How to boost your wellbeing this winter

The third Monday of January is widely known as Blue Monday, which is said to be the most depressing day of the year. The post-Christmas lull is a period many find challenging, but depression, anxiety and poor mental health can be experienced at any time of the year.

The Fund offers a range of emotional wellbeing support services for members of the RAF Family to both help maintain good mental health and support throughout times of crises. We’ve shared more information about the different types of support available below.

Listening and counselling 
The Fund provides a listening and counselling service for serving personnel, veterans, and their partners encountering a range of issues, such as anxiety, depression, bereavement, and stress. Visit our get support section for further details about accessing this service. The Fund also provides a specialist youth counselling service for children and young people.

Relationship and family support
Serving RAF couples going through a difficult period can access up to six free counselling sessions of relationship support with a trained Relate counsellor, while serving families facing challenges can access up to six free family counselling sessions. 

Online support
Serving RAF personnel and their partners can access free memberships to Headspace, the online mindfulness platform. For families, we regularly host online family wellbeing workshops and RAF personnel can also access a Building Stronger Families, an online portal of free resources to support family relationships.  

For more information about other emotional wellbeing services available to members of the RAF Family, please visit our emotional wellbeing section.