Free pick-me-up session at Ricoh on Blue Monday

A RECENTLY retired Wasps player is hosting a pick-me-up session on ‘Blue Monday’ for those who are experiencing low mood, anxiety or depression.

Alex Rieder, who made 32 appearances for Wasps before retiring with a serious knee injury in December 2019, will be giving a talk on building resilience and adopting a positive mindset at the Ricoh Arena at 1.30pm on Monday 20 January.

Rieder will be joined at the session by an audience of around ten military veterans and their families from Armed Forces charity SSAFA, who are based at the Veterans Contact Point in Bentley Road in Nuneaton, and mental health campaign It Takes Balls To Talk.

Coventry kid and former professional rugby union player Jack Cosgrove, 25, will also be in the audience as he adjusts to life as a former professional rugby player after having to retire in December 2019 due to sustaining a serious eye injury in training.

The day ‘Blue Monday’ was devised in 2004 by psychologist Cliff Arnall, who, by taking into account a range of circumstances, such as the first credit card bill of the year after Christmas, failed New Year resolutions and the cold, dark weather, identified the third Monday of January as a time when people are most likely to feel in a low mood.

“You can’t shoehorn depression or low mood into one day but the concept of ‘Blue Monday’ is so important as it highlights the need for more of us to talk openly about how we are feeling,” said Rieder.

“As a rugby player I’ve been in difficult situations where I would feel like I’ve let my teammates and family down if I felt like I wasn’t having a good game.

“I had a shoulder injury in 2017 and then straight away had my knee injury, and it took me time to realise how seriously it was affecting me mentally and my relationships with the people closest to me. I’ve learned that bottling things up takes its toll.”

The session is open to the general public free of charge.