Low Mood

Low Mood

Page written and resources collated by Emily Wheeler, Senior Wellbeing Practitioner

We have all had an experience of low mood. Major life events, stresses, relationship break-ups are something most people typically experience in their life, which can make us feel low and depressed. It's perfectly normal to experience a bout of low mood when life gets on top of us, and things don't go the way we planned.

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a clinical term used to describe persistent bouts of low mood and intense feelings of sadness and hopelessness. If left untreated or ignored, the impact it has on someone's life can be extremely detrimental to a person's wellbeing, safety and functioning. Depression is usually diagnosed when someone exhibits a variety of symptoms and has difficulty functioning for periods of at least two months or longer. It's not uncommon for someone to have thoughts that life is no longer worth living or that they are a burden on others whilst they are experiencing depression.

One in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can strike at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s

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Low mood and Me

Build motivation, boost mood. Manage your low mood, don't let it manage you.

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Motivation and Me

Exploring motivation and looking at some practical steps to improve it.

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Anxiety and Me

Explore what anxiety is and how it affects you. Think about strategies to manage it

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Self-assessments

To read some of these articles and other resources on our site you will need to register with Togetherall. The process is quick and you only need to do it once.

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Depression

We can all feel low from time to time. This test will help you and us to understand how low mood might be affecting you. This is a standard clinical test just for low mood.

Test your low mood
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Sleeping

Many of us have poor sleep at times and we can sometimes suffer from more troubling lack of sleep. This test can indicate whether stress or anxiety may impacting your sleep.

Is stress / anxiety affecting your sleep?
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Wellbeing

This test looks at your general wellbeing. Please be aware that this is a standard validated test giving a measure of wellbeing.

Check your wellbeing levels

Togetherall - Online courses

Togetherall is an online mental health community with a wealth of resources - available free to all staff and students.   To access resources from Togetherall you need to register for an account here . You will only need to do this once. This will allow you to access many of the tools on our site.
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Managing depression and low mood

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Balance your thinking

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Problem solving

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Improve your sleep

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Managing self-harm

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Videos

Grounding Techniques

Techniques to manage strong emotions, where you may feel overwhelmed, including stress.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Tips from our wellbeing team on managing low mood throughout the winter months.

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Daylio

Self-Care Bullet Journal with Goals Mood Diary & Happiness Tracker. Keep a diary and capture your day without writing down a single word!

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Stay Alive

The Stay Alive app is a pocket suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information to help you stay safe. You can use it if you are having thoughts of suicide or if you are concerned about someone else who may be considering suicide.

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Downloadable resources

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NHS pages

Information and advice from NHS

See the NHS pages
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Royal Institute of Psychiatry

A wide range of self help resources for depression and other conditions

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5 Ways to Wellbeing


Reading for Wellbeing

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Night Shift by Debbie Gliori

Author and illustrator Debi Gliori examines how depression affects one's whole outlook upon life, and shows that there can be an escape - it may not be easy to find, but it is there.

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Overcoming depression a five areas approach by Chris Williams

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NHS Talking Therapies

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Overcoming Low Mood

Our Overcoming Low Mood course introduces you to some helpful techniques to improve how you feel. It’s also an opportunity to meet others who may be feeling similarly to you, although the session is not group therapy and you will not be asked to share your personal experiences with others. The course is free and runs for five weeks, with a 90 minute online session each week.

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Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for Depression

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a 9 week course for people who experience depression. It is recommended by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) as an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression. It is also recommended by NICE for those who have recovered from depression, as a way of reducing the chances experiencing depression again in the future. MBCT courses combines two helpful approaches: Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Our MBCT courses are a great way to understand thought patterns and how to work with these in more helpful ways.