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In August 2020, Zara Price was worried about her wellbeing.

“I thought that there was something really wrong with me,” she said. It was during the height pandemic and while everyone was struggling to some degree, Zara couldn’t put her finger on why she was having so much difficulty. 

“I couldn’t understand why I would become so anxious over things that were so small,” she said. 

Zara suffered panic attacks and periods of dissociation and says she soon came to realise that a combination of her clinically diagnosed anxiety, CPTSD and the impact of childhood trauma were having a grave effect on her life. Something needed to change. 

“It was important for me to reduce my everyday stresses,” she said, adding that preventative wellbeing exercises and self-care were things she needed to build into her life. 

“My mother didn’t have any wellbeing or practices,” she said, “she turned to alcohol as a means of coping.”

Zara isn’t alone in her struggles with one in four adults experiencing a mental health problem or illness at some point in their life, according to the Welsh Government’s Together for Mental Health strategy.

Her experiences, however, were the ‘driving force’ behind starting The Well Beings Cymru, a mental health service aiming to help people improve their wellbeing practices so that, unlike Zara, they don’t reach breaking point.

“As a society, we find it difficult to deal with stress,” said Zara of the goal behind the service, “we get to the point of crisis.”

General wellbeing practices range from mindfulness to learning a new skill. The preventative approach of the service Zara runs with her friend Leah Fox, includes a Women’s Circle, which runs in Markham, where women can come and talk about their problems in a safe environment.

In a room with cushions, candles and relaxed lighting women sit in a circle and are free to share as much as they want about their lives and their problems, which, according to Zara, is healing.

“It’s that ability to come together and just share your story,” said Zara, “women can gather in a circle and talk about their everyday issues and speak about anxieties.

“You don’t feel so alone and that helps you to overcome a lot of the sort of life stress that we’re feeling.”

The circle is also a place to learn. “We teach wellbeing practices,” said Zara, as each session has a meditation practice and exercises for people to do at home in their own time. 

As an occupational therapy support worker, Zara has seen the damage to people’s mental health when waiting for an appointment. There is something needed in the interim, she said.

Given that in October 2022 nearly than 30,000 people in Aneurin Bevan Health Board were waiting for diagnostic and therapy services, according to Stats Wales, preventative measures can help not only individuals but also strained mental health services.

This may worsen due to the current cost-of-living crisis, according to mental health and social change charity Platfform, which operates across Caerphilly County Borough. 

Platfform told Caerphilly Observer: “Many people in these areas are living in a constant state of crisis from struggling on incomes that don’t cover the bills. This constant worry puts a strain on mental and physical health. When we do not have what we need it puts immense pressure on us, our families, and communities.”

Groups such as the Women’s Circle also have the ability to challenge historical issues too, like the notion that women shouldn’t speak up. 

“Women were silenced,” said Zara, adding that labels such as ‘hysterical’ have undermined women throughout history, “we weren’t allowed to feel emotions.

“Those wounds that were created from that time are obviously still there.”

The Women’s Circle breaks down those barriers and is a place to speak freely and safely. “It’s actually really healing and beneficial for women,” added Zara.

Wellbeing practices for men use a ‘different language’

According to research from the mental health charity, Mind, men have different worries when it comes to their mental health. They often resist accessing mental health services due to struggles to overcome ‘traditional masculine values’ such as self-reliance, stoicism, and being open about problems, which can be seen as a form of weakness.

Yet, things may be changing. Phil Williams, from Pontlottyn, set up the Men’s Den in October 2022 to help men in the Upper Rhymney Valley come together and talk about their problems.

“Men will speak a lot more freely in male company,” said Phil about what makes the male-only environment work. “It’s a different dynamic,” he said, adding that sometimes it can even feel like a “different language”. 

While some of that language may be “fruitier” without the presence of women, fluency in the language of mental health is also a big benefit, according to Phil. 

“People with mental health problems will understand,” he said, adding that someone understanding the meaning behind terms like black cloud, negativity, abyss and spiral is helpful. “You can relate to people.”

Those at the Men’s Den can come and have a cup of tea, a chat or get stuck into environmental and workshop-based tasks.

Currently, the group is looking to restore the community garden in the long-term for people in the area to come and enjoy. This “hands-on” aspect helps men open up, according to Phil who, like Zara, comes to the group with his own personal experience. 

“I’ve been through mental health…suffering to a certain extent,” he said, adding that groups like these provide different benefits to other methods of intervention because of their informality. 

“Sometimes life experience is as important as academic qualifications,” said Phil.

Zara agrees. “It’s powerful,” she said of the Women’s Circle. “We’ve all got wisdom, and we’ve all got experience, no matter what our walks of life are.”

The first Women’s Circle is free to attend and afterwards costs between £8 and £10. The next circle will take place in Markham Community Centre on February 8 from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

Men’s Den runs every Tuesday at Rhymney Bowls Club from 2pm to 4pm.