Nurse credits free NHS Wales app with saving her from depression 'Tsunami'
A nurse has revealed how an app available free with NHS Wales rescued her from a crippling episode of depression and anxiety which left her a virtual recluse.
Maria Anderton, from Swansea, turned to SilverCloud® Wales for support when depression made her feel like she wanted to ‘disappear’.
The online platform – which can be used on a computer, tablet or through smartphone app - offers a range of guided, self-help programmes based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Maria said it helped her make sense of her thoughts and feelings, snapped her out of isolation and eventually enabled her to return to work.
Said Maria: “It was a lifeline. I experienced a mental health challenge that was life altering, but SilverCloud absolutely worked for me.”
Maria explained how her problems began insidiously with a bout of insomnia.
“I was unable to sleep, I was ruminating and couldn’t shut off,” she says. Then I became isolated. I wasn't seeing family or friends.
“I was anxious, fearful, and couldn’t concentrate on anything. Eventually it got to the stage where I found it difficult to get out of bed in the morning. If I did make it out of bed, it was just to huddle in a corner. I couldn’t even read or watch television.
“I was overcome with feelings of fear, vulnerability, tension, anxiety, failure – it all came at once and overwhelmed me like a tsunami. I literally didn’t recognise myself.”
Maria, a practice development nurse who has experience managing mental health services, was advised by an NHS care navigator to try SilverCloud®.
“They explained to me it was available there and then. There were no waiting lists so I could start using it immediately,” she recalls.
“At a time when everything felt so difficult, to be given a website address which I could just click on and access this service was brilliant.
“It felt like the right fit for me – by this time I wasn't able to go out, I didn't want to talk to anybody or face anyone. SilverCloud felt like something that was doable.”
Maria signed up to a 12-week programme for support managing anxiety and depression.
The course includes practical tools and exercises alongside video content and real-life stories of others who have experienced mental health issues.
It can be accessed 24/7 and completed on any device with an internet connection.
“I found the journalling aspect of the programme particularly useful,” Maria says.
“Writing down all the thoughts I was having and recording how they were making me feel was a real eye opener. It made me realise that I was dwelling on some unresolved and very difficult issues.
“I’d do it in bed every night - it became part of my routine to settle myself, because sleep had been such an early indicator of things not being right.
“In a fairly short space of time of using Silver Cloud, I started to do little things that I hadn’t done for a number of weeks that were quite a significant improvement.
“I started to get some structure and routine into my day, which meant I had to get out of bed in the morning, and then I'd be up, and I could plan something that I could look forward to.”
SilverCloud®’s suite of programmes is available free of charge to anyone in Wales aged 16 or over, without the need to see a GP.
Besides support for adults, there are programmes for young people and students, as well as parents and caregivers supporting an anxious child or teen.
Tools and resources are downloadable, and Maria said that she often returns to them for a boost when times feel challenging.
“If I suddenly feel like I'm not dealing with things, I go back SilverCloud and go through the process again,” she says.
“What thoughts are happening in my head? What am I overthinking? How are those thoughts making me feel? And then what's happening in terms of my behaviour?”
Maria added: “If someone like myself with knowledge of supporting others can experience such a significant, period of ill health, and then any of us can - none of us is immune.
“SilverCloud proved very effective - it literally broke the cycle.”
SilverCloud® Wales is available to anyone aged 16 and over living in Wales, without GP referral.
To sign up, visit nhswales.silvercloudhealth.com/signup
Published: 28/05/2025