WHY oh why can’t people with flu just get over it?

Mark my words, if you just pull yourself together and stop shivering, you’ll be right as rain in no time.

To anyone who’s ever suffered from flu this will be a familiar scenario.

You know deep down that it’s not your fault you’ve got it – but people all around you, even those close to you, all too often think you’ve brought it on yourself. And it’s about time you got over it.

Having flu can be extremely isolating. It’s difficult to talk about and only people who have ever had it can truly understand how you feel.

Some people are embarrassed and will avoid you, or when they do see you they simply won’t know what to say.

You will probably be tempted to reach out and share your misery via Facebook in the hope of receiving sympathetic and supportive messages from your friends. Though not a cure, it would certainly be a bit of a pick-me-up.

But that way danger lies. You have to bear in mind that potential employers in the future may look at your social media activity and if they see you’re prone to bouts of flu, you can more than likely say bye bye to that really great job you’d always dreamed of.

In some cases flu can be fatal. And yet it is not taken anywhere as seriously as cancer, heart disease and other potentially terminal illnesses. This is probably partly down to the stigma attached – people rarely openly admit they have flu and so it remains a silent burden on the health of our nation.

Have you ever had flu? How many people did you tell? Not many, I’ll bet – only the ones you really trust.

Ridiculous scenario, huh?

Now read all that again and for flu, read ‘depression’.

One in five people will suffer from depression at some point in their lives. It is the number one psychological disorder in the western world.

It is on the rise among all age groups, especially teenagers, and in nearly every community.

At the current rate of increase, by 2020 it will be the second most disabling condition in the world after heart disease.

And yet it is still something we struggle to discuss openly.

Ten times more people suffer from major depression now than in 1945 – and it seems likely that changes in society are at least partly to blame.

Work-life balance is poorer than ever and the constant pressure of modern communication means it can be hard to switch off and relax. Families are often scattered miles apart and neighbours don’t know each other as well as they used to. It is easy to feel isolated.

This week is Mental Health Week and the Mental Health Foundation has chosen relationships as its theme.

It believes good relationships are essential to maintaining good mental health, and it’s right.

For instance, experts have found that societies which work closely together and focus on common goals, such as the Amish, have a much lower instance of depression.

The Foundation is calling on people to make a ‘relationship resolution’ – whether it’s putting your mobile away when you’re out with friends so they receive your full attention or popping in to say hello to your elderly neighbour or calling your family more often. All these things are a delight if you’re well – and essential if you suffer from depression.

So stop being afraid of your friends with depression – get in touch, listen to what they have to say and don’t judge them.

Unlike flu, it’s not catching.

Here’s how to 
stir up a hornets’
nest...

IT sounds like a 1950s creature feature but it’s far from fiction.
In seems that in the past week, giant Asian hornets have made a beeline for Blighty. Forget those pesky wasps that turn up in late summer to ruin your picnic, these inch-long blighters are deadly, if you’re unlucky enough to be allergic.
Horrifyingly, their stings can melt flesh and they can kill 50 bees a day in order to feed their larvae. Six people have died in France. It is the stuff of horror films. 
Over here and overgrown, sightings have been reported in Devon, Surrey, Sussex and Kent, although experts have yet to confirm them.
To use the PM’s word, this is a “swarm” of immigrants we really should be concerned about. Perhaps our squabbling politicians should forget about Brexit and focus on Buzz Off?

Spare a little thought for the victims

PRISON reform was set to make an appearance in yesterday’s Queen’s speech in what has been called “the biggest shake-up since Victorian times”.
Among the ideas is satellite tagging which will enable criminals to go to jail for the weekend and presumably join the rest of society Monday to Friday.
Earlier this year, David Cameron said: “Satellite tracking tags could be used so that more prisoners can go out to work in the day and return in the evening. 
“They could help some offenders with a full-time job to keep it, and just spend weekends in custody instead.”
Surely this is part-time justice? I mean, it does sound a little bit like not really being in prison at all. We’ll be handing out fines and letting people pay with Monopoly money next.
Experts are saying prisons need to be improved so the rapists, the fraudsters who robbed little old ladies of their life savings, the paedophiles and the other coldsores on the lip of humanity can leave feeling rejuvenated rather than bitter.
I wonder how all this will make their victims feel.