With darker mornings and nights drawing in it’s often this time of year that people can experience a dip in their mental health, so add to that many people self-isolating or groups, activities and usual get togethers not taking place it’s not unusual to feel low.

This World Mental Health Day, which takes place on 10 October, Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust wants to reassure people that they have services which are available to support people.

Many of the Trust services have altered the way they are working to make sure that they can still offer support, one of these is MyWellbeing College. MyWellbeing College offers guidance and courses to help people suffering with low mood and anxiety, and that is no different in our ‘new norm’ of social distancing.

Available support includes group online courses as well as individual telephone and online appointments. Online group courses include ‘Managing MyDepression’ and Managing MyAnxiety’.

Managing MyAnxiety looks at what anxiety is and how it can affect people, before offering helpful solutions for managing challenging thoughts, dealing with panic and sleeping better.

Managing MyDepression offers a range of techniques to help manage low mood, exploring why we feel this way, possibly due to current circumstances or something wider, and offering relaxation techniques as well as useful ways to tackle problems.

Both courses are online via live webinar, once a week for six weeks, in sessions lasting about an hour. You don’t need any special software or equipment, just a smartphone, tablet or computer connected to the internet. The next Managing MyAnxiety course will start on 21 October at 10.00am and the next Managing MyDepression course starts 27 October at 5.30pm.

Running straight after World Mental Health Day is OCD Awareness week (11-17 October) which aims to increase awareness of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which MyWellbeing College can support people with.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common mental health condition where a person has frequent obsessive thoughts and compulsive and repetitive behaviours such as hand washing, checking or cleaning, and can significantly interfere with a person’s daily activities and social interactions.

The service offers a free guided OCD self-help workbook with fortnightly telephone calls to discuss progress and look at where further support might be needed, to people over the age of 16 with a GP in Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale or Craven.

MyWellbeing College accepts self-referrals via their website or by ringing 0300 555 5551.

The team have also been offering ‘expert hours’ every Thursday on the Trust Twitter account, @BDCFT, with experts from the service on hand to talk about a wide range of topics as well as answer any questions. The next one will take place on 15 October at 10.00am.

The Trust’s First Response service is still available 24/7 for people experiencing a mental health crisis and is available by telephone on 01274 221 181. The service is available for all ages living in Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven.