Coping with low mood and depression

Society tells us that Christmas should be a time of joy and celebration. However, for those struggling with low mood or depression, the pressure and constant reminder that you ‘should’ be happy can make you feel even worse.

If you are struggling with depression over this Christmas period, it’s so important to be kind to yourself. We would encourage you to keep connected with friends and family, even chat to them about how you’re feeling. They may be able to reassure you and protect you from the expectations of the Christmas season. Below are some other resources and helplines that can support you over this period.

 

Main link list

the words the happiness project

The Happiness Project

One rainy afternoon, while riding a city bus, Gretchen Rubin asked herself, “What do I want from life, anyway?” She answered, “I want to be happy”—yet she spent no time thinking about her happiness. In a flash, she decided to dedicate a year to a happiness project. The result? One of the most thoughtful and engaging works on happiness.

Click here to explore

love tattoo on females arm

To Write Love On Her Arms

Hope is real. Help is real. To Write Love on Her Arms is dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Click here to find out more

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Mind Out: LGBTQ+ Mental Health Service

If you are struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, Mind Out have an instant chat service that is confidential, non-judgmental, and anonymous. They also offer a peer mentoring system, where you can work with someone who has a shared experience or a similar identity to you.

Click here for more information

Seasonal Depression/SAD and Covid-19

Seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), is a type of depression that’s related to a change in seasons. In 2020, we aren’t just dealing with shorter, colder days - we’re dealing with additional stressors like COVID-19 and what has continued to be a contentious election season. If you experience SAD, you may be feeling it a bit harder this year. You are not alone, click here for tips on how to cope with SAD in light of a particularly difficult year.

Click here to read

clouds

SilverCloud: Online CBT self-help

SilverCloud is an online package that offers eight self-help psychoeducational programmes. Based on concepts from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), the programmes are thematic and provide an interactive aid for you to increase your understanding of a particular difficulty and to help you change the way you think and feel about things. Click here to try the Space from Depression module through our Silvercloud webpage.

Click here to find out more

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Students against Depression

Students Against Depression provides you with a calm environment and the resources to help you find a way forward - a website offering advice, information and guidance to those affected by low mood, depression and suicidal thinking.

Click here for support