A review of the most up-to-date evidence suggests that building the following five actions in to our day-to-day lives is important for well-being:
- Connect with the people around you:
- with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours
- at home, work, school or in your local community
- think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day
- Be active:
- go for a walk or run
- step outside
- cycle
- play a game
- garden
- dance
- exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness
- Take notice:
- be curious
- catch sight of the beautiful
- remark on the unusual
- notice the changing seasons
- savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends
- be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you
- Keep learning:
- try something new
- rediscover an old interest
- sign up for that course
- take on a different responsibility at work
- fix a bike
- learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food
- set a challenge you will enjoy achieving.
- learning new things will make you a more confident as well as being fun
- Give:
- do something nice for a friend, or a stranger
- thank someone
- smile
- volunteer your time
- join a community group
- look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you
The Somerset Mental Wellbeing Service offers support to adults in Somerset who wish to improve their mental wellbeing by accessing community resources, building networks and increasing independence. They do not provide therapeutic support, their service is aimed at those with low-moderate mental health needs to enable them to improve mental wellbeing using the five ways to wellbeing approach.
They have Wellbeing Navigators who can work on a 1one to one basis to identify goals to improve wellbeing by writing a wellbeing recovery plan. Additionally to this, we have access to peer support groups and self-management and peer support workshops.
The service is available to those who have a desire to improve their mental wellbeing. We work for a time limited period to support customers to achieve their personal goals and develop skills to be able to continue on their chosen path independently.
The Somerset Mental Wellbeing Service can be accessed by patients who meet the above criteria and they will accept self-referrals. For more information phone 0330 3330 0089 or 01823 282 823, email info@compassdisability.org.uk or visit their website at Compass Disability Services
