What To Do While You Are On the HSE Waiting List for Mental Health
If you are in crisis right now, please contact:
Samaritans: 116 123 (free, 24/7)
Text 50808: text HELP to 50808 (free, 24/7)
Pieta: 1800 247 247 (free)
Emergency services: 999 or 112
This article is not a substitute for professional mental health support. If you are in distress, please reach out to one of these services first.
You went to your GP. You talked about how you've been feeling. They referred you for counselling, or psychology, or a psychiatric assessment. And then you were told to wait.
If you're reading this, you're probably still waiting. You're not alone. In early 2025, the Irish Times reported that over 4,200 children and adolescents were on the CAMHS waiting list alone, with hundreds waiting more than a year. Overall hospital waiting lists rose by 86,300 patients across 2025. And a January 2026 study by the think-tank TASC found that almost half of health and social care workers themselves feel burnt out, with three in four regularly thinking about leaving their profession.
The system is stretched beyond capacity. That's not your fault. But it doesn't help you today.
This post is not therapy. It's not clinical advice. I'm not a psychologist or psychotherapist, and nothing here is a substitute for the professional support you've been referred for. What this is, is a practical guide to the things you can do right now to support yourself while you wait. Some of these are free. Some are low-cost. All of them are accessible without a referral.
First: know what's available to you right now
There are more free and low-cost mental health resources in Ireland than most people realise. The HSE itself funds several partner organisations that you can contact directly, without a GP referral and without a waiting list.
Turn2Me offers six free counselling sessions for all Irish residents, available online. You can apply directly through their website at turn2me.ie. They also run free online support groups covering a range of topics.
Jigsaw provides free mental health support for young people aged 12 to 25, and for parents or concerned adults. Services are available in person and online. Visit jigsaw.ie.
Aware runs free support groups (online and in person, no referral needed) and a support line at 1800 80 48 48 for anyone experiencing depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder. Family members and supporters are welcome too. Visit aware.ie.
MyMind provides online and in-person counselling. While not free, they operate on a sliding scale and offer reduced-rate sessions. Visit mymind.org.
Social prescribing connects you with non-clinical activities and supports in your local area. This might be walking groups, community gardens, art programmes, or peer support. It's free, available in many parts of Ireland, and you can refer yourself at allirelandsocialprescribing.ie.
Your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). If you're employed, check whether your workplace offers an EAP. These typically provide four to eight free, confidential counselling sessions. Many Irish employers expanded their EAP provision after the pandemic, but employees often don't know the service exists. Ask your HR department or check your employee handbook.
Your health insurance. If you have private cover, check your policy. VHI members can claim a contribution toward mindfulness app subscriptions. Irish Life Health members on certain plans can claim cashback on mindfulness courses. Laya members may be referred for meditation sessions through their 24/7 support line. Log into your member portal and look at your mental health and wellbeing benefits. They're often buried in the small print but genuinely useful.
What you can do for yourself (honestly, not as a platitude)
I want to be careful here. "Things you can do for yourself" can easily sound like "just try harder," which is the last thing anyone on a waiting list needs to hear. So let me be clear about what I mean and what I don't.
I don't mean these things will fix what you're going through. I don't mean they replace professional support. And I don't mean that if you're struggling to do any of them, that's a failing on your part. What I mean is that there are a handful of evidence-informed practices that can help regulate your nervous system, reduce the intensity of distress, and give you a slightly more stable foundation while you wait for the support you've been referred for.
Think of these as scaffolding, not a cure. They hold things in place while the proper work gets done.
Breathe through your nose, slowly. This is the simplest nervous system intervention available. Slow, nasal breathing activates the vagus nerve and shifts your autonomic nervous system toward a calmer state. You don't need an app. You don't need a course. Just close your mouth, breathe through your nose, and slow the exhale down. Five minutes of this, done regularly, can measurably reduce anxiety and improve sleep. It's not a solution to what you're going through. But it's a tool that costs nothing and works from the first time you try it.
Move your body, even a little. You don't need a gym membership. A 20-minute walk, ideally outdoors, ideally in daylight, does more for nervous system regulation than most people realise. Walking activates bilateral stimulation (the alternating left-right pattern), which has a calming effect on the brain. It also gets you out of the environment where distress tends to loop. If a walk feels like too much right now, even standing outside for five minutes is a start.
Maintain a basic routine where you can. When mental health deteriorates, routine is usually the first thing to go. Eating at roughly consistent times, getting daylight in the morning, and having a loose structure to the day helps anchor your nervous system. This isn't about productivity. It's about giving your body predictable signals so it doesn't have to stay on high alert.
Be honest with one person. Not everyone. One. Tell someone you trust what you're going through and that you're waiting for support. This isn't about getting advice. It's about not carrying it alone. Isolation amplifies distress. Connection, even a small amount, reduces it.
Consider a structured mindfulness practice. Not as a quick fix, but as a way to build your capacity to be with difficult feelings without being overwhelmed by them. Mindfulness doesn't make pain go away. What it can do, when practised consistently, is widen the space between a feeling and your reaction to it. That space is where you get your footing back. There are free resources available through your health insurer, through Aware's programmes, and through community-based courses around the country.
Stay on the list
This is important. If you've been referred by your GP, stay on the waiting list even if you find other supports in the meantime. Don't assume that because you're managing today, you won't need the referral when it comes through. And if your situation changes, whether it improves or gets worse, go back to your GP. They can escalate the referral, adjust medication if appropriate, or point you toward resources you haven't tried yet.
Your GP is your advocate within the system. Use them.
A note on what this post isn't
I'm a mindfulness teacher and breathwork instructor, not a psychologist or psychotherapist. Nothing in this post is clinical advice, and none of these suggestions are a replacement for the professional support you deserve and are waiting for. The Irish mental health system is under severe strain, and the gap between referral and first appointment is a space where people are left largely unsupported. This post exists to fill that gap with something practical and honest, not to exploit it.
If you're on a waiting list right now, I'm sorry you're in that position. It shouldn't be this way. But while the system catches up, you don't have to just sit with it. There are things you can do today. Some of them are listed above. Start where you can.
About Low Tide Calm: Low Tide Calm is a Wicklow-based wellness practice offering structured breathwork and mindfulness programmes. These programmes are designed to support people with stress, burnout, and nervous system dysregulation. They are not a mental health service and are not a substitute for clinical care. If you're interested in adding breathwork or mindfulness to your support toolkit while you wait for professional services, you can find out more at the contact page. If you're in acute distress, please contact one of the crisis services listed at the top of this post first.
Cian O'Driscoll is the founder of Low Tide Calm, a Wicklow-based wellness practice. He is a certified mindfulness teacher (Mindfulness Now UK), Buteyko breathing instructor, and complementary therapist. He is not a psychologist, psychotherapist, or counsellor.
SOURCES
"Find and Get Free and Low Cost Talk Therapy." HSE
HSE. "Organisations That Provide Mental Health Supports and Services." HSE
Citizens Information. "Mental Health Services." Citizens Information
Irish Times (Feb 2025). "Hundreds of Children Waiting More Than a Year to Access Mental Health Services." Irish Times
RTE News (Jan 2026). "Waiting Lists Up by 86,300 Patients in 2025." RTE
TASC/Forsa (Jan 2026). Study of Irish Health and Social Care Workers. EPSU
HSE (Dec 2025). "HSE Publishes 2026 National Service Plan." HSE
Turn2Me. Free Online Counselling for Irish Residents. Turn2Me
Jigsaw. Youth Mental Health Support. Jigsaw