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Winter blues can spell good news, says UEL psychology expert

Friday 11 January 2008

Stuck in the grip of the winter blues? New Year not bringing new cheer? Don't worry - being down in the dumps is an entirely natural experience that can offer the key to positive change, according to University of East London (UEL) psychologist Professor Mark Rapley.

Rapley, Professor of Clinical Psychology at UEL, claims that putting on a smile and trying to ignore our feelings often only makes things worse; what we really need to do is accept that feeling low is a natural part of life that can allow us to understand and overcome difficulties.

Professor Rapley said: "Feeling low or upset offers an opportunity to reflect on our experiences and work out how to do things differently in future. It forces us to stop and take stock so we can think about changes, while putting on a brave face can often lead to bigger problems.

"Bottling up anger and sadness is never a good way of dealing with things; problems tend to come back and bite us harder further down the line. The trouble is, we've become so obsessed with being happy that we now see being down as a real problem - when, in fact, it's perfectly normal.

"We're constantly encouraged to be anxious about whether we are happy or depressed, yet these feelings are not illnesses, simply part of regular human experience. Life would be so much more dull if we just muddled along in the in the middle, without feeling any emotions at all. Learning to recognise that it's normal to feel angry or sad is a good thing for our mental health."

UEL's School of Psychology is home to London's largest BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology and one of the UK's leading centres for postgraduate professional psychology training, with specialist programmes in Clinical, Counselling, Educational, Occupational and Positive Psychology.

For further information, visit www.uel.ac.uk/psychology or call 020 8223 4104.

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For details and pictures contact Daniel Cherry: 020 8223 2194

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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