Well-being Journey - GIVE

What can I do to help my own well-being?

Onto the final route to help well-being now which is GIVE. I hope these blogs have helped some of you out there and please let me know if they have!

What does 'Give' mean?

Initially when I read this step I assumed that it meant, well, giving. Buying presents for example, physically giving things to someone but that's not entirely what it means. It can also means small acts of kindness or even volunteering, giving back to the community and those around you. I personally see this as 'giving your time' and according to the NHS website on giving for mental well-being it 'can make you feel happier and more satisfied with life'. The reason it is good for you is because our actions really affect our well-being and doing positive things helps give a positive affect so helps you feel good about yourself (a bit long winded but you see what I mean...hopefully). As the NHS website says: 'Helping and supporting other people, and working with others towards a shared goal, is good for our mental well-being'. 

Examples: 

- Volunteer for a charity or something in the local community

- Call a family member or a friend who has helped you recently and say 'thank you' and see if there is anything you can do for them.

- Offer to help a stranger if you see them struggling e.g. help with a pushchair or help an older person with their shopping. (Sometimes small acts of kindness go a long way)

- Offer to help a colleague with help at work whether it's a small thing or a work project.

What I plan to do: 

- Now this time I don't have a list of things I plan to do because I think things like this should come naturally in your day to day life so I'll use examples of things I have done. Things I have done to help someone else in my life that gave me great satisfaction.

Results: 

- Visiting family - I don't always get the chance to see family as I'm quite far away for University so I take the time out to try and visit them when I can, especially grandparents. This does also work with Connect (blog 1) but it gives me satisfaction knowing I'm given my time to them and how happy they are. Sometimes it may just be for a few hours but it's still very important time.

- Care Package - Very recently my boyfriend had a lot of uni work to do so because I couldn't spend time with him and I wanted to make sure he was okay and relaxed I made him a care package. It had snacks, a relaxing body wash, a sleep spray for his pillow and a face mask in case he wanted to have a very extra pampering session.

Final Say: 

This is one thing I really wanted to say in this final blog which was throughout life we will always have a combination of emotions. Sometimes good but sometimes we may feel painful emotions like sadness and grief and disappointment and it is important to know these blogs are not to say you must be happy all the time. What these blogs are for are is to help you manage those painful feelings in tough times to help you better navigate through them and feel more yourself again.

So remember you're not alone! Connect with others, be active, take notice of the world around you, keep learning new things and give back to those you care about.