‘my lockdown panic attacks were so bad i ended up in a&e’

A MUM-OF-THREE says her crippling mental health problems during the coronavirus pandemic led to her needing several spells in A&E.

Laura Williams, from Ely, Cardiff, has suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ever since her son Leo was stillborn in 2016.

Eighteen months on from the tragedy, the 29-year-old was given access to weekly specialist mental health support which has kept her stable.

However the face-to-face therapy was brought to an abrupt halt when the pandemic hit and was replaced by video calls. Her community psychiatric nurse (CPN) also left her post which she claimed significantly affected her continuity of care.

“At one point during lockdown it was quite hard to get through to my mental health team because they were either busy or some of their staff were off shielding,” she recalled.

“Other people I know also found it hard to get through to the crisis teams and were told to call GP out of hours instead which clearly isn’t acceptable.”

As a result, Laura admitted that her mental health took a drastic turn for the worse and her panic attacks became more frequent and debilitating.

“I was constantly having panic attacks, I wasn’t sleeping, I was looking at the same four walls every day,” said Laura, reflecting on her experiences during April and May.

“I was admitted quite a few times to A&E because of how severe my panic attacks were. You cannot breathe, you are all sweaty, you tremble and you find it hard to talk.

“You feel like you’re having a heart attack but you’re not. You have all the symptoms of it like chest pains and tingling in your arms. I just cannot control them.”

Laura said being in the house with her three young children was too much to bear at times.

“It has been mentally challenging, particularly at first when I couldn’t see the rest of my family,” she said.

“This period has been difficult for all of us. When the lockdown first hit all routine went out the window. My children didn’t understand why they couldn’t go out.”

As well as suffering with PTSD Laura has panic disorder which is, ironically, now triggered by going outside.

“Now when I leave the house I ask myself: ‘Should I be going out?’ ‘Will I get

Covid?’ When I wear a mask it’s a huge trigger for me and I feel like I can’t breathe.”

During the first wave of the virus, cemeteries closed their doors as part of a series of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

It meant Laura was unable to visit the grave of her son Leo, who died in her womb after the umbilical cord became wrapped around his neck and body.

“That was a big thing for me as I couldn’t go up there and visit his grave. I thought that was quite cruel as it gave me such comfort,” she said.

Despite the Welsh Government stressing that the fire-break lockdown will end on Monday, November 9, Laura said she still has anxiety over it being extended.

Laura has now created a petition which calls on the Welsh Government to increase funding for mental health services and improve waiting times for people needing help in a crisis. It is available at: https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/

“Lockdown has made people’s mental health worse and has put services under severe pressure,” she said.

“Young children, adults, and the elderly are all suffering and I know in my area there have been a number of suicides recently.”

Mental health charity Mind Cymru claims two-thirds of the population have seen their mental health worsen in response to the pandemic.

A new campaign has been launched called #StandForMe which demands that Members of the Senedd recognise the urgent need for improved support across Wales.

Simon Jones, head of policy at Mind Cymru, said: “Mental health has to be at the heart of the agenda for the 2021 elections and the next Welsh Government.

“Whilst there have been some positive steps in the right direction recently with extra investment, aimed at those most in need and pockets of innovative practice that are making a huge difference to people’s lives, the overall picture is not changing quickly enough.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We understand how really hard these restrictions can be for many, and particularly the impact they are having on people’s mental health.

“We have put an additional £8.5m into mental health services and are doing everything we can to ensure people can access the right support when they need it. We have also changed the regulations to address the very real issue of loneliness for people who live alone.”