Support is available for anyone in Cornwall who is struggling today (20 January) on ‘Blue Monday’, which is claimed to be the most depressing day of the year.

Cornwall Council’s public health team are developing a ‘Mental Health Safety Plan’ so that people can help themselves during any stage of a mental health crisis.

Public Health officer Hannah Clark said: ’The plan is designed to be written by the person when they are feeling in a positive state of mind. It asks them to think about and write down the warning signs that they are heading into a mental health crisis. This could be behaviours such as withdrawing from friends or family, feeling listless and tired or having trouble sleeping.

’It goes on to ask you to identify what you can do to distract yourself from those negative thought patterns, such as doing exercise or meditation. It takes you through the stages of feeling down right through to who you can contact when you are in crisis. You can look at the plan at any stage of your feelings with a clear plan of what you should do to help yourself through that difficult time.’

This approach is already being used by other health agencies. The public health team will be launching the plan on their website soon.

For anyone who needs support with their mental health go to www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/mental-health/. There are also smartphone apps such as the Stay alive app, My3 app or the Safety plan app.