Depression & anxiety programme for Coronary Heart Disease

Living with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) can have a major impact on your mental health and wellbeing.

SilverCloud® by Amwell® is a digital therapy course. It will help you to learn about the link between CHD, low mood and worry. By taking the Depression and Anxiety for CHD programme, you can find new ways to manage your symptoms, and begin to make positive changes in your life.

Knowledge and understanding

CHD is a physical condition, but it also affects you emotionally and has an impact on your daily life. So, it’s the case that many people with CHD also experience depression and anxiety. Feeling this way can stop you from doing things you enjoy or that would help you to feel better. In this programme you’ll learn about the connection between your mental and physical health – and how working on one can help with the other.

Skills and strategies

You’ll learn how to catch unhelpful thoughts and deal with them so they don’t take over your thinking. The programme will help you to find things you enjoy, and to feel better about doing them. You will learn it all in small, easy steps.

Forging ahead

By the end of the programme, you will understand your condition better and know how to manage it. And you will make a plan to continue your progress and stay well in the future.

Find out more on the Silvercloud website

Is this programme for me?

This programme can help you learn about CHD and how to manage the symptoms of depression and anxiety that can often come along with it.

You can access the programme on your phone, computer or tablet – wherever and whenever you need it. You can work through it at your own pace. For most people it takes about eight weeks.

There may be days when you don’t feel like using your programme – but even just taking a moment to log your mood or do a relaxation exercise can help you to keep going. The smallest actions can make a real difference to how you’re feeling.

Modules in the depression and anxiety for CHD programme:

Getting Started – Find out about CBT and how it can help you to feel better.
Understanding Feelings – Tune in to how you’re feeling to get to the source of any anxiety.
Boosting Behaviour – Doing things differently can boost your mood. This module shows you how.
Spotting Thoughts – Catch those thoughts that pop into your mind and stop you from seeing things as they really are.
Challenging Thoughts – Learn how to tackle negative thinking.
Facing Your Fears – Learn how to face your fears, by breaking them down into small steps.
Managing Worry – See the role that worry plays in anxiety and learn how to manage it.
Bringing it All Together – Reflect on what you have learned and how you can put it into practice when challenges emerge.

These modules contain many helpful tools and activities including:

Personal stories – Find out how other people experience depression and anxiety linked to CHD and how this programme helped them. It can help to realise you are not alone.
Quizzes – Test your knowledge about CHD and wellbeing. Learn about the factors that affect it.
Mindfulness exercises – Take a moment to slow down and find peace with our podcasts.
Personal journal – Keeping a journal can help to work through your thoughts and feelings. It can help you solve problems, too.
Worry Tree – Break down problems and find some solutions.
Mood Monitor – Track your mood. See how it is impacted by your lifestyle choices.

Cognitive behaviour therapy

This programme is based on cognitive behaviour therapy, or CBT for short. CBT has been used for many years as an effective treatment for anxiety and depression. It allows you to become more aware of how you are feeling and teaches you to make the changes you need to feel better.

“I’m managing my recovery better and I’m far more positive about the future. I still have bad days, but I have the programme app on my phone, so it’s there when I need it.” - David, SilverCloud® user