The Mental Health Association is launching a free, new self-help group in Port Macquarie in a bid to improve the lives of people living with problem anxiety.
The group will follow a structured program for 12 weeks, commencing on Tuesday, September 25, between 6:30pm and 8pm.
Anxiety disorders are even more common than depression, with around 10 per cent of Australians affected by an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
“We’ve run these self-help groups for more than ten years and they’ve proven to be very successful in helping people with social anxiety, panic, specific phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder,” said Elizabeth Priestley, CEO of the Mental Health Association NSW.
“We’re really pleased to be able to launch this new group in a regional area of NSW where there is generally a shortage of free services like this one.
“These groups are empowering because people determine their own goals for self-exposure homework. They are taught how to face up to and overcome anxiety – as well as how to deal with possible setbacks,” said Ms Priestley.
Port Macquarie based facilitator of the group, Steve Bonanno, said, “This group will show people who experience anxiety that positive change and recovery is possible. It’s a bit like one of those ‘boot-camp’ personal training groups, but it’s not our muscles that will be getting stronger.
“Like a lot of people, I’ve had times in my life when daily stressors added up and I felt very anxious. Before I learned how to recognise and deal with those feelings, the stress could become overwhelming.
“I also have an anxiety issue of my own to work on – a phobia of spiders. I’m hoping to become braver in my unavoidable face-to-face meetings with our eight-legged friends. I figure if I do the same exercises that everyone in the group is doing, we’ll all be getting stronger together.
“We’ll be sharing practical tips on how to manage these kinds of anxieties and phobias. All of us will probably leave the group with new tools for understanding and managing our own anxieties, no matter what they are.
“I’m also thrilled to be working with a local psychologist who volunteered to be the co-facilitator of this group once she heard about it,” said Mr Bonanno.
The self-help groups follow a structured program and the weekly meetings are facilitated by trained group leaders. Participants are guided step-by-step through a program of gradual exposure to help overcome their worry, fear or anxiety.
The launch of the group comes just one week before Mental Health Month, which is marked in October every year.
To find out more or to join the Self-Help Group, phone Linda on (02) 9339 6093. All enquires are treated as confidential. To find out more about Anxiety Disorders, visit www.mentalhealth.asn.au.
