8.7Million of us are on anti-depressants – could comedy on the NHS help?

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. With society as it is today and the internet and all the antisocial media, it does not surprise me at all to learn that 
8.7million people in England are on antidepressants (Metro, Thu).

And now Craic Health and Dr Simon Opher MP tell us comedy is the way forward and are trialling gigs and workshops for those suffering from loneliness and isolation. This chimes with me. ‘Try to see humour and absurdity in as much as you can’ would be my motto and you will feel a lot better. Comedy and music are the two things that keep me sane in this life. And if you can get a combination of the two, then even better. Dec, Essex.

‘Comedy is a game-changer’. I totally agree that laughter will help people who are lonely, living in isolation or with mild depression. Laughing is very therapeutic and gives you a feeling of happiness. Whenever 
I watch a comedy, especially Carry On films, I laugh so much that I shed a tear or two. Comedy is a game-changer – it makes us feel happier and that the world will be a better place to live in.

Doctors, psychologists and other health professionals, bring it on. Aji, London. ‘A good comedy sets you up for a good day’. A good comedy does make you feel better and sets you up for a good day. When my kids and I watched comedians on TV, we would all be really happy and cheerful. And the happiness lasted for hours or even days because the kids would talk about the show’s really funny bits. Jeanie, via email.

‘PFI’s are a large part of what got the NHS into this hole’. Health secretary Wes Streeting says private financing of public services – 
so-called PFIs – could be the way to make the NHS fit for purpose (Metro, Tue). Well, the previous Labour government backed PFIs and we are still suffering the consequences.

They were cheaper in the short term (thereby freeing New Labour from having to make responsible decisions about taxes and spending) but are much more expensive in the long term, as NHS trusts around the country are still bankrupting themselves paying back private loans at ruinously high interest rates.

PFIs are a large part of what got the NHS into this hole and Streeting wants to keep digging? The government must raise taxes to invest in a financially secure health service. Sharon, Manchester. ‘Since Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland and Sweden have joined Nato’.

Helen Shaw (MetroTalk, Wed) is right that Vladimir Putin’s ‘criminal’ invasion of Ukraine is without justification. Nigel Farage’s suggestion in June 2024, for example, that the West provoked Putin by expanding Nato eastwards was an unhelpful exaggeration – but, yes, an animal is most dangerous when cornered.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Finland and Sweden have joined Nato, more than doubling the mileage of Russian territory bordering countries which are part of the alliance. And adding in the Baltic states, there are now more ethnic Russians living within Nato borders.

It is vital that the best possible relations between indigenous and Russian inhabitants within Nato countries are nurtured. It will not
be easy. Robert Hughes, London. Arrow MORE: Body found in search for 23-year-old Jenny Hall five days after she went missing.

Arrow MORE: Zelensky offers to resign as Ukraine’s president ‘immediately’ in exchange for end to war. Arrow MORE: Leeds United can take huge step towards Premier League return as champions with victory at Sheffield United. Everything you love about your favourite free daily newspaper, now in your inbox.