A Christmas message from the British Society for Mental Health and Deafness

The British Society for Mental Health and Deafness (a supporter of this site) would like to wish everyone a happy and stress free holiday season.

For many this is a wonderful time of the year; to be with their loved ones, exchanging gifts, good food and drinking- but sadly it can also be a very stressful time too!

As Charlie Swinbourne pointed out in his article this morning (“12 tips to ensure that Deaf people aren’t left out at Christmas”), for many Deaf people, visiting family or friends can sometimes lead to difficult communication situations, and this can add  tension and additional stress, even leading to anxiety.

For people affected by mental health issues, it can be especially challenging, because others expect you to be happy, joyful and sociable -when you may not feel up to it. This can result in our ‘stress bucket’ becoming full and overflowing.

Charlie has highlighted some excellent tips, especially for BSL users where having someone to communicate with in their own language can make an enormous difference to the enjoyment of the day and lead to a more relaxing time.

We hear of stories where hearing family seem to think it is OK to give the Deaf member a DVD and tell them to go and watch it whilst they chat amongst themselves!

So BSMHD would just like to say; during the holiday season, take time out for yourself (relaxation or quiet time) and look out for others who may be in need of your support at this time. ALGEE my friends! (if you don’t know what it means, then you might benefit from one of our deaf friendly Mental Health first aid courses.)

If you need help, you can find out about depression or low mood using videos in BSL on the SignHealth website, and you can find out about their BSL Healthy Minds project by clicking here.

You can also contact the Samaritans by email using the email address jo@samaritans.org, or by using the Next Generation Text service to call your local Samaritans branch.

Happy New year for 2017 everybody!