Help for Stress in the UK: Where to Start

The NHS says stress can affect how you feel physically and mentally, and how you behave, and it's not always easy to recognise when stress is the reason. Signs can include:

• Physical: headaches or dizziness, muscle tension or pain, stomach problems, chest pain or a faster heartbeat, and sexual problems.
• Mental: difficulty concentrating, struggling to make decisions, feeling overwhelmed, constantly worrying, and being forgetful.
• Behaviour: being irritable and snappy, sleeping or eating too much or too little, avoiding certain places or people, and drinking or smoking more.

Some of these can have other causes, so see a GP if you're worried about a physical symptom. The NHS says stress is usually a reaction to mental or emotional pressure and is often related to feeling you are losing control. Common causes include work, family and relationships, money worries and health, and even big life events such as buying a house, having a baby or planning a wedding. Source: NHS: stress.

The NHS suggests:

• talking about your feelings to a friend, family member or health professional, or calling Samaritans on 116 123 if you need someone to talk to
• 10 stress busters, including getting started with exercise and setting aside time for yourself
• easy time-management techniques and breathing exercises
• planning ahead for stressful days or events
• peer support, where people use their experiences to help each other (Mind: finding peer support)
• setting small targets you can easily achieve rather than trying to do everything at once
• trying not to use alcohol, cigarettes, gambling or drugs to relieve stress, because these can add to poor mental health

Mind has advice on managing stress and building resilience, which the NHS links to.

The NHS says NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression may be able to help with stress. In England, if you're 18 or over (or 16 or over in some areas), you can refer yourself directly without talking to a GP: find your local service. The NHS says to see a GP if you're struggling to cope with stress, things you're trying yourself are not helping, or you would prefer a referral from a GP. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a GP is usually the first step. For under-18s, see NHS: mental health support for children and young people.

If you need help urgently but it isn't an emergency, the NHS says you can call 111 or use 111 online. For a mental health emergency, call 999 or go to A&E.

If you want to start sooner, choose who you see, or talk through what is behind the stress, you can see a private practitioner. Several professions help with stress, and none is better for everyone. Ask about their experience with what you are facing, such as work pressure, caring or relationships, and what approach they use:

• Counsellors and psychotherapists.
• Practitioner psychologists, such as clinical, counselling and occupational psychologists, who are on the HCPC register.
• CBT therapists.
• Arts therapists, if putting feelings into words is hard.
• Occupational therapists, who can help with routines, pacing and getting back to work or study.
• Psychiatrists, medical doctors who can assess, diagnose and prescribe.

Whoever you choose, check their register and ask about fees, session length and how you will review progress together. See questions to ask before you book and how much therapy costs. On Therapist Circle, each practitioner's registration is checked when they join, and their profile shows the register and number so you can check it yourself.