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   How to beat Blue Monday in Salford
Health bosses at Greater Manchester West NHS Trust (GMW) have sent SalfordOnline these tips for beating depression on what is known as 'the most depressing day of the year'. A combination of post-Christmas debt, broken New Year resolutions, cold weather, dark nights and low motivation means the third Monday in January - 13th January - is cited as the most depressing day of the year. Psychiatrist Dr Cliff Arnall, formally of Cardiff University, defined the day as a time when people suffer from a series of combined depressive effects. Aidan says: “Understanding these triggers can help us to manage them and the unhealthy behaviours associated with them - such as drinking and hibernating.” Salford Cognitive Therapy Training Centre at GMW has been awarded over £2.7 million by the Department of Health to become one of only three new 'learning collaboratives', to improve the availability of psychological or “talking” therapies for children and young people with mental health problems. “The therapy will focus on children from three to eight years with behavioural problems and Conduct Disorder, and children and teenagers from eight to 18 years with depression and/or anxiety disorders. A recessive economy will also trigger problems in mental health, say GMW. Aidan adds: “The current economic climate is creating new and difficult challenges for many people, so it is even more important now to be active in managing our mental well-being. “We can’t hope to stay happy all the time, but the way we approach our lives can make a big difference to our overall sense of contentment and how often we feel happy." Why do some people cope better with maintaining good mental well-being than others? “You could say that good mental well-being is a form of fitness. And the fitter we are, the better we are able to resist or recover from illness. Like with our physical health, no doctor can make us physically fit - that is something we have to do for ourselves through the choices we make about our lifestyle. “For example, we all know of people who are physically fit. They got that way by taking exercise, managing their diet, making opportunities to rest and relax, and avoiding ‘toxins’ (such as alcohol, cigarettes and street drugs). But even fit people can suffer injury or illness, and at these times seeking medical help can be the right thing to do. But being fit does help us resist or recover from illness. “And so it is with mental well-being. There are external factors such as problems in childhood development or major negative life events which can contribute to poor mental well-being. But the work we do to stay mentally ‘fit’ improves our chances of long-term contentment and happiness.” If you are feeling stressed because of job insecurity, redundancy, debt or other problems, don’t wait for things to get really bad before you seek help. Visit NHS Choices for help and advice about accessing NHS services or call NHS Direct on 0845 4647 for health advice and reassurance, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Samaritans operate a service that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call 08457 90 90 90. If you prefer to write down how you are feeling, or if you are worried you might be overhead talking on the phone, you can email them at jo@samaritans.org. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
