Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust’s MyWellbeing IAPT service, which supports people with life’s ups and downs, is reaching out to people in the local community on Blue Monday to offer mental health support in other languages.

With Christmas and New Year celebrations little more than a distant memory and summer seeming a lifetime away, it’s not surprising that some of us struggle with the blues in January.

The most miserable day of the year is said to be Blue Monday, which this year falls on 16 January. Derived in 2005 using a calculation involving factors such as poor weather, debt problems, low motivation and abandoned new year’s resolutions, Blue Monday is the day people are most likely to feel low.

If you feel the blues creeping up on you, Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust has a wealth of information about mental wellbeing on its website including simple tips that everyone can practice to help boost mood. They include having enough sleep; cutting out caffeine; getting active; helping someone else; eating well; spending time in sunlight; staying social; managing stress and having fun.

However, MyWellbeing IAPT Service recognises that English may not be the first language spoken by some people across Bradford, Wharfedale, Airedale and Craven and have translated leaflets about what the service provides into five different languages. Information is now available in: Urdu, Punjabi, Polish, Slovak and Arabic in both standard and easy read formats.

What’s more, people from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community may not always be seeking the right mental health support that is needed, so the service have translated the information to help individuals learn what support is available and how to access it.

This follows feedback from people that use the mental health service, who wanted to have access to information in other languages.

Naomi Holdsworth from Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust’s MyWellbeing IAPT Service said: “We’re excited to announce the availability of our information leaflets in other languages on Blue Monday. We wanted to ensure non-English speaking members of the community were not excluded, so we’ve developed material in different languages to enable people struggling with their mental health to understand what support is available.”

MyWellbeing IAPT Service is open to anyone over the age of 16 who is registered with a GP in Bradford, Wharfedale, Airedale or Craven. People don’t have to go through their GP to access support. People accessing support can register online at www.bmywellbeingiapt.nhs.uk.

For information on all mental health and wellbeing support services in Bradford and Craven and self-help resources and apps, visit www.healthyminds.services.