Mental health support on Blue Monday

The festive season has passed, the days are short, money is tight and many people feel worn down or isolated. Blue Monday is here – a day often described as the most difficult of the year for mental health.

If you are struggling with your mental health at this time of year, please seek out support. You are not alone and help is available.

Rates of severe mental illness are shockingly high in Blackpool. In 2018-19, more than 500 people were admitted to hospital for intentional self harm and suicide rates among men were the second highest in the country.

By 2022-23 Blackpool had the highest rate of GP diagnosed depression in England and around 6,300 people are now claiming Personal Independence Payment for psychiatric disorders – the highest figure in Lancashire and among the highest anywhere in the country.

It’s important for Blackpool that the Mental Health Bill has now been reformed. It updates legislation from 1983 and begins to change how people in mental health crises are treated.

The new law strengthens patients’ rights, limits the use of detention so it is only used when it is genuinely needed and gives people a stronger voice in decisions about their care. It also tackles long-standing racial inequalities and ends the use of prisons as places of safety for people experiencing mental health emergencies.

This new law will not fix understaffed services or long waits overnight but it does put dignity, fairness and patient choice at the centre of care where they belong.

Blue Monday may come once a year but mental health matters every day and this new law is a step towards doing better for people here in Blackpool and across the country.

If you are in a mental health crisis call 111 and select the mental health option, request an emergency appointment with your GP, or attend the Urgent Mental Health Assessment Unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Whinney Heys Road, FY3 8NR. 

Contact Counselling in the Community for affordable or free counselling services. 

Visit: counsellinginthecommunity.com / Call 0808 1963483

Visit Blackpool Light Lounge for daily drop-in services in a welcoming and non-judgmental environment for individuals struggling socially and emotionally.

259 Whitegate Drive, FY3 9JL / Call: 01253 713277