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“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop” – Ovid.
Farmers rotate their crops to give the soil a rest and let it naturally replenish nutrients. But how do you replenish yourself?
This time of year is an excellent opportunity to replenish and revitalise the nutrients of life that enhance our wellbeing. With the current pandemic, now more than ever it is important to use this summer as a chance to examine your wellbeing.
Much has been written about wellbeing and many definitions have been offered. In my opinion, however, how a person experiences wellbeing is individual. In essence, it is not just about a state of health, it can also be about how your mind is, how your body and spirit are.
Perhaps you can think of wellbeing as a great big summer beach umbrella – its cover has to be propped up by solid spokes. If we think of wellbeing as feelings to do with physical health and neglect, other “spokes” such as our emotions, sexuality, spirituality and mental health, we will not have a well-supported umbrella cover.
Mental health describes the way we think and feel about ourselves and others, our confidence and our ability to control and/or respond to the challenges of daily life. It goes way beyond whether we experience mental health problems. Similarly, our physical health goes beyond whether we experience physical illness, let it be for example diabetes, a heart condition or asthma.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that: “Wellbeing is present when a person realises their potential, is resilient in dealing with the normal stresses of their life, takes care of their physical wellbeing and has a sense of purpose, connection and belonging to a wider community. It is a fluid way of being and needs nurturing throughout life.”
This is a wholesome type of insight to wellbeing. It allows for an individual understanding and acceptance of one’s own belief in what wellbeing means and how it forms them personally. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for human beings to measure themselves against each other. Doing so, is like building a house on bog, having no grounding foundation, and placing the person in admiration on a pedestal, with the risk of putting oneself down.
Generally, most people have plenty of awareness about looking after their physical wellbeing, but tend to be less informed about looking after their mental wellbeing, which is the cornerstone to good mental health.
It is well documented that our mental and physical wellbeing are closely connected. To give more attention to our physical health at the expense of our mental health will potentially cause a collapse of the umbrella. Both require regular maintenance and support. A good starting point is to make simple choices about your everyday life that can enhance and impact both your physical and mental wellbeing.
Mental Health Ireland, of which I am a development officer, is a lead organisation for mental health promotion. We have taken a national lead in promoting the “Five ways to wellbeing”. This is a universal message that promotes five simple ways to enhance wellbeing individually, within families, places of work or in the community.
It is no secret that humans often make inaccurate predictions about what will make them happy. However, in life less can be more. Such a belief can be explored through the five ways and how they can be integrated into daily life.
1 Connect
Research indicates that people whose goals in life are focused on family, friends and colleagues have increased wellbeing, as they make efforts to maintain these relationships. Keep in touch with friends and loved ones.
Should you encounter a setback, these are the people you can turn to, ask for help and share your feelings with. It also means you are there when your friends are feeling vulnerable too. More importantly, it is about having friends to enjoy companionship and friendship.
A good starting point in any day is to connect with your body when you get up and eat well. Start your day off with a nourishing breakfast to generate energy for the day ahead of you.
2 Be active
Exercise improves our wellbeing, including productivity and focus. A good piece of advice is to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, three times a week. We can sneak it in by using the stairs instead of the lift and walking in favour of taking short car journeys.
Central to this is to identify a physical activity that suits you personally and that you enjoy doing and find interesting. Seek to be creative about being active – this can include gardening or joining a walking group in your county when it is possible to do so again.
3 Take notice
Take time to indulge in the wonderful natural summer colours, feel the fresh air and experience nature around you. Value yourself and others. Allow yourself to reflect on what you have done well and take pride in the compliments that you receive.
We Irish have a tendency out of the goodness of our hearts to respond to a compliment with, “Ah sure it was nothing, no problem, no bother”. Take the compliment and appreciate it!
4 Keep learning
Reading this article is learning about personal self-care. Try something new, there are loads of online courses out there. And, when things start to open up again, Educational Training Boards (ETBs) have offices in every county, are accessible to all and provide an excellent range of programmes throughout the year.
Learning is not always about dotting the Is and crossing the Ts. Why not join your local library when it is open again or utilise its online services. The library is an educational oasis of information and resources, and is a connection to the world at large. It is a free service.
5 Give
At the end of each day, see if you can get into the habit of writing down three things you have felt grateful for or good about during the day and give yourself the credit for what has gone well. It will enhance your personal sense of wellbeing. Giving can also be about volunteering.
Volunteering can be incredible rewarding, as it creates connections and provides opportunities to learn, take notice and be active. If it’s not possible to volunteer with a community organisation at the moment, maybe try helping a family member or neighbour. Even something as simple as doing their shopping can give you a sense of purpose.
“We are so over whelmed with things these days that our lives are more or less cluttered. I believe it is this, rather than shortness of time, that gives us that feeling of hurry and almost of helplessness. Everyone is hurrying and usually just a little late. Notice the faces of the people who rush past us on the street or on country roads – they nearly all have a strained, harassed look and anyone you meet will tell you that there is no time for anything anymore”
Would you believe this was written by Laura Ingalis Wilder (author of Little House on the Prairie) in 1924? It was included in her Little House on the Ozark newspaper articles written between 1911 and 1925. Almost one hundred years ago. And yet, what has changed? Little or nothing. But still, many of us think life was so much better then and stress free – apparently, it was not much different than what we know and experience in today’s world. However, we can declutter our lives by using the Five Ways to Wellbeing.
Finola Colgan is a development officer at Mental Health Ireland, and can be contacted via email at finola@mentalhelathireland.ie. See mentalhealthireland.ie for more information.
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