This article is the February edition of a regular column written by contributors from Cross Rhythms Community Radio station, featured in the Chronicle:
It is early January as I write this and a classic early January.
Not the most upbeat description but accurate for how the weather has been almost every day since Christmas. With the bleak weather, short daylight hours and end of the Christmas festivities, January is a month which many people find difficult.
Thankfully we’re more aware of mental health nowadays and in general people feel more able to talk with someone if they are struggling. The situation is far from perfect but health services are better equipped to deal with any number of mental health challenges people face.
January is so linked to mental health challenges that the third Monday in January is dubbed ‘Blue Monday’ because it is supposedly the day where the population struggles more mentally than any other day in the year.
One of our slogans at Cross Rhythms Plymouth is ‘Positive Radio for Britain’s Ocean City’. It’s something that we try to hold to in what we broadcast however we are definitely not a station for just the power of positive thinking or in any way in denial of the very real challenges in life.
Thinking positively is important but facing the reality of day to day life with the good and bad bits is vital. As a result we regularly broadcast interviews with local community groups and organisations who are there to help local people who may be struggling for a number of reasons.
In recent months this included an interview with Devon Mind, a local mental health charity about the services they provide for new and expectant parents and the mental health challenges they face. You can hear this interview in full and other similar interviews on www.crossrhythms.co.uk/plymouth.
It is always great to hear how much support is on offer if you are struggling and it’s an honour to support those people who are working to help others through these radio interviews.
The root of our motivation for being ‘positive radio’ does go a little deeper still. It is the belief and lived experience of all of us at Cross Rhythms Plymouth that we as humans are incredibly valuable. That value comes first and foremost from us being created and loved by God and knowing this love can truly give us a firm mental and spiritual foundation to face whatever life throws our way.
This doesn’t mean that none of us have mental health struggles. In fact I think I can safely say almost all of the team have experienced times of depression and anxiety to varying degrees. What it does mean, though, is we know and experience the love and presence of God in the midst of challenges.
We’ve all just come through Christmas and at the heart of Christmas is the message of Jesus, otherwise known as Immanuel. This word Immanuel means ‘God with us’ and it is truly profound.
God wants to be with us in our everyday lives and came into the world as a human to share in our lived experience with all the good and bad aspects of that. Fast forward to Easter and you can see quite how much of the human experience of suffering Jesus entered into.
A phrase Jesus was quoted as saying is ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ This is an invitation to any of us that we can reach out to God and share our burdens and find true peace in their place.
This is as true for mental burdens as any other and it is my hope in writing this article that you can experience this for yourself this year.
Listen to Cross Rhythms Plymouth on 96.3FM or online at the new Cross Rhythms Plymouth website at www.crossrhythms.co.uk/plymouth
