People in Suffolk are being urged to reach out if feeling low or stressed
Suffolk Mind are offering support and advice for anyone who's struggling
With just ten days to go until Christmas, we're hearing from a mental health expert in Suffolk who's telling us how to cope with the stress of the festive period and feeling down this winter.
Healthwatch Suffolk revealed one in twenty people in the UK are diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) with men more likely to be diagnosed with SAD than women.
SAD is a type of depression triggered by seasonal changes and while Suffolk Mind recognises that this contributes to people feeling low, they also understand that the holiday season can bring on other stresses, such as financial, and family.
"Depression is not an accurate take on reality. It's always lying"
Ezra Hewing is Head of Education at Suffolk Mind - he gave us some suggestions on how to manage these feelings.
"Have an agreement with the people you live with. Say, look, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything that is coming up. Can we agree on some times, when we can get a break?
"Maybe go for a walk on your own. If you have a dog, take turns walking the dog. If you have a private space where you can go and be on your own without distractions for a while, just to relax or read or whatever it might be, plan that in, so that you're not too overwhelmed
Regarding Christmas specifically, Ezra understands it may not be the "happiest season of all" for everybody and be a source of stress or a reminder of difficult times for some.
He suggests making a list of all the times when you did enjoy Christmas.
"What other things give you pleasure? What other things do you enjoy in a healthy way? Keep a log of all of those, create reminders of those kinds of things."
"...Use post it notes (for example) just to remind themselves that the depression is not an accurate take on reality. It's always lying."
Ezra also commented that this holiday season can bring a lot of obligation and things to do which can cause to be overwhelmed, he suggested breaking it down into small chunks to make it all more manageable.
"If I am working with somebody that is affected by severe or chronic depression, in about 80- 90% of cases, that will be worse in the morning and often there's a real struggle to get out of bed.
"So what I would advise them to do, is just to break getting out of bed into manageable steps too. That might involve just putting one foot onto the floor and then when you've done that, put in the next foot out and then sitting up and so on.
"I would suggest that we need to take the same kind of approach with anything around Christmas in the new year."
But most importantly Ezra stressed that if you are feeling down and struggling, this is not something you have to deal with alone and encourages people to reach out for help.
"It could be sending a first message or text to say hello. You can take some time to draft it and say
"I am finding it difficult to get excited about Christmas, but I would prefer not to be alone, I know that I need to connect with people, can we plan that?
"Make it manageable."
Who to contact
To reach Suffolk Mind contact 0300 111 6000 or info@suffolkmind.org.uk for mental health support.
Mental health support can also be found by dialing 111 and select the mental health option.
In an emergency always call 999.