00:00 We all have mental health. What we need to understand is how we can best look after our
00:05 individual mental health. And I think young people, especially children and teenagers,
00:11 learning how to look after their mind, how to look after their well-being from a very early age,
00:16 I think is key to a happier society.
00:19 A musically gifted counsellor from South Manchester is helping young people with mental health
00:25 challenges through singing. Lily Jo, founder of the Lily Jo Project, is an experienced counsellor
00:30 who uses her singer-songwriter talent to help tackle poor mental health. The Lily Jo Project
00:35 aims to use the power of music to educate, equip and empower people of all ages to take control of
00:41 their minds. The platform's website provides resources on issues some people may be facing
00:46 with their mental health, such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, childhood
00:51 trauma and grief.
00:53 I realised that I could marry my two passions of music and mental health because from the stage I
00:58 was talking about how one in four adults struggle with their mental health at some point in their
01:04 adult life. And afterwards I had queues of people that wanted to talk to me about their mental
01:09 health journey and I thought, wow, can I marry the two? Yes, I can. It's all about music and
01:15 mental health and being a positive inspiration really for the next generation. So I tend to
01:21 write songs that talk about positive issues or dealing with difficult issues. I go into schools
01:27 and I lead assemblies and then I sing a song and then I explain what that song is about. So for
01:34 example, I have a song called Be the Change based on the quote by Gandhi that says, "Be the change
01:39 in the world that you want to see." So I talk a little bit about that, about living with purpose,
01:43 about how when you live with purpose, it improves your mental health. If you're getting up every
01:47 day to do something that you love, you're more likely to feel purposeful and hopeful and that's
01:52 going to improve your wellbeing and mental health. Music is an amazing universal vehicle that we can
01:58 all kind of relate to and get involved in. Yeah, I mean, I don't want to demonize social media
02:03 because I feel like social media plays a really important part in keeping people connected,
02:09 but also I think it can make people feel lonely as well and help us to see what other people
02:16 around the world are doing that are our age. There's a quote that says, "Comparison is the
02:20 thief of joy." And actually, I really believe that to be true and I think that can cause a
02:25 lot of loneliness. It can cause a lot of hopelessness. This time of year can be hard
02:30 for many people as the festivities of Christmas are over and everyday challenges can be more
02:35 difficult in the colder, darker winter months. Blue Monday is coming up on January the 15th,
02:40 the name given to the day said to be the most depressing day of the year, and we asked Lily
02:45 Jo for some advice on tackling the January blues. There's loads of things to keep us kind of going
02:50 before Christmas. And then when it comes to Blue Monday, it's like, ah, we're in the depths of
02:57 winter with nothing necessarily to look forward to. So I think what's really important is to
03:04 prioritize making your life as easy and cozy as possible this Blue Monday, taking care of
03:12 the fundamentals of your wellbeing. So there's four things that I like to recommend when I'm
03:17 working with clients in the counselling room. And I like to remember it as WEDS, W-E-D-S,
03:22 making sure your water intake is good, making sure you're prioritizing exercise, diet. So making sure
03:28 that you're eating as much nutritionally dense food as you possibly can. And finally sleep,
03:35 water, exercise, diet, sleep, WEDS.
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