Western Trust relaunches a self-help anxiety app named SHARA

IN 2022, the Western Trust Adult Mental Health and Disability Directorate were delighted to launch a new self-help anxiety reduction application, named SHARA, as a tool to help people suffering from anxiety.

SHARA is aimed at reducing mild anxiety in the comfort of your own home. It describes what anxiety is, the different types of anxiety and helps you to recognise the symptoms of anxiety. It also advises you on how and when to take your medication, provides a list of distraction techniques, useful resources and also consists of suggested activities to help lessen your anxiety.

This application is unique in that it has been designed not just by mental health professionals but with input from other healthcare professions, service users and student nurses from the Ulster University. The aim of this application is to provide an excellent resource for people to manage their anxiety and empower them to develop their mental health resilience as they continue to face challenges in the future. It is not a replacement for face-to-face mental health treatment but an augmentation to existing service.

Jennifer Sharkey, Suicide Liaison Officer at the Western Trust explains: “This is a person centred and individualised application, it is free and it is accessible to all. It has been designed by a multidisciplinary team within the Western Trust including Nurses, Doctors, Pharmacists and an Occupational Therapist. Service users, families and student nurses have also contributed to the development of SHARA. The information provided will help the user to develop their own personalised tool kit of methods to help them manage their mild anxiety. It focuses on early access to self-help resources to help prevent your symptoms from deteriorating, however, if you have any concerns or feel worse there will be information available on how to access mental health services in your local area at any time either during the day or out of hours.

Laura McLaughlin, Mental Health Liaison Service Manager at the Western Trust said: “The feedback from service users and student nurses from Ulster University has been very positive and Western Trust management staff have also reported that they have utilised the application themselves and with staff who are experiencing anxiety.

Following maternity leaves, both Laura and Jennifer have had a re-launch of the application and will be leading events in both sectors of the Western Trust to promote the application over the next few months.