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Wellbeing Wednesday - Promoting Mental Health & Wellbeing

Promoting children and young people's wellbeing is a key part of keeping them safe, helping them develop and ensuring they have positive outcomes into adulthood (Public Health England, 2021). Wellbeing refers to a state of feeling good and functioning well. 

Evidence suggests there are 5 steps you can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing. Trying these things could help adults and children alike, feel more positive and able to get the most out of life. 

CONNECT

Connecting with others is important as feeling like we are part of a community gives us a sense of belonging, and the opportunity to give and receive support. Feeling close to, and valued by, other people is a fundamental human need and one that contributes to functioning well in the world. Social relationships are critical for promoting wellbeing and for acting as a buffer against mental ill health for people of all ages. 

BE ACTIVE

Being active boosts our wellbeing by causing chemical changes in our brain which can positively change our moods. We can also set ourselves challenges and meet our goals, which can give us a sense of achievement. 

KEEP LEARNING

Research shows that learning new skills or subjects can also improve your mental wellbeing by boosting self-confidence and raising self-esteem, helping you to build a sense of purpose, helping you to connect with others. The APEEF run a huge selection of clubs for the children at JP - why not see if there is one that interests your child and sign them up for January.

GIVE

Research suggests that acts of giving and kindness can help improve our mental wellbeing by creating positive feelings and helping you connect with other people. In the approach to Christmas, there are always huge numbers of charities that require support, help and donations. Why not reach out to your local community and see if you can offer to help someone or volunteer in your community with your children.

TAKE NOTICE

Taking notice of the present moment can help us to be more in tune with our thoughts and feelings and the world around us and can help us spend less time and energy dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges. 

The Five Steps to Wellbeing can sound simple when listed out, but may be more difficult to achieve when you try, or encourage our children to try. None of these things can be achieved overnight, but if we start small and build up motivation and awareness, we will start to notice the benefits in ours and our children's wellbeing. 

Supporting mental health and wellbeing is key; it is necessary to teach and promote the above so that we can equip our children and ourselves with the tools required to feel better and more positive in day to day life. There are so many uncontrollable elements to life but with a focus on mental health and wellbeing, choosing how we react to those challenges becomes clearer.

Take good care of yourself and each other.