Dear LPG,

I started writing my message but it got a little long so I have divided it into two parts in the hope that LPG will indulge me just a little more.

If LPG have been kind, I mentioned yesterday that today is National Stress Awareness Day and prattled on about trying to make sure that you can recognise any stress related issues that you may have, and I finished by hinting at how important it is to talk to other people about your problems.  I know that the Television has been offering this information a lot lately but so many people never actually get around to doing the talking in spite of the fact that we have had so much more time to get stressed this past year.

I think that picking up the phone can have another really good effect on stress.  Really opening up to a friend can also help them to open up to you.  I really believe that most of us would find it hard to tell all our friends all our problems but most of us have one or two friends that we can really talk to.  We can often miss the point that that friend may also have their own problems, and even though they touch on them sometimes, asking for their confidence may just help them to talk more about their anxieties. 

So while we older people are still more likely to be spending a lot of time at home, we have the perfect opportunity to spend some of our time talking rather than thinking too much.

The thing that we are all guilty of doing is keeping our concerns to ourselves.  Remember that there are few situations you might find yourself in which have not happened to someone else at some point during the history of our planet.

A problem shared is a problem halved.

PW, Bellingham

LPG found some information on what signs of stress to look for in our friends, and ourselves, and a few things we may be able to say which might help…

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