The Tameside Radio presenter reflects on the horrific events unfolding in Ukraine and the importance of looking after your mental health.

It’s been such a harrowing week of news coming from Ukraine. A European city under siege from Russian tanks, and lives turned upside down. 

One of the pictures I can’t stop thinking about is the newborn baby in an underground bunker. 

There was also a moment on BBC News when BBC World presenter Karin Giannone realised live on air that her family home had been destroyed by Russian forces, and broke down in tears.

I feel a sense of guilt that life round here carries on in much the same way. It can feel like Ukraine is a far away country, but it’s less than three and a half hours by plane from Manchester Airport. 

My thoughts are with those in cities like Kyiv, who have been forced to live most of their lives in bomb shelters and are enduring the most unimaginable horror. 

The news has been difficult to watch, but it’s so important to tell their stories, against a wave of propaganda from the Kremlin on social media and their mouthpiece TV channels.

I hope we’re able to show compassion to refugees who are fleeing from the horror of war. 

It has felt a little less confrontational than usual at the last couple of Prime Minister’s Questions sessions, and that’s definitely the right approach. Now is not the time for point scoring, but we need to remember the residents forced out of their cities and homes have done nothing to deserve this plight. 

It’s impossible to know how long the war will drag on for, but it’s been a grave seven days for the world.

Mental health is something we’re much better at talking about these days, and something my wife mentioned to me this week struck a chord. 

A lot of social media ‘Influencers’ constantly preach about the importance of self care, and I agree it’s something we need to factor into our lives. 

I switch off by going to watch a movie at Cineworld, such as the excellent new Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren film The Duke. 

It’s a delight from start to finish, packed with subtle humour, great storytelling and characters you’re rooting for. 

If you see one film this March, this is the one you should plump for!

We all have hobbies and interests that help us switch off from the news cycle. 

However, my wife Sofia points out ‘doing too much of the self stuff, in my opinion, creates a selfish world. Where did compassion, empathy and humanity go?’ I agree with her. 

A lot of debates about immigration use horrid language like ‘influx’, and we need to remember these are humans and not simply numbers on a points-based spreadsheet. 

Wider than that, it’s one thing posting online quotes about being kind, but it ends up being as vacuous as Katie Price’s last autobiography without actions to back up your words.

The relentless tide of positive quotes on social media can be wearing, and I’ve found it hard at times this week to feel anything other than desperately sad about the world. 

That’s all part of being human. 

Crying can be cathartic, and a balance of ups and downs is all part of life. 

The important part is to always be good to others, as well as yourself. Check in with friends, make time for people, and allow yourself to feel a range of emotions. 

We are so lucky to have all that we have in this country. 

I’m not saying things aren’t tough, with the impending rises in energy bills, prices at the petrol pumps and the cost of food being amongst many families’ worries. 

But take a look at those sheltering underground as the air raid sirens echo across Kyiv, and I guarantee it will give you some perspective. 

We’re all hoping this abhorrent conflict ends sooner rather than later, but that feels a vain hope right now whilst the current Russian President remains in charge.

You can listen to Alex every weekday from 7am to 11am and on the 'Super Scoreboard' show on Saturdays from 3pm to 7pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM. 

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