Aware Email Newsletter #5
As we come towards the end of the year, Christmas tends to loom large. And our latest email newsletter is no different. This time around, we bring you tips for maintaining your mental health during the holidays, a seasonal video message, a chance to share your own coping techniques and updates on the Christmas 10k, National Day 2010 and more.
If you haven't subscribed yet, you can sign up at the bottom of this page to get every issue by email (click here to skip down). We hope you find it useful - please share your thoughts in the comments section!
Coping with Christmas
While there are of course plenty of positives to find in the Christmas and New Year period, it's also a time that we need to watch out for our mental health quite carefully. Financial burdens, the strain of entertaining and memories of loved ones no longer present are all common as the calendar reaches the end of its final page. However, with a sensible approach and a bit of advance planning, we can maintain control over our moods and mental health.
The article below has some practical tips for avoiding holiday stress and our online depression forums, the Aware Discussion Board, also have a thread on the same subject. Please do join the discussion and share your own tips and tricks - and above all, we hope you enjoy a stress-free time of it.
As our Christmas video below should make clear, emotional support will be available during the holidays. Our telephone helpline will be open every day, as will our online forums, and you can see Christmas break details for our support groups here. Please share the video with friends and family - 400,000 people in Ireland suffer from depression at any one time and many suffer alone. So help us spread our message that no-one needs to do it without support. Click once on the video to play and click again to go to the video on YouTube where you can share the link. Thanks to Denis McArdle of Songway Films for donating his time and providing the video.
Wishing you good mental health and thanking you for your interest in us throughout the year,
Everyone at Aware.
News
Due to an unsafe route, the Aware Christmas 10k has been rescheduled for Saturday 15 January. Online registration has also been reopened. Find out more here. A big thank you to Robert Roberts Coffee who continue to support our work. Pictured below as part of the launch of the Colombian Tres Rios flavour are Claire Doherty of Robert Roberts (centre), Kate Hartley of Aware (right) and Aware supporter Samantha Long (Miss UN Ireland, right). Congratulations also to Samantha who recently returned from the grand final in Jamaica with the added title of Miss UN Europe.
If you're living in Dublin and have yet to buy a Christmas tree, you can support our work by buying from one particular yard in Donnybrook. Full details here. The extreme weather conditions also put paid to the December lecture, due to have been held on Wednesday 8 December. That saw a premature end brought to our 2010 monthly lecture series but we'll be back with more events in 2011. A big thank to all our speakers over the past year, as well as all who attended. See you all next year.
Aware Christmas Cards
As usual at this time of year, we're selling Christmas cards to help support our work. We've got a range of designs for you to choose from, which you can see in the Christmas card section of our online store.
Please note that orders placed after Thursday 16 December may not be processed and posted before Christmas.
See our selection of cards here >>
National Day 2010
As part of our 25th anniversary, we recently held a National Day to recognise the enormous contribution of our volunteers to the organisation. Over 200 volunteers attended a day of talks and training workshops, with President Mary McAleese addressing the get-together also.
Feedback was very positive overall and a big thank you goes out to all who attended - and indeed everyone who has volunteered time to Aware over the last quarter-century. You can hear the new Aware CEO interviewed at the National Day below.
New on Aware.ie
A quick run-through of new arrivals on the Aware website. Remember, you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter for regular news and updates. The pilot phase of our online support groups service is now complete. Feedback was very positive overall and we appreciate the time and effort put in by the facilitators involved. The service will launch fully in January, with more details to follow then. Aware volunteer Paul O'Mahony interviewed the new Aware CEO Kevin Smyth at our recent National Day. Hear their chat here. A big thank you to Paul for sharing this. We'll be incorporating more of his audio on the site over the coming months. Our leaflet on Depression in the Workplace is now available in the Literature section. Like all the fact sheets we have there, it can be read online, printed out or downloaded as a PDF. Just follow the on-screen instructions. Is there anything you'd like to see on the site? Whether you're an Aware volunteer, a regular site user or an interested observer, we'd love to hear your suggestions. If you're a volunteer, we'd particularly like to know your thoughts on how best to set up the special volunteer area of the site. Let us know in the comments below or by getting in touch.
Season of Moods and Merriment
An article on protecting mental health over the holiday period. Originally published in a previous edition of the Aware magazine (details on signing up below).
Season of Moods and Merriment
By Annette Byrne
"Never cut a tree down in winter. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come."
- Robert Schuller
Do you dread the winter, the dark and dreary days, limited daylight hours, cold, wet and windy weather? For many people who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) it can be a very difficult time. SAD is a form of depression or mood disorder with a seasonal pattern. The range of seasonal variation in mood can range from mild to clinical, manifesting in fatigue, lethargy and sleep disturbance, with a tendency to over eat and gain weight, which in itself can cause upset.
Most of us experience times when we feel down. But if you feel down for days at a time and you can't seem to get motivated to do activities you normally enjoy, do not suffer in silence: do something about it. This is particularly important if you notice that your sleep patterns and appetite have changed, and if you feel hopeless, think about suicide, or find yourself turning to alcohol for comfort or relaxation. If your symptoms are severe enough to disrupt your life, don’t ignore this mood change. Don’t just tell yourself, "I hate winter, I always feel this way in winter": help is available, so do see your GP and take his/her advice.
If mood variation in winter is not a problem for you, stress may well be, especially as Christmas approaches. Christmas is a festival now, and no longer just one day as it was in years gone by. 'The season to be jolly': yes it is great - if you are in the whole of your health. Whether you look forward with excitement to the celebration of the Nativity, shopping and food preparations, or with dread at the disruption, extra work and the drain on resources, the festive season can bring its own share of trials and tribulations. The potential for psychological, physical and financial stress is high at this time of year, so plan in advance and if it is too late for advance planning at least set realistic goals. Don't set overly high expectations, acknowledge feelings of sadness and don't repress them. I know from personal experience and the experience of family and friends, that loss of family members is particularly hard to deal with at this time of year. Equally hard to deal with is illness. It is difficult not just for the person experiencing the illness but also for those close to them. Take a reasonable approach. Know your limitations, how much energy you have for the extra shopping, entertaining and partying, while continuing with the day to day normal demands of home and work. Don't try to do more than you can comfortably do. Watch your time, and schedule some breaks for peace, quiet and relaxation. Also, share your load with someone else.
As the cost of living continues to soar, again for many the extra financial expenditure can be difficult to manage. Financial moderation is most important. How often have you heard it said ‘it’s the thought that counts’ and when it comes to ‘food’ shopping, remember it is really only a couple of days. Sometimes it is hard to remember this when we are faced with the variety of attractively displayed goods and find it difficult to choose. Don’t be tempted to spend more than you can afford!
Kris Kindle is a godsend for large, extended families and is great fun for work colleagues and friends. Set a limit as to what is to be spent. Then the entire group put their names in a hat; one name is picked out by each member who buys one present for that person. Just write the receivers’ name on the parcel and part of the fun can be trying to decide who bought for whom!
There are times when stress can be very productive; we have all heard ‘I work better under pressure’. However, uncontrolled stress that involves an anxious feeling that just won’t go away, disturbed sleep, tense muscles, headache, smoking/drinking too much, is not to be recommended. Now is the time to put our coping skills into action. It is important that we keep our stress levels in check, know and accept our own strengths and weaknesses, and that we seek out social support and companionship. But, if social gatherings are not ‘your thing’ accept the minimum of invitations. Take time out for yourself and identify a few of ‘your favourite things’ - Christmas carols or a walk to enjoy an early morning sunrise, which can be quite spectacular in a frosty sky. Make time to make or enjoy a telephone call from a loved one, the invitation to be part of a special gathering, plum pudding, cranberry bread, the excitement of children as they tell you what Santa is going to bring. I am sure you have some favourites too.
As the New Year approaches I hope you will look back fondly on the past year. However, if it was a difficult year now is a good time to consign it to the past and move into 2011 with the hope and expectation that things will improve. So harness all that positive energy and enjoy a healthy, happy Christmas and a New Year full of tranquillity.
Supports:
- The SAD Association
- Aware helpline
- Aware Discussion Board
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” Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough, but not baked in the same oven” I feel different, having bi-polar, but i feel special in lots of ways.
Paul O’ Mahony’s talk on what happens at an Aware meetin hits the spot righ in the middle. it is precisely what one looking for a meeting would require. The audio is perfectly clear and th voice is so relaxed. it is great and I will be telling anyone who asks me about groups to tune in and here for themselves
Nice quote, Maria - thanks for sharing.
Martin - I agree completely. Paul’s very kindly allowed us to use that (and more) around the site so we’ll be using it in the New Year to explain to people how our meetings run.