IT’S OFFICIAL – if Diary can be pardoned one of those newspaper clichés – we are in a recession. And is it just us or is this January even greyer and more depressing than usual?

Can relief be found anywhere for York residents longing to escape the stress of financial worries and the doldrums of the post-Christmas blues?

Well yes, the answer (obviously) lies in colonic irrigation.

According to the Association and Register of Colonic Hydrotherapists (ARCH), there has been an increase in those willing to try the treatment.

In an attempt to get to the bottom of things, ahem, we spoke to York irrigation practitioner Joanna Priestley, who said she too had noticed the increase and put it down to stress and low self-esteem.

“People are looking for something to make themselves feel better,” she said.

Whatever happened to settling down with a bottle of wine and watching a DVD of Mamma Mia!, you may ask.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. So lie back and find comfort in the fact that it is not only the economy that is going down the pan.