Starting the conversation this Time to Talk Day

This Time to Talk day, we want to let you know you are not alone.

The annual awareness day, run by Mind charity alongside Rethink Mental Illness, is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation, and this year our Cyber Protect officer Samantha Hancock wanted to share her own story.

Following more awareness being raised on mental health, Samantha has felt encouraged to speak about her experience with stress and anxiety, and how finding the right people to talk to and offer support has put her back on track.

She said: “Unfortunately, I have twice experienced stress and anxiety – the first time as a Department Manager at another police force.

“The first time was during austerity and transformation, where it was decided to streamline my team from 11 people to two. Amongst not being able to divulge any information to the team, and being based miles away from upwards support, I felt quite alone in this.

“At the time, I was unaware of what was wrong and felt I was coping well. However, I kept having headaches and funny turns – which I was concerned may be something more serious. I did the wrong thing and for many weeks and kept this well hidden – until it happened whilst driving and I decided I needed to see the doctors.”

After a phone call with the doctor, Samantha attended the surgery later that day, where he diagnosed stress and anxiety. They then opened up a discussion around options and things that could help.

“Whilst I wasn’t required to be “on call”, I was in the habit of leaving my phone on 24/7, checking emails and even taking calls out of hours and at weekends. My first step was to reduce the pressure I put on myself by using the settings to auto turn off the device between 7pm and 7am. Not a big step, but it was actually quite liberating.

“Second was to do more of the things I enjoy - gardening, time with my dogs, pottering in the greenhouse with a glass of fizz! I found that just sitting relaxing in front of the TV didn’t distract me from what was causing the issues, whereas throwing myself in to something I enjoyed, walking, gardening, reading, actually did take my mind of the issues for a while.

“Whilst counselling and support was available, I didn’t feel it was right for me at the time, so doing things like this became really important to allow myself to switch off.

“I look back now and realise that I was fortunate. Everyone has different things that will help – whether it’s talking or medication, and here at Derbyshire we are lucky to have support networks who can help, no matter how big or small your concern.

Samantha experienced a second bout of anxiety some seven years or so after her first experience – which she found was related to the menopause.

She said “We’d all been through those strange covid times, and I felt much less confident despite being in a very public facing role, speaking to audiences of up to 1,000 regularly on live radio, TV interviews etc. I put it down to lockdown, hardly driving, not driving at night etc.

“I would wake, panicky and anxious most nights, not understanding why, and much more emotionally fragile.

It did – however – turn out to be menopause but without the usual obvious signs of hot sweats, mood swings etc, so I hadn’t considered it could be that.

“I was becoming really concerned about anxiety and depression – but after an appointment with a great young lady Doctor, I was offered HRT which I was happy to try, and I cannot begin to describe the difference it has made to my life. 

“The anxiety is gone, my sleeping much improved, my confidence has returned and I’m pretty much ready to take on the world again.

“I’m fortunate to have a very supportive partner at home. I’m also very fortunately to be part of a small but close team, with a fabulous flexible and understanding Supervisor – this makes such a difference when dealing with any other issues on top of general life and work. Another lady from one of the support networks who has a specific interest in menopause also works on our team and she has been great.

“I feel very fortunate to have a Supervisor who listens and is adaptable. Being able to talk about these issues and how I’m feeling – both to family, work and doctors, has made all the difference. Because of this, I’ve got the support I need and I haven’t had to take time out.

“If you are experiencing any struggles with your mental health, or you are concerned about a friend or loved one, please start that conversation. It could be the first step to feeling better and make the world of difference in feeling supported and understood.”

To find out more about Time to Talk Day, and for top tips on how you can start the conversation, visit the Time to Talk Day website.