From my experience I believe that most people experience some form of mental health disturbance at some point in the life, whether it be a temporary period of low mood, a phobia or some kind of age related dementia.
Anxiety and Depression are two of the most common forms of mental health problem. In my national health job I mainly see people with some kind of anxiety or mood disorder such as:-Social phobia
Anxiety or panic attacks in public places is a very common problem. If this is something that you have experienced you'll know how frightening it can be, the real danger with this is that you may feel that you have started to avoid going out. The supermarket is a common place where this might occur.
The problem with this is that your perceived anxiety will increase, which will increase the chances of you having a further attack next time you go. This is a video that will show you how to use meridian tapping to reduce you anxiety and enable to take control over the situation.
The NICE guidelines recommend Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for anxiety and depression. CBT can be very effective but it often takes several weeks or months to complete a course of CBT which takes a lot of commitment and a certain amount of what psychologists cal 'Psychological mindedness' which basically means that you need to have the ability to be able to process and understand your thoughts and behaviours.
I was trained in CBT by Hazel Nelson in 1999 and specialised in Psychosis. I've heard CBT described as "frighteningly commonsensical" by a psychiatrist that I worked with. In the mental health arena CBT is the latest buzzword and fast becoming the accepted method for dealing with most types of mental disorder, but the essence of what CBT actually is, is not new. Occupational Therapists have been working in a behavioural approach for many years.
In order to receive CBT from a trained professional can take several visits to your GP to get yourself 'heard', you then may have to wait months to see someone. Also the assessment process can take up to 2-3 months before you even get started on therapy.