Combatting Blue Monday: Local care home residents offer advice on living a happy life

As the curtains draw on the festive period, many will be feeling the effects of returning to normal life ahead of Blue Monday, which will take place on 16th January.

In an effort to help their community combat feeling blue this January, residents at The Lindsay Bupa Care Home in Poole have offered advice to younger generations on how to stay positive and maintain happiness throughout 2023.

Thanks to a series of mindfulness activities such as guided breathing exercises and hand massages organised by Bianca Turner, Senior Activities Co-ordinator at The Lindsay, residents have been busy boosting their own mental wellbeing. In turn, they felt inspired to boost the morale of younger generations - cascading some heartfelt words of advice on plaques for the months ahead.

Peter Fahey, 92 and resident at The Lindsay, commented: “As you get older, life slows down, and you have time to reflect and think about what truly matters to you. Make sure you take a minute a day to appreciate the little things that make you happy in life – even when you’re busy.”

Another resident, Kath Ramm, 85 added: “The main thing that makes me happy is being with my family, we always end up laughing together and that is always a guaranteed way to lift my spirits. Being surrounded by the right kind of people will always make you feel okay during difficult or emotional times.”

Resident Maureen Avins, 95 also shared: “I think being happy in the moment and appreciating all that is in front of you is key to living a happy life. You only have what you have and it is important to make the most of what is right in front of you.”

To help residents feel refreshed as they head into the New Year, Senior Activities Co-ordinator, Bianca Turner, organised a series of mindfulness sessions to boost mental wellbeing amongst residents, offering hand massages, short meditations and breathing exercises as well as creating time for them to offer their messages of advice to younger generations.

Bianca Turner, Senior Activity Co-ordinator commented: “We have really enjoyed organising a series of mindfulness sessions to boost well-being of residents in the home, with many getting stuck in head-first and embracing the meditation sessions and breathing exercises. It has been great to see residents enjoy these activities and feel inspired to share their top tips and advice on staying positive this year.”

Zoe McCarthy, Home Manager, concludes: “We’re lucky to have such fantastic residents here at The Lindsay, and it’s encouraging to see that through our mindfulness sessions, they have felt inspired to share messages of advice to the younger generation. It’s easy to get swept up in the day to day hustle and bustle, so hosting wellness sessions allows us important time to take a step back, reflect, reset and refresh.”

The Lindsay Bupa Care Home continues to offer a programme of activities that are designed to help boost residents’ wellbeing.

Situated in Poole, the Bupa care home welcomes residents in need of nursing or residential care, including those living with Dementia and Parkinson’s. For further information, please visit https://www.bupa.co.uk/care-services