A BRAVE Greenock woman who has battled stress and anxiety for 13 years is urging others not to suffer in silence.

Louise MacLachlan was unable to come out of her house because of the sheer terror of crippling panic attacks.

Now she has joined forces with community care forum Your Voice to set up a stress and anxiety support group to help other people fight through the fear.

Louise, 39, said: "There was a time when I couldn't come out the house for fear of meeting people and having to talk.

"I would have a panic attack.

"They are terrifying and the more you think about them the worse it gets.

"It was terrible."

Louise has been living with panic attacks for over a decade.

She said: "It first happened to me when I was 26, it came out of the blue.

"I don't know where it came from.

"But it takes over everything, you end up with depression.

"I couldn't look people in the eye and would walk pass people.

"I was a really outgoing, sociable person.

"If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.

"I worked different jobs and it just came from nowhere."

After years of suffering alone Louise found that the best way to help herself was talking to other people in the same situation.

She said: "A few years ago I wouldn't be able to talk but now I can stand at a stall speaking to people.

"I don't think we have any idea how many people suffer from stress and anxiety.

"At the support group people are welcome to just come along - we just talk and find different ways and techniques to help one another.

"It has made a big difference to me.

"I set it up because I felt there was nothing out there for people.

"I started to go along to Your Voice for help myself and now we have the group."

The group is part of a wider network of peer support made available through Your Voice.

They also run a community connectors project which helps people like Louise find activities and support groups which may help.

* The Stress and Anxiety Support Group meets in Your Voice, Clyde Square every Friday from 10am.