00:00 You know, I guess we've had several years of cost of living crisis, but also actually
00:06 an even more broadening impacts in mental health. You know, we've got the short daylight
00:09 hours, seasonal affective disorders, more likely at this time of year with the weather
00:13 and things. And obviously the finances then add on top of that.
00:16 A recent survey found that 84% of people believe that this year is the most challenging yet
00:22 due to the cost of living crisis, which has been ongoing now for three years. Additionally,
00:27 nearly half of the respondents are more inclined to look for financial assistance in 2024
00:33 compared to previous years. The main reasons prompting individuals to seek financial help
00:38 in person includes issues related to mortgages, pensions, managing debts and dealing with
00:43 difficult life events like bereavement. So who can you turn to when life becomes a struggle?
00:49 So I always say you should have three groups, three circles that you have at least one person
00:53 you can talk to in your life. These three circles are a professional organisation of
00:57 mental health, they are friends and family and they are your workplace or school. And
01:01 the reason this is important is because people spend most of the time either, you know, in
01:04 the home environment or friends and family or their working environment. Okay, so that's
01:09 why those three circles are so important. The additional point of the professional side
01:12 is having someone that has got the external professional view that you can speak to in
01:16 a really kind of, in a really confidential and safe way.
01:20 A study from the Royal College of Psychiatrists around debt and mental health found that half
01:26 of all adults with debt problems also live with mental ill health. In response, many
01:33 UK banks and building societies have started to offer dedicated support to their customers
01:39 and that includes Nationwide, who Dr Alex has partnered with to highlight the fact that
01:45 help is available.
01:47 The Nationwide we've been talking about is that they're keeping their branches open.
01:50 So we know that face to face aspect is important for a lot of people. Some people don't want
01:54 to talk about these things face to face, they prefer telephone for cost of living worries
01:58 and so on. But going in and speaking to a person face to face for a lot of us is an
02:02 important thing. And that comes down to what is science really. I mean, communication is
02:05 only about 10 to 20% verbal, most of it's nonverbal, and a lot of comfort and support
02:10 that comes with, you know, nonverbal communication is huge.
02:15 And as for Dr Alex's biggest tip on the road to better mental health, well, it's simply
02:22 taking a local journey.
02:24 The biggest thing that keeps my mind in the right place is going for my walk in the morning,
02:28 get outside. I'm in nature. When you're outside, you often feel your problems just, you get
02:33 more perspective, you know, that kind of fresh air, you know, we always say about fresh air
02:36 perspective outside, you know, and walk the dog and stuff. And that just sets me up for
02:40 the day. And it sounds like such a simple thing. And people go, well, you know, how's
02:44 walking going to fix all your problems? You're right. It's not going to fix every problem,
02:48 but there's not many problems are made worse by walking, unless you have a bad ankle, of
02:51 course. So it's just getting outside and finding things that work for you. But just realising
02:56 that your time, your investment in yourself is very valuable. It's worth the time, it's
03:01 worth the energy.
03:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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