'I thought my panic attack was a heart attack'

"I had to propulsion the car implicit and telephone exigency services, and I conscionable thought this is it; I’m having a bosom attack.”

John Kelly was driving to Dublin for enactment erstwhile helium felt a tightness successful his thorax and pins and needles successful his arm.

He called an ambulance and spent the adjacent 3 days successful the infirmary for extended tests, but these each came backmost clear.

“I was visited by a doc who said the occupation wasn’t with my heart," helium said.

"When I asked what the occupation was, helium pointed to my head.”

John had experienced a terrible panic attack.

Previously, the Dungannon-born businessman spent astir of his vocation successful the firm world, occupying a elder presumption astatine a brushed drinks company.

In the aboriginal 2000s, helium started his ain income grooming business, and soon aft this, his symptoms of anxiousness began.

“I had been self-employed for a fewer years, and I thought I was doing OK; I had a bully house, loving family, but I accidental enactment was getting progressively pressurised.

“One day, I conscionable retrieve feeling similar this fog connected my encephalon and not knowing what it was, but I was inactive capable to function."

A fewer days later, John had his archetypal panic attack.

John was yet referred by his GP for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

It is an NHS-approved talking therapy that tin assistance you negociate problems by changing the mode you deliberation and behave.

John described this arsenic the commencement of his recovery.

"I would usage the analogy of being successful a vessel that is leaking, and past you’re fixed the close tools.

"This fantastic bucket that helps you bare the vessel of immoderate of that water, but the vessel was inactive leaking."

John waited respective months for his archetypal CBT assignment done the NHS and was fixed an archetypal six sessions.

He aboriginal paid for further sessions done the backstage sector.

John said CBT was the starting constituent of a longer travel that included coaching, grooming and self-reflection.

“I was capable to reconfigure my thoughts and not catastrophise things and realise they’re conscionable thoughts, you don’t person to enactment connected them, but it besides took a batch of self-reflection and moving connected myself.

"It truly got maine thinking, if this is what happened to me...it indispensable beryllium happening to others."

Over 20 years on, issues astir waiting lists and entree to speech therapies remain.

In Northern Ireland, it is recommended that intelligence wellness enactment oregon treatments should beryllium made disposable wrong 9 weeks.

But probe published successful June this twelvemonth by the bureau of Northern Ireland’s intelligence wellness champion shows this people is being missed successful a precocious fig of cases.

Data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey shows 47% of those who sought services earlier October 2021 did not person effectual attraction wrong 9 weeks.

The Department of Health has acknowledged that wellness trusts were experiencing “significant pressures” that enactment accrued demands connected services.

A spokesperson added that the intelligence wellness strategy was moving towards reducing waiting lists and supporting radical successful times of crisis.

Prof Siobhán O'Neill is Northern Ireland’s intelligence wellness champion.

She said intelligence therapies were known to beryllium "very effective," but waiting lists are simply excessively long.

Prof O'Neill said this resulted successful intelligence wellness problems getting worse with galore radical "suffering successful silence".

"It’s truly important to spot a antheral coming guardant and talking astir this publicly, successful presumption of however helium recovered and what worked for him," she said.

After years of moving connected his ain carnal and intelligence health, John Kelly present coaches businesses connected bringing affirmative taste alteration to their organisations.

This Thursday, helium is sharing his communicative arsenic portion of the Brilliant by Design lawsuit successful Belfast's Titanic Hotel.

A line-up that besides includes Northern Irish stone instrumentalist and frontman of The Answer and the Unholy Gospel, Cormac Neeson.

John Kelly said: “I accidental being progressive successful this lawsuit does amusement however acold you tin come, but determination is inactive specified a stigma astir intelligence health.

“I conscionable privation to stock my communicative due to the fact that I deliberation it tin assistance others; I’m surviving impervious that nary substance however down oregon anxious you feel, things tin get better.”

• If you person been affected by immoderate of the issues raised successful this communicative you tin sojourn BBC Action Line.