A musically gifted counsellor from South Manchester is helping young people with mental health challenges through singing.
Lily-Jo - founder of the Lily-Jo Project - is an experienced counsellor who uses her singer-songwriter talent to help tackle poor mental health.
The Lily-Jo Project aims to use the power of music to educate, equip and empower people of all ages to take control of their mind.
The platform's website provides resources on issues some people may be facing with their mental health, such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, childhood trauma and grief.
This time of year can be hard for many people as Christmas is over, and everyday challenges can be more difficult in the colder, darker winter months.
Blue Monday (January 15) is coming up - the name given to the day said to be the most depressing day of the year - and we asked Lily Jo for some advice on tackling the January blues.
Lily-Jo - founder of the Lily-Jo Project - is an experienced counsellor who uses her singer-songwriter talent to help tackle poor mental health.
The Lily-Jo Project aims to use the power of music to educate, equip and empower people of all ages to take control of their mind.
The platform's website provides resources on issues some people may be facing with their mental health, such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, childhood trauma and grief.
This time of year can be hard for many people as Christmas is over, and everyday challenges can be more difficult in the colder, darker winter months.
Blue Monday (January 15) is coming up - the name given to the day said to be the most depressing day of the year - and we asked Lily Jo for some advice on tackling the January blues.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 We all have mental health. What we need to understand is how we can best look after our
00:05 individual mental health. And I think young people, especially children and teenagers,
00:11 learning how to look after their mind, how to look after their well-being from a very early age,
00:16 I think is key to a happier society.
00:19 A musically gifted counsellor from South Manchester is helping young people with mental health
00:25 challenges through singing. Lily Jo, founder of the Lily Jo Project, is an experienced counsellor
00:30 who uses her singer-songwriter talent to help tackle poor mental health. The Lily Jo Project
00:35 aims to use the power of music to educate, equip and empower people of all ages to take control of
00:41 their minds. The platform's website provides resources on issues some people may be facing
00:46 with their mental health, such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, childhood
00:51 trauma and grief.
00:53 I realised that I could marry my two passions of music and mental health because from the stage I
00:58 was talking about how one in four adults struggle with their mental health at some point in their
01:04 adult life. And afterwards I had queues of people that wanted to talk to me about their mental
01:09 health journey and I thought, wow, can I marry the two? Yes, I can. It's all about music and
01:15 mental health and being a positive inspiration really for the next generation. So I tend to
01:21 write songs that talk about positive issues or dealing with difficult issues. I go into schools
01:27 and I lead assemblies and then I sing a song and then I explain what that song is about. So for
01:34 example, I have a song called Be the Change based on the quote by Gandhi that says, "Be the change
01:39 in the world that you want to see." So I talk a little bit about that, about living with purpose,
01:43 about how when you live with purpose, it improves your mental health. If you're getting up every
01:47 day to do something that you love, you're more likely to feel purposeful and hopeful and that's
01:52 going to improve your wellbeing and mental health. Music is an amazing universal vehicle that we can
01:58 all kind of relate to and get involved in. Yeah, I mean, I don't want to demonize social media
02:03 because I feel like social media plays a really important part in keeping people connected,
02:09 but also I think it can make people feel lonely as well and help us to see what other people
02:16 around the world are doing that are our age. There's a quote that says, "Comparison is the
02:20 thief of joy." And actually, I really believe that to be true and I think that can cause a
02:25 lot of loneliness. It can cause a lot of hopelessness. This time of year can be hard
02:30 for many people as the festivities of Christmas are over and everyday challenges can be more
02:35 difficult in the colder, darker winter months. Blue Monday is coming up on January the 15th,
02:40 the name given to the day said to be the most depressing day of the year, and we asked Lily
02:45 Jo for some advice on tackling the January blues. There's loads of things to keep us kind of going
02:50 before Christmas. And then when it comes to Blue Monday, it's like, ah, we're in the depths of
02:57 winter with nothing necessarily to look forward to. So I think what's really important is to
03:04 prioritize making your life as easy and cozy as possible this Blue Monday, taking care of
03:12 the fundamentals of your wellbeing. So there's four things that I like to recommend when I'm
03:17 working with clients in the counselling room. And I like to remember it as WEDS, W-E-D-S,
03:22 making sure your water intake is good, making sure you're prioritizing exercise, diet. So making sure
03:28 that you're eating as much nutritionally dense food as you possibly can. And finally sleep,
03:35 water, exercise, diet, sleep, WEDS.