As part of the staff health and wellbeing offer promoted at work (Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust), one of my tasks is to produce a monthly email with five tips to stay well and feel better.
This 'Wellbeing Wednesday' update goes out on the first hump day of the month, with an idea for each of the Five Ways to Wellbeing.
These are evidence-based actions which, if done together regularly, can help to improve a your health and wellbeing. They can even help to reduce the likelihood of some mental health problems getting worse.
The whole campaign is something I enjoy promoting and being involved with, as it's a pretty solid concept which is easy to get behind and achieve.
A recent brainchild was to promote case studies of what various staff do for each of the five ways.
The chief executive bought into the idea and went first, but with a last minute scrabble to get the second ready I had to put myself forward for it.
Here's my case study for the five ways to wellbeing, along with a wellbeing pledge and ideas for the future:
This 'Wellbeing Wednesday' update goes out on the first hump day of the month, with an idea for each of the Five Ways to Wellbeing.
These are evidence-based actions which, if done together regularly, can help to improve a your health and wellbeing. They can even help to reduce the likelihood of some mental health problems getting worse.
The whole campaign is something I enjoy promoting and being involved with, as it's a pretty solid concept which is easy to get behind and achieve.
A recent brainchild was to promote case studies of what various staff do for each of the five ways.
The chief executive bought into the idea and went first, but with a last minute scrabble to get the second ready I had to put myself forward for it.
Here's my case study for the five ways to wellbeing, along with a wellbeing pledge and ideas for the future:
Connect
Spending time out and about with friends and loved ones is particularly important to me and my wellbeing. I usually do find time at weekends or evenings to connect with the people I’m closest to, but I want to make more time for family and friends who I don’t see as often. That’s definitely something I will focus on in the coming weeks and months.
Be active
I’ve always managed to stay fairly active through playing football a couple of times a week, but I’ve recently taken up bouldering. This is essentially rock climbing with a crash mat instead of a rope (much safer than it sounds). There’s a great deal of perseverance and technique required to improve, but it’s pretty rewarding to complete a new route or difficulty. It’s also a great workout – that fear of falling always pushes me a little bit further than I’d manage at a regular gym session. When I’m good enough the plan is to move onto outdoor routes.
Take notice
I was introduced to mindfulness last year and I’ve recently started an eight week course with the Staff Wellbeing Service to find out more about it. From my experience I’ve found it a great way to unwind and just generally shift stress to the back of my mind, to concentrate on enjoying things that are important. I’m looking forward to developing more of the techniques as the course goes on, but I’d definitely recommend doing some research into it – even if you’re not feeling particularly overwhelmed.
Spending time out and about with friends and loved ones is particularly important to me and my wellbeing. I usually do find time at weekends or evenings to connect with the people I’m closest to, but I want to make more time for family and friends who I don’t see as often. That’s definitely something I will focus on in the coming weeks and months.
Be active
I’ve always managed to stay fairly active through playing football a couple of times a week, but I’ve recently taken up bouldering. This is essentially rock climbing with a crash mat instead of a rope (much safer than it sounds). There’s a great deal of perseverance and technique required to improve, but it’s pretty rewarding to complete a new route or difficulty. It’s also a great workout – that fear of falling always pushes me a little bit further than I’d manage at a regular gym session. When I’m good enough the plan is to move onto outdoor routes.
Take notice
I was introduced to mindfulness last year and I’ve recently started an eight week course with the Staff Wellbeing Service to find out more about it. From my experience I’ve found it a great way to unwind and just generally shift stress to the back of my mind, to concentrate on enjoying things that are important. I’m looking forward to developing more of the techniques as the course goes on, but I’d definitely recommend doing some research into it – even if you’re not feeling particularly overwhelmed.
Keep learning
Having always had an interest in writing and because I binge watch a lot of TV series’, I thought I’d try my hand at writing a series of my own. As part of the process I’ve looked at lots of scripts and screenplays from my favourite films and shows to try and learn the style. It has been challenging, with many drafts and redrafts, but I’ve just about finished episode one of six. Give Apart from a few contributions here and there, I haven’t really taken part in a charity event or run in a while so I’m going to look at ideas and commit to something in the coming months!
Wellbeing pledge
My main pledges for this year are to get involved with a charity fundraiser and to make more of an effort to spend time with family members and friends who I don’t see very often. I also hope to press on and finish more of my TV project, improve my bouldering technique and keep using mindfulness on a regular basis.
What are your five ways to wellbeing?
As this project at work is now past the one year mark, I'm always on the lookout for creative and different ideas for each of the five ways. Plus it's always good to hear different tips people use to stay well and feel better, so why not leave a couple in the comments below.
Having always had an interest in writing and because I binge watch a lot of TV series’, I thought I’d try my hand at writing a series of my own. As part of the process I’ve looked at lots of scripts and screenplays from my favourite films and shows to try and learn the style. It has been challenging, with many drafts and redrafts, but I’ve just about finished episode one of six. Give Apart from a few contributions here and there, I haven’t really taken part in a charity event or run in a while so I’m going to look at ideas and commit to something in the coming months!
Wellbeing pledge
My main pledges for this year are to get involved with a charity fundraiser and to make more of an effort to spend time with family members and friends who I don’t see very often. I also hope to press on and finish more of my TV project, improve my bouldering technique and keep using mindfulness on a regular basis.
What are your five ways to wellbeing?
As this project at work is now past the one year mark, I'm always on the lookout for creative and different ideas for each of the five ways. Plus it's always good to hear different tips people use to stay well and feel better, so why not leave a couple in the comments below.