember that it’s perfectly normal to feel anxious, sad or depressed. It’s also just as normal to feel a bit numb to it all and feel a bit apathetic.

However, if you feel you are spending much more of your time worrying, not enjoying things in the way you did before or having thoughts and feelings which are impacting on your everyday life, we recommend that you get some outside support.

Speak to your GP, Epilepsy Specialist Nurse or see the links at the bottom of this article for more advice.

We are proud to say that Epilepsy Scotland have delivered our adult and youth wellbeing services online and digitally throughout the lockdown period and we’ll continue to offer this over the coming months, whatever they bring.

It might look a little bit different to the work we did in our offices but we think the emotional support, space to relax and place to discuss your worries with others with epilepsy is just as it always was

Our helpline officers have also been running a check-in service for anyone feeling isolated.

We hope you stay safe and well and that you don’t hesitate to call our freephone helpline on 0808 800 2200 or email our wellbeing team at wellbeing@epilepsyscotland.org.uk and we can help support you in these challenging times.

Useful Links

24 Hour helpline and digital support:

Samartians: call for free on 116 123

Resources and further helping organisation about mental health in Scotland.