Anxiety most common mental health issue in Westmeath

Anxiety is the most common mental health issue in Westmeath according to recent studies.

Turn2Me, a national mental health charity, has released statistics on its most common presenting mental health issues over the past six months.

Anxiety was the most common presenting issue for people living in Westmeath. The number from the county experiencing anxiety (64%) was almost triple the number of people experiencing depression (22%) and relationship issues (8%).

The remaining 6% was made up of grief, LGBTQ+ issues and other reasons.

Fiona O’Malley, CEO of Turn2Me, said anxiety is "by far" the most common presenting issue the research has shown.

“This can be broken down into sub-categories, which relate to anxiety over work, financial pressures, climate anxiety and exam anxiety to name a few. We’re also seeing a slight shift in the age profile of our average users from Westmeath.

"We have users from the ages of 18 to 84, however, last year the majority of our users were in the 18 – 24 age bracket. This is changing slightly though, as the majority of our users are in the 20 – 26 age bracket now," Fiona said.

Turn2me was founded in 2009 stemming from the very personal experiences of Oisin and Diarmuid Scollard, who lost their brother, Cormac, to suicide in 2003.

In 2013, Turn2me gained the support of the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention to deliver counselling online. In 2019, Turn2me joined forces with ReachOut Ireland to create a space for young people to find information to support their mental health online.

As of September 2021, Turn2me offers adult counselling and peer support services to people living in Ireland. The charity helps in the region of 10,000 adults every year with their anxiety, grief, and depression and has helped over 130,000 since starting out in 2009.

"People use our services for lots of different reasons. While we are a small charity, we punch way above our weight, helping around 10,000 adults living in Ireland every year. If anyone needs to use our services, we are free, professional and we run 365 days a year, even on Christmas Day. We offer up to six free counselling sessions, and free, unlimited support groups on anxiety, depression, grief and relationship issues." Ms. O'Malley concluded.

Anyone who may need to seek help can avail of the services by visiting: Turn2Me.ie