January wellbeing advice from NHS England North West encourages people struggling with difficult feelings to seek support early. That is practical and important. Meanwhile, the calendar has been asked to explain why it arrives with darkness, receipts and the emotional tone of an unpaid parking ticket.
The NHS points people towards Talking Therapies, with options for self referral online or by phone. Support is confidential and free. Those are useful facts. The jokes here concern January’s administrative theatre, never people who seek care or the care they receive.
“The month should not be allowed to organise itself around grey light and a stern email from the bank,” said Beryl Daylight, Deputy Clerk of Seasonal Nuisances. “We have therefore asked it to provide one useful afternoon and a biscuit.” The calendar replied with a Tuesday, minor drizzle and a consultation about whether the biscuit had shown sufficient resilience.
Early help can make a difference. People can talk to someone they trust, contact a relevant service, or ask a professional for help. NHS England North West says people needing urgent mental health support can call NHS 111 and select option 2. If there is an immediate risk to life, the advice is to call 999 or go to A&E.
That is the important part. The Department of Optimistic Beige has nevertheless produced a notice saying “new year, new you”. It has been removed from circulation and offered a quiet word about being less exhausting. The notice has appealed on the grounds that it was only trying to make everyone feel inadequate before breakfast, which is apparently its idea of public service.
January was then given a warm drink, a sensible coat and strict instructions not to schedule any more feelings before February. It immediately added three administrative Sundays and circulated a form asking whether the coat had demonstrated sufficient resilience. The coat declined to comment, having already achieved more emotional regulation than the month.
The NHS message is straightforward. Support exists, early contact is worthwhile, and nobody needs to win an argument with a calendar before asking for help. January has been informed that this is not a motivational poster and that “new year, new you” is not a treatment plan.
It has responded by rebranding February as “January, but with slightly better lighting”, proving that even the calendar can launch a wellbeing initiative when nobody has given it a budget.
Source: NHS England North West.
