The Mental Health service pulled me out of a black hole and got me back to work

Tracey Elliot tells her story of how Teladoc Health’s Mental Health service has made a difference…

“Over the last 11 years I have had various health issues but when I discovered that I had a hearing impairment that was the final straw – I was devasted. I felt my life unravel and I didn’t know how to stop it.

I felt that I was going down a black hole with no way out. I started to feel depressed because I couldn’t see a way to change it. I’ve never suffered from anxiety and depression before. I just didn’t know what to do. It was destroying my quality of life and impacting my work.

My manager knew that I was struggling, and he kept suggesting that I contact Teladoc Health (via my employee benefits) for help. I kept saying ‘yes I will’ but then I spent nearly 3 months ringing the employee assist line and then putting the phone down before it connected! I just felt scared about making the first move.

When I did make contact, it was easy then. On my first call, I was on the phone for an hour just explaining what was wrong. I felt so much better afterwards   – it was like someone had lifted a weight off me. It was so good. I just wished that I hadn’t waited so long.

Each week, my counsellor listened to what was going on for me and gave me some specific exercises to complete between sessions.

When I went back to work, I was very open about the fact I had counselling. I told everyone how good it was and how it had helped me. I just thought if one person just thinks ‘Tracey used that, and she said it was alright’ then that’s worth sharing my experience.

It’s a brilliant service and it has really improved my life. I’m glad that I eventually made the call! I’d highly recommend it to anyone.”