Speak out during the festive period
Winter: a season which brings lower temperatures, shorter days and darker nights. It’s not unusual to feel affected by the changing seasons.
There may be a noticeable change in your mood, or you may find that your energy levels plummet when it gets colder. It may be harder to concentrate, you may experience a change in your appetite, or you may even feel less willing to go out and socialise.
Winter can also be an exciting time, drawing closer to Christmas and the prospect of a New Year but these almighty events can bring the “present” of turbulent emotions.
Being surrounded by festivities and cheer can be incredibly difficult for some people. Christmas isn’t always a happy time; it can be a stark reminder of loss, of difficulties in family dynamics or of the wishing for things to be different.
If you’re the person experiencing difficulty, it can feel even harder to say how you’re truly feeling, especially if everyone around you is apparently cheery and carefree.
There are some steps you can take to help manage your mental health during the winter months:
- Make the most of the natural light – even if you can only get out for half an hour on your lunch break
- Plan for winter – you can stock up your cupboards, fridge and freezer with easily accessible, nutritious food for when you haven’t got the energy to venture out
- Exercise when you can – although you may not feel like getting out, physical activity can lift your mood. It doesn’t have to be anything strenuous (your half an hour walk would count). Perhaps call on a friend and try and do an activity with them.
- Put time aside to rest and relax – Christmas can be an incredibly busy time, with plans and activities being crammed into every spare minute of the day. Set some time aside for you to ensure your personal needs are met.
- If there are people around you that make you happy, make time to spend with those people, even 30 minutes in good company can make a massive change to our mental wellbeing.
If it’s just too hard to take these steps, why not take a different step and make a call and speak to someone? If you feel like there is no one around you to call, please know there are other people out there that could help.
Men’s Mental Health Swindon and Swindon & District Samaritans are teaming up this year to raise awareness of the support which is available to local people. Samaritans are a free service open 24/7, every day of the year, offering a listening ear through difficult times to everyone, without pressure or judgement. Men’s Mental Health Swindon, though aimed at Men, aims to promote a range of local services available to everyone.
Charlie Paradise Co-founder of Men’s Mental Health Swindon:
“There are a range of great services in Swindon, which we promote on our website www.mmhswindon.co.uk, a majority of these are open to all. This might be a really crucial time to talk as the pressure of life and the festive period can become overwhelming.
Local men have told us that sometimes they find talking difficult as there is still so much stigma around men opening up, for those men we would encourage you to call CALM, who run a free confidential phone line just for men. This phone line is open from 5pm- midnight on 0800 58 58 58.
"It might be hard to take that first step to make a call so why not reach out using the CALM webchat which can be found on https://www.thecalmzone.net.
We want to encourage everyone to look after their mental health this Christmas.
Darren Tee, Swindon & District’s volunteer director, wants to encourage anyone who needs to tell their story, whether they’re struggling, lonely or who just don’t know how to carry on, to get in touch with Samaritans at any time of the day or night, saying:
“ Problems don’t stop just because it’s Christmas – last year Samaritans answered 10,652 calls on Christmas Day and we will be listening again this year so anyone in despair knows they’re not alone”
Get in touch with Samaratins
T: free any time from any phone on 116 123 – even a mobile without credit. This number will not show up on a phone bill
