Data released today showed that one in six people in the UK were prescribed antidepressants before the first coronavirus lockdown and prescriptions for these medications have increased throughout the course of the pandemic. This comes as no surprise to me - I have spent much of my working life over the last year speaking to people who are extremely unhappy as a result of the current situation. Never the less, these figures are astonishing. Setting coronavirus aside for a moment, even before this crisis, one in every six of us were so unhappy that we felt the need to take medication to remedy this.

What does this say about the way we lead our lives? How have we developed a way of living where mental ill-health is so widespread?

When I talk to people about their mental health I always like to discuss self-help measures and, as part of this, I usually ask what people do to help themselves relax and de-stress. It is surprising how few people can give an answer to this.

The term hobby feels a bit fuddy-duddy. It conjures up images of old men pasting stamps into albums or putting little wooden ships into bottles. But a hobby is really just a means of spending time in what feels like a meaningful and productive way.

Our sedentary lives represent a genuine public health crisis. We are living shorter, more sickly, and more unhappy lives because we are so inactive.

This book describes a different approach. The society in which we live has become toxic, we should no longer simply be trying to survive it, we should be seeking to improve it. The coronavirus pandemic has given us an opportunity to reset. This book suggests the direction of travel we should take

Practical General Practice is a highly practical manual, specifically designed for use during the consultation process. Containing over 1000 conditions, the unique underlying structure of the book allows the GP to see immediately what treatment is recommended and why. All recommendations are highly specific - giving a firm guide to the GP during the consultation process rather than a list of possibilities that the GP might wish to consider

How do you manage daily stresses and could you be suffering from burnout? Dr Euan Lawson and Dr Adam Staten talk about the importance of decision latitude in burnout, physical activity, and mindfulness and the role of digital technologies and the benefits of digital minimalism. We also consider how hobbies can protect us and how essential sleep is. Listen in and find out how to avoid burnout and thrive at work.

In 1974 a researcher working in Tanzania tracked a group of seven chimpanzees, six males and one female, as they moved swiftly and silently through the jungle. They ignored the calls of another group of chimpanzees in the neighbouring territory and stalked towards the border dividing their territory from that of their neighbours.

In his seminal book about managing relationships, How to win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie asserted that you can never win an argument. What he meant by this is, whilst you may win the point, the person with whom you’ve argued will resent you for it and, particularly with reference to working relationships, you will lose out in the long run. In the cold light of day this seems rational, even obvious, but holding onto this thought in the heat of conflict and acting accordingly is easier said than done.

‘Thank you for making that cup of tea, it really made a difference to me’; ‘I really noticed how you took the time to explain something to that family’; ‘I’m so grateful to have you as a colleague’; ‘that was a really good piece of work, well done’.

Guest Blogger Dr Fiona Day explores the role of positive psychological strokes in happiness at the workplace.

Guest blogger Dr Euan Lawson writes….

Our brain is always playing tricks on us. We think it’s on our side but often it’s on a track of its own, leading us to making a bad decisions or misinterpreting signals. Here are two biases that smoulder when burnout affects us, our families, or our colleagues.