For many, winter can be a difficult time of year. Darker nights, shorter days and colder weather can result in people feeling down. Some people also struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder, a condition where the lack of sunlight during winter months impacts negatively on your mood. We're also still experiencing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic which has impacted all of our worlds for the past two years.
As volunteers, you give so much of your time, energy and skills to supporting others but remember there is always support there for you too.
If you are finding things tough, there are strategies you can use to help improve your wellbeing, for example:
Remember the Employee and Volunteer Assistance Programme (EVAP) Helpline is open to all of our volunteers and employees, and their immediate family members (living in the same household) and dependent children. This is a free, confidential service and it's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can access it by telephone or email.
It provides unlimited access to support, information, professional guidance and, where appropriate, short term counselling on any issue.
Counselling is available over the telephone and in some cases face-to-face. The EVAP is a confidential service run independently of RNIB by Health Assured Ltd.
You can call any time day or night on 0800 030 5182 or +44 161 836 9498 from outside the UK. Alternatively, you can access support online at healthassuredeap.co.uk.