Christmas can be a wonderful time of year for lots of people, but new research from Mind has found that many people feel unable to cope at Christmas, particularly people currently experiencing a mental health problem. Key findings of the research include:

• One in ten people feel unable to cope at Christmas (11%), rising to a third of people with a mental health problem (31%)
• Over a quarter of people feel the pressure to have the ‘perfect Christmas’ (28%), increasing to half of those with a mental health problem (48%)
• The impact of the pressures caused by Christmas is shocking, with one in twenty people considering taking their own life directly because of the festive period (5%), rising to more than one in five of those with mental health problems (22%).

Buckinghamshire Mind supports and represents people with mental health problems living across the county. We bring focused mental health expertise to our partnerships and the services we provide. We work with people in their communities. We believe in supporting people to live the lives they want, as fully as possible.

We will not give up until everyone in the county with a mental health problem gets both support and respect.

You can help by making a donation to Buckinghamshire Mind. Your contribution really does make a difference:

• £5 pays for creative materials for adults and younger clients to use in counselling sessions.
• £10 pays for a day session for an older adult with memory loss.
• £20 pays to train a volunteer to carry out a befriender role.
• £30 pays for a creative arts session in our day services.
• £40 pays for one adult or child/young person to have a counselling session
• £50 pays to take a small group to an activity in the community.

You can now donate to Buckinghamshire Mind directly from our website and you can even set-up a Direct Debit online, simply click on the Donate Now button or click here: https://bucksmind.charitycheckout.co.uk/