Put YOU first and make your wellbeing your #1 priority this year. If your wellbeing is in good health it has a huge positive impact on your life as it promotes happiness, good health, and gives you a sense of purpose. It means you can concentrate when studying, you sleep better, you’re less anxious, you feel more confident and have a positive outlook on life, relationships and trying new things.
It also means that you can effectively manage any stressful situations and problems that come your way.
The following 5 steps will help to strengthen your wellbeing empowering you through 2022. If you ever feel a little low just revisit some of these steps and they will help pick you up and may make you feel balanced and good again.
- CONNECT
As human beings we are programmed to be social, so it is really important to build connections with people who will support you and make your life feel richer and more fulfilled. Reach out to people around you such as friends, family, neighbours and your teachers, share stories, experiences and create your own safe support network.
- BE ACTIVE
It is a known fact that exercise has a great impact on your wellbeing both mentally and physically. When you do exercise your body releases natural endorphins that make you feel happy and boosts your confidence to take on the world!!
There are so many great activities that you can get involved with and some are completely free!
Just a few simple active changes will really help make a big difference to your mental health and wellbeing, such as joining your parents to walk your dog, cycling to school instead of taking the bus, walking and talking with your friends or taking up a new sport such as swimming, jogging, dancing or football.
Some activities are so much fun that you don’t feel like you are working out! It’s a great way to build your connections by taking part with friends or meeting new ones. So choose an activity that you enjoy and we guarantee you will feel GREAT afterwards!
- TAKE NOTICE
In today’s world we are so easily distracted especially as we have the tech world in the palm of our hands to access anything and everything 24/7. This is such a fantastic tool, but it can also take us away from what really matters and we can easily miss out on the here and now of our current surroundings and people.
Be more curious about your surroundings. During your lunch break, take a break from your phone and take note of what’s going on in the moment around you. When you are next on a walk, take note of the sounds, colours and smells. Living in North East Lincolnshire means we are incredibly lucky to have the sea as our neighbour, so go sit on the sand and feel it in between your toes and listen to the waves as you breathe in the fresh sea air.
Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters.
- KEEP LEARNING
Ever heard your parents use the expression ‘university of life’? Learning doesn’t just take place in school, college or university, it’s also what you experience as you live your everyday life. It takes us back to connecting and taking notice of who we are, what we are doing and how we are coping and learning from different situations and experiences.
Learning is a workout for the brain as it keeps your mind stimulated and active which can reduce mental health problems later in life.
Here are some examples of things you can do as part of your own personal learning journey:
- Try something new
- Rediscover an old interest
- Take on a new responsibility such as looking after a pet, volunteering or getting a Saturday job
- Learn a new skill such as learning a new language or playing an instrument
- Set yourself a challenge, this could be increasing your daily step count, signing up to do a 5k for charity, knitting a scarf for your best friend (you get the gist!!)
- GIVE
The feeling you get from doing a selfless act and giving your time to help someone is invaluable. Not only does it make a HUGE positive difference to the person that you are helping, but it makes you feel all warm, cosy and wonderful inside!
It doesn’t need to be a grand gesture, even just a simple smile to a sad looking stranger in the street can have such an empowering effect on both of you and can change the outlook of their day from dark and gloomy to a ray of sunshine and hope.
Do something nice for a friend or family member, such as helping with jobs around the house, getting groceries for an elderley neighbour or just spending quality time listening to a friend.
Appreciate what others do for you and say thank you. Letters are seen as very old fashioned nowadays but taking the time to handwrite a thank you letter and send it to friends and family who bought your christmas gifts or made your christmas special, goes a long way.
Seeing someone happy can be incredibly rewarding and a lot more powerful than you think.
All these little ideas mentioned above are small simple steps that you can easily implement into your life. They are small tweaks but will make a HUGE positive impact on not only your mental wellbeing, but those around you. So it’s a WIN, WIN.
If you feel you need to reach out to someone to talk about your feelings or any concerns you may have, remember you are never alone. Our team at Compass GO… are here to help you find your way to wellbeing.
Compass Go… Mental Health Support Team
01472 494250
nelmhst@compass-uk.org