When it gets colder and darker outside, we can sometimes feel low. Here are some things we can do to support ourselves during winter.
Keep active
It can be hard to stay active in the winter. But exercise can help to reduce stress, give us more energy and improve our sleep. Exercise does not mean we have to go to the gym or play sports. It could mean dancing in your chair, walking to work or doing some gentle stretches.
Get out of the house
In winter, we often spend much less time out and about. But getting a bit of sunlight during the day is really good for us. You could go for a long walk with a friend, take a bike ride or even just walk to the shop.
Stay connected
We often spend more time indoors during winter. If your energy levels are low, you may not feel like going out or talking to people. But over time, being alone can turn into loneliness. Making time to see people or phone our friends can help us to feel connected.
Learn new things
Learning new things can boost our confidence. And there are lots of new things we can learn while we are indoors in winter. For example, take up a new hobby like knitting, painting or cooking.
For more information on looking after yourself in Winter, see Health in Mind’s resource.
Other services
If you are finding things hard, you can contact one of the following services:
The Samaritans
The Samaritans offer a safe place for you to talk any time you like. You can talk in your own way about whatever is going on. They have a helpline, email service, letter service and a self-help app.
Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Phone for free on 116123
Breathing Space
Breathing Space is a free and confidential phone service for anyone in Scotland over the age of 16 who is feeling low, depressed or anxious.
Open 6pm to 2am Monday to Thursday, and 6pm to 6am Friday to Sunday.
Phone for free on 0800 83 85 87
Shout
Shout is a free, confidential, text messaging support service for anyone who is finding it difficult to cope.
Text SHOUT to 85258
In winter we spend more time indoors. So, why not try a new recipe? Here we share ND’s recipe for delicious cherry cake.
Ingredients
175 grams butter, at room temperature
175 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
220 grams self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
150 grams glace cherries
You will also need:
- a loaf tin
- a sheet of baking paper
- a wire rack
Method
Start by preheating the oven to Gas 4 / 180C / 160C fan / 350 F
Then follow the instructions below.
1) Grease a loaf tin with a little bit of butter. Then press in your baking paper. A standard 1 lb loaf tin will be fine.
2) Wash the cherries under the tap.
3) Dry the cherries.
4) Roll the cherries in a little bit of self raising flour. This helps to stop them sinking to the bottom of the cake.
5) In a bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy.
6) Beat one egg into the mixture.
7) Beat the second egg into the mixture.
8) Add the vanilla extract.
9) Add the baking powder.
10) Add the flour.
11) Stir the flour into the mixture
12) Add the cherries and stir them through the mixture.
13) Put your cake mixture into the tin and smooth the top of it with a spoon.
14) Put the tin on the middle shelf of the oven for about an hour. (Keep an eye on it to make sure the top does not burn. If it starts going brown too quickly, you can put a bit of foil on top of it loosely.)
15) After an hour’s cooking, put a skewer or a knife into the cake. If the knife comes out clean, your cake is ready.
16) Take the cake out of the oven. Take it out of the cake tin and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy a slice with a cup of tea!
View more recipes in Kitchen Creativity.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has a new campaign. It is called Better Records Together. The ICO wants to make it easier for people to get their care records. The ICO makes sure that organisations look after information properly. This article tells you more about what the ICO is doing.
Care records are important because they can help people understand their past. Care records can include things like:
- Photographs of friends and family
- Memories people might have forgotten
- Reports written by social workers
- Answers to questions about what happened in someone’s life
But sometimes it can be hard for people to get their records. They might face problems like:
- Long delays
- Parts of records being blocked out (this is called ‘redacted’)
- Not getting enough help
The ICO wants to help make this better. They have made a new guide for people with care experience. The guide tells you:
- How to ask for your care records
- What your rights are
- What to expect when you try to get your records
- Where to go if you have a concern or if you need support
The guide is based on what care experienced people said was important to know about
getting their records.
Find out more
Visit the ICO website to find out more about Better Records Together. You can:
- Read and download new guide for people with care experience.
- Watch videos from people who have already got a copy of their care records.
- See the new guidance for organisations. This tells organisations how to respond to requests for care records. And how to do this in a sensitive way.
- Learn more about what the ICO is doing to help people to get their records.
Future Pathways is pleased to support Better Records Together, the latest campaign from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Better Records Together calls for urgent improvements to support people accessing their care records. This campaign follows two years of engagement and research into how services can better support people to access their records and understand their history.
To help tackle issues and encourage systemic change, the ICO has created a suite of practical resources including new standards for organisations, clear guidance for people accessing their records, and videos and case studies amplifying the voices of people with care experience.
These new resources are vital in ensuring that care experienced people can access their records in a supported and sensitive way. We encourage everyone to join the collective effort in empowering people to exercise their rights and access their records.
Standards for Better Records
See the new set of good practice standards created by the ICO for organisations who hold care records. These aim to provide clarity, drive change and raise the standard so that people can access their records in a timely and supported way.
Short guide for people with care experience
This bitesize guide covers all the key information around accessing care records, rights under data protection and how to raise a complaint. The guide reflects what care experienced people said was most important about accessing their records.
Videos and case studies
Gain a deeper understanding of how it feels for people to access their records. These videos and case studies highlight the experience of people who have encountered barriers in accessing their care records.
Robert tells us about 3D printing – how he started and what it means to him.
My path to this hobby didn’t start with a grand plan. For me, 3D printing arrived as an unexpected lifeline. I was in the middle of giving up smoking, and a friend of mine, seeing I needed something to keep me occupied, gave me a shot of his 3D printer.
The machine was a Qidi Smart x one 2. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, but I wasn’t intimidated. I just wanted to dive in. I got it set up, and I was literally starting my first print within 10 minutes. It was just a pre-loaded cube shape, nothing special, but as I watched it build, layer by layer, I was hooked. The moment I held that little plastic cube in my hand, I knew this was for me. The initial goal of just being distracted was gone, replaced by this new, compelling interest.
After the cube, I wanted to try something more ambitious. I went on Printables website and found a model for a dragon with joints that moved. This was a huge jump. It was a “print-in-place” model, meaning it was designed to come off the printer with all its little joints and segments already working. It was amazing to see it print, knowing it would all be done.
And it worked! The dragon came off the printing plate, and I could move it around. The thrill was undeniable, but it also showed me the printer’s limits. Being an older model, the quality just wasn’t great. There was a lot of stringing – this is where thin plastic strands are left over on the model. And it looked rough. I could see the potential, but I was frustrated that I couldn’t make the clean, finished-looking objects I had in my head.
That frustration didn’t make me quit; it did the opposite. I decided if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. I didn’t just get a small upgrade; I cannonballed straight into the deep end and ordered a brand-new Creality Hi Combo, complete with the CFS 4-spool feeder.
When it arrived, all I could say was, “Wow.” The difference was night and day. Going from that old printer to this new setup was like jumping from a propeller plane to a jet. The two things that blew me away were the print quality and, of course, the ability to print in multiple colors. The fuzzy details were gone, replaced by sharp, professional-looking prints.
The multi-color ability opened up a whole new universe. The first thing I had to print was a little white ghost with black eyes and a mouth. Just seeing it switch to the different coloured plastic automatically was incredible. But after that first fun print, my mind immediately went to practical things. The very next project I did was a set of custom warning signs for my CCTV system, printed in bright, can’t-miss-it yellow and black.
That, for me, was the moment I realised how far I’d come. What started as just a thoughtful gift from a friend to keep my hands busy had turned into a real, powerful passion. I went from printing a simple block, to a stringy dragon, to making high-quality, functional, multi-color items that I actually needed. The printer wasn’t just a distraction anymore; it was my tool for creation.
