Very difficult, more or less impossible. Nobody wants to help people with mental health issues nowadays, they are just making it into everyday life issues.

Not great.

Myself and husband have seeked help through the doctors and we don’t get anywhere. So I did some research and came across a site where you could email or text instead of phoning. So I tried that as I’m not confident on a phone or in person. But all I got was I should see the doctor and they are not here as a listening ear.

So I just thought what’s the point. I have been on anti depressants before(over 10 years ago) and everything went very straightforward and no messing about. Just not the case now.

Even asked for help in regards to my son, help that helps me become a better mum and how to handle situations as I was and still am getting very flustered with. I got told they would refer me to something and it’s been a few months and still not heard anything.

So now I just think the way to get better is through me, only I can change it, only I can do anything about it and I just have to tough it out.

I live in a small town in West Yorkshire,

travel is fairly easy, quick to get to work and local places. However a number of services have reduced the support or completely shut down due to funding.

My children used to access local swimming baths, leisure centre, etc they have shut down too.

I don’t have much money now and am waiting for month end.

Not much healthy food in the cupboards and I feel bad that I have to cook bread and baked beans for supper most nights.

It was a bit of a blur for me. I was put on antidepressants at the time but I had to speak to my GP about my mental health. He could see the state I was in and agreed I could have help. I was signposted to different organisations and put on a waiting list to see a counsellor. My GP warned me that I would be flagged by social services. At one point I had my own family support worker who organised weekly food deliveries. This was over the pandemic. It was a while before I saw a counsellor online and I only had 6 sessions before they stopped. I received support quickly and was grateful for the support I received. I’m not sure about now. I think there have been lots of changes to the system.

I've found getting the right mental health support in my area fairly challenging.

This has mainly been because of a general lack of funding or an inconsistency of funding for projects that deal with this issue. I see this so often in some of the voluntary work I'm currently involved in.

In fact sadly I also believe that mental health is not often taken very seriously in our society, because sometimes it's difficult to prove to professionals that you have such a condition in the first place, unless you are severely mentally ill.

I have accessed mental health support services in the past, and at that time, I found it helpful. However, more recently, it has been difficult to get the right support. I feel like it's hard for professionals to take my current experiences of stress seriously, which has made it more challenging to access the help I need. It can be discouraging when you're reaching out and not fully heard or understood.

Larger percentage of immigrants especially asylum seekers in the UK are facing mental health challenges as a result of difficult asylum process. In the recent time, incessant changes in immigration policy.

I particularly need help with my mental health because I have been in the asylum process for over 4 year and my mental health is affected as a result of that.

So both of my cats are elderly, one of them needs dental and the vets have quoted £900! Thank goodness for PDSA. They've quoted me £360. It means I can get this together by working extra and borrowing some. It means my cat will be OK. Am feeling relieved.

The biggest challenge for living in the South East on a low income is the disparity between the Housing Element of UC (based on the LHA rate) and the realities of renting. My rent for a 2 bed flat is £1,200 a month yet LHA is £895. A quick review of 2 bed flats in [my area] would show this is in fact quite an average rent if not on the low side for 2 beds. Raising LHA to reflect real rents across the South and London would probably have the most transformative effect on child poverty I can think of and it is of course targeted on child poverty because of the way entitlements work for single people (i.e. entitlement to a single room under 35 or 1 bed so if the government were particularly focused on child poverty rather than poverty overall they could raise LHA for 2 bed and up only if they really wanted to).

The other challenge related to housing locally is that if my daughter turns 10 this year and I'll be entitled to a 3 bed LHA Housing Element (£1,200 ironically) but search 3 bed properties to rent in [local] area and you'll find a grand total of 8 properties to choose from (one at £1,500, most around £1,600-£1,700 but 3 listed above £1,700 so in reality about 5 properties anywhere near affordable). The social housing wait list is extremely long and in reality by the time I would get a social rent property my daughter will be likely looking at universities! The government goal of 1.5million new home is admirable but it would have the most impact if those homes were planned properly - with many for social rent and targeted at shortages like 3 bed homes for low-income families. The reality of life is that either: my daughter will continue to share her bedroom with her younger brother into teenage life or I will have to share with my son so she can have her own room or I will be sleeping on the sofa.

Today, I just feel heavy.

There’s so much uncertainty ahead, and it’s starting to wear me down. I still have a balance to pay for my Master’s degree, and with no job at the moment — and my husband also without a stable source of income — it feels like we’re stuck in a storm with no shelter.

We’re both doing everything we can, but when you’re trying to stay afloat and nothing seems to be working out, it’s exhausting — not just physically, but mentally. Some days I try to stay hopeful and tell myself things will get better, but today isn’t one of those days.

I feel tired. We feel tired. Not just from the stress, but from carrying it silently while trying to keep going for our family and our children. It’s hard to plan, hard to sleep, and hard to breathe sometimes under the weight of not knowing what comes next.

I just wanted to be honest about how I’m feeling — because sometimes pretending everything is okay takes more energy than we have left.

Hi Uisce,

Thanks for sharing this week’s question — it really resonates with me.

I live in Dundee, Scotland, and while a lot of people assume that Scotland has better job opportunities or support systems, the reality feels more complicated — especially when you're on a low income. Also, my experience as an international student and a mother of three has been very different.

There are some good things here — for example, access to certain services like the Free bus pass for children or free prescriptions definitely helps, and I appreciate that Scotland is trying to do more around poverty. But in terms of actual job opportunities, I often feel stuck. Dundee is a small city, and while there are jobs around, many of them are **low-paid**, **part-time**, or on **zero-hour contracts**. It’s really hard to find something stable, especially if you don’t drive or have specific qualifications.

Transport is another big barrier. If the job is outside the city or requires odd hours, it’s not always possible to get there by public transport, and taxis are too expensive. That means I have to turn down roles I might otherwise be willing to take.

Childcare is another big issue. Even if I could find more work, I’d struggle to afford childcare or to find childcare that fits with the kind of jobs available. And because I don’t have a car, travelling for work or accessing services outside the city centre can be really difficult.

So yes, I do think where I live affects my opportunities — not just for work, but also in terms of accessing support, childcare, and training. I think people assume that just because it’s in Scotland, there are lots of options — but for those of us on the ground, it’s not always that simple.

I appreciate being able to share this, because these realities often get missed when people talk about opportunity — it doesn’t look the same for everyone. It’s encouraging to know these voices are being heard.