Choose Life!
There is a form of mental health disorder that is called SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder. This is when people experience depression due to the seasonal changes.
SAD mostly occurs in the winter months and happens due to lots of reasons, for example, there is less chance to get sunlight due to the gloomy weather and shorter days, this can affect your bodies production of serotonin and melatonin which can influence your appetite and sleep patterns.
There are a few ways you can try to combat SAD, such as getting as much natural sunlight as possible, regularly exercising and talking to people about how you are doing daily. There is also a method called Light Therapy that involves a light box which is used to stimulate exposure to sunlight so you don't have to go out into the unpleasant weather that winter may bring.
There are so many people that are affected by SAD, maybe without even realising it and therefore we decided to do something to try to help combat it. Our idea was to write positive messages on cards for people who may need them along with providing them a hopeline to call. We will then hang them in as many places as possible so they can be seen and support people.
Our hope is to inspire people to ask for help as well as help one another.