{"id":290,"date":"2025-07-29T09:33:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T08:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/anxiety-and-low-mood\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T09:34:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T08:34:21","slug":"anxiety-and-low-mood","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/anxiety-and-low-mood\/","title":{"rendered":"Anxiety and Low Mood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Each&nbsp;person&#8217;s reaction to a cardiac event is unique. It is quite normal to experience early feelings of fear, frustration or irritability.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/02\/AnxiousMan-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Man looking through window looking anxious\" class=\"wp-image-403\" style=\"width:256px;height:171px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/02\/AnxiousMan-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/02\/AnxiousMan-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/02\/AnxiousMan-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/02\/AnxiousMan-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/02\/AnxiousMan-1520x1013.jpg 1520w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/02\/AnxiousMan-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2022\/02\/AnxiousMan.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Some people report&nbsp;an initial sense of relief&nbsp;at receiving help and increased appreciation of life.&nbsp;Most people will go through a number of different reactions and gradually feel more positive over time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people experience&nbsp; more prolonged or more severe problems with mood after a cardiac event.&nbsp; If you are concerned that you may be experiencing anxiety or depression, please read the NHS and BHF information below to see whether you recognise these symptoms.&nbsp; Anxiety and depression can&nbsp;become problems which get in the way of your recovery, so&nbsp;please do&nbsp;speak to your cardiac rehabilitation professional or GP.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is not uncommon for patients to experience anxiety or depression. Please read the NHS and BHF information below to see whether you recognise these symptoms.\u00a0 We have also\u00a0included some fictional\u00a0\u00a0cases to illustrate how some of our patients have learnt to manage low mood after a cardiac events using an cognitive behavioural approach <a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2025\/07\/CBT-examples-PDF.pdf\">CBT- case examples<\/a> . Anxiety and depression can become problems which get in the way of your recovery, so\u00a0please do\u00a0speak to your cardiac rehabilitation professional or GP.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some cardiac events and hospital experiences can be traumatic and therefore hard to process and come to terms with.&nbsp; One of the tabs below links to videos made by&nbsp;Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and the Lothian&#8217;s&nbsp;h trauma centre. These were made for people after cardiac arrest but are relevant to other cardiac patients too. For most people these symptoms resolve over the first weeks and months. As above, if you are concerned, then please speak to you cardiac rehabilitation professional or your GP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following pages provide information on mood and&nbsp;include a number of resources which guide you to better manage your mood and work towards psychological wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/mental-health\/self-help\/guides-tools-and-activities\/mental-wellbeing-audio-guides\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mental wellbeing audio guides<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhf.org.uk\/informationsupport\/heart-matters-magazine\/wellbeing\/mental-health\/coping-with-anxiety-and-depression\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Coping with anxiety and depression<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is PTSD?\" width=\"1520\" height=\"855\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7WRAoQuKjH0?start=29&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Who gets PTSD?\" width=\"1520\" height=\"855\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ke-QRXaeE5g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to recognise PTSD\" width=\"1520\" height=\"855\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IHQevrwCLjg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"PTSD: What to do\" width=\"1520\" height=\"855\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LUJ7Q2aAY5w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each&nbsp;person&rsquo;s reaction to a cardiac event is unique. It is quite normal to experience early feelings of fear, frustration or irritability. Some people report&nbsp;an initial sense of relief&nbsp;at receiving help and increased appreciation of life.&nbsp;Most people will go through a number of different reactions and gradually feel more positive over time.&nbsp; Some people experience&nbsp; more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/widewidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-290","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"davidmcbain","author_link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/author\/davidmcbain\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":false,"rttpg_excerpt":"Each&nbsp;person&rsquo;s reaction to a cardiac event is unique. It is quite normal to experience early feelings of fear, frustration or irritability. Some people report&nbsp;an initial sense of relief&nbsp;at receiving help and increased appreciation of life.&nbsp;Most people will go through a number of different reactions and gradually feel more positive over time.&nbsp; Some people experience&nbsp; more","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":586,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/290\/revisions\/586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/cardiacrehabilitation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}