Emotional support

When someone starts losing their sight, hearing or both, they can struggle to cope with the adjustments and frightening new challenges they face.

Sensory loss can have a huge impact on people’s mental health. They may experience a variety of feelings like grief, anxiety, depression, anger, frustration and isolation. These reactions are perfectly normal.

As part of our service, we can assist individuals to find the right organisation to provide the support needed.

  • GP - if you are experiencing anxiety or depression, whether related to your sensory loss or not, you may benefit from professional support; please contact your GP.
  • Counselling - following a sight loss diagnosis, many people find it helpful to talk to someone outside their circle of family and friends. RNIB offers free and confidential support for you and your family through their Sight Loss Counselling team. Call the Helpline on 0303 123 9999 from Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, and Saturday 9am to 1pm or email helpline@rnib.org.uk. You can also get in touch with the counselling team directly by leaving a message on 020 7391 2186 or emailing cwt@rnib.org.uk.

If you are deaf/hard of hearing and struggling with your mental health, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have a list of resources that could support you.

  • Peer support - if you are new to sensory loss, and do not wish to speak to a professional, you may benefit from talking to someone who is going through the same experience as you:
    • Living Well with Sight Loss Course - this free, informal course is the perfect opportunity to meet new people, share experiences, get hints and tips to make life easier and to get support in adapting to your new reality.
    • Living Well with Hearing Loss Course - our free course offers you practical solutions for coping with your hearing loss, help to improve your confidence, communication hints and tips and provides guidance around assistive equipment.
    • Befriending Service - receive regular friendly calls from one our dedicated volunteers. We aim to match clients with volunteers who have the same condition but are further along in their sensory loss journey, enabling vital social contact and experience sharing.
  • Social interactions - studies have shown that there is a connection between social isolation and declining mental health. Social connections can be vital in lowering the risk of depression, particularly prevalent for those with sight and/or hearing loss.

At Vision Northumberland, we can help you find an engaging activity that we hope will enable you to find friendship, knowledge or a community that supports your journey. Vision Northumberland will strive to help you remove barriers to engage in social interactions, empower you to become more confident in communication and work with you to enable you to overcome transport and accessibility issues.

See our Clubs & Support Groups  and Volunteer Transport sections for more details.

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