What is the Wardley Wellbeing Hub?

The Wardley Wellbeing Hub is the central area for the ACTNow campaign.

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We’re constantly working to bring you the best and most relevant wellbeing resources. Email is our main way of contacting you to give you updates when new & important free content becomes available. By signing up to the ACTNow campaign, you will receive regular communications from Pharmacist Support, keeping you in the know about ACTNow, Pharmacist Support, and pharmacy sector news. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of our emails.

As a charity, we respect your privacy. We will not lend, sell, or rent your email address to anyone, so you never have to worry that your e-mail address will be used outside of Pharmacist Support. View our full privacy notice.

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Sleep & mental health 

Dealing with sleep problems related to mental health conditions

Conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress commonly cause insomnia and sleep disturbances. Equally, people who suffer from a severe sleep problem over a long period of time can go on to develop a mental health problem. Often, people with long-term sleep problems can develop unhelpful thoughts and associations with sleep that make the problem worse. 

In these instances cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help people to change negative patterns of thinking and behaviour. CBT, also known as a talking therapy, can be offered for a range of sleep problems. 

The Mind website has advice about how to deal with sleep problems that are related to mental health conditions, for example, anxiety and depression. For further information, see the Mind website. 

Accessing NHS therapy services 

The NHS England Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme is designed to help people to access therapy easily. Anyone who needs therapy, such as counselling, can access it through their GP, workplace, educational establishment or voluntary and charitable organisations. Ordinarily, this service is free to NHS users and GPs should be aware of what is available to patients in their local area and also make the necessary referral. 

For people who prefer not to go through their GP, some services have a self-referral option which enables you to go directly to a professional therapist. To search for local psychological therapy services, see the NHS Choices website. 

Availability of services can vary and NHS therapy in some parts of England, in particular rural areas or small towns, can be very limited. Equally, people may have to wait a long time or travel some distance to find something suitable. 

If you live in Wales or Scotland, please visit Health in Wales or NHS Scotland for information about services. 

 

Listening Friends 

Pharmacist Support’s Listening Friends telephone helpline is staffed by trained volunteers and provides callers with the opportunity to talk anonymously and in confidence to a pharmacist about any stresses they are facing in their work or home life. You can contact our Listening Friends Helpline on 0808 168 5133, or you could contact our enquiry line on 0808 168 2233. 

Other useful information 

Regional UK sleep clinics 

Sleep centres can help with the diagnosis and management of sleep disorders. People will need a referral from their GP in order to access an NHS sleep clinic. For a full list of sleep clinics/centres in the UK, see the Narcolepsy UK website. 

YoungMinds 

YoungMinds is a charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. Parents who are worried about their child’s sleeping habits can call the YoungMinds Parents’ Helpline on 0808 802 5544, or for further information, see the YoungMinds website. 

Nodcasts 

The Sleep Council has a series of nodcasts featuring soothing sounds to help you off to sleep at night. These include birdsong and the sound of the sea. For further information, check out the app.