The following steps have been researched and developed by the New Economics Foundation. Let us know us what you think about them and how you look after your wellbeing on Facebook.
Connect There is strong evidence that indicates that feeling close to, and valued by, other people is a fundamental human need and one that contributes to functioning well in the world. It’s clear that social relationships are critical for promoting wellbeing and for acting as a buffer against mental ill health for people of all ages. With this in mind, try to do something different today and make a connection.
Be active Regular physical activity is associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups. Exercise is essential for slowing age-related cognitive decline and for promoting well-being. But it doesn’t need to be particularly intense for you to feel good - slower-paced activities, such as walking, can have the benefit of encouraging social interactions as well providing some level of exercise. Today, why not get physical? Here are a few ideas:
Take notice Reminding yourself to ‘take notice’ can strengthen and broaden awareness. Studies have shown that being aware of what is taking place in the present directly enhances your well-being and savouring ‘the moment’ can help to reaffirm your life priorities. Heightened awareness also enhances your self-understanding and allows you to make positive choices based on your own values and motivations. Take some time to enjoy the moment and the environment around you. Here are a few ideas:
Learn Continued learning through life enhances self-esteem and encourages social interaction and a more active life. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the opportunity to engage in work or educational activities particularly helps to lift older people out of depression. The practice of setting goals, which is related to adult learning in particular, has been strongly associated with higher levels of wellbeing. Why not learn something new today? Here are a few more ideas:
Give Participation in social and community life has attracted a lot of attention in the field of wellbeing research. Individuals who report a greater interest in helping others are more likely to rate themselves as happy. Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in wellbeing.
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There's no way to cure worry, says Elisha Goldstein. But we can learn to get better at recognising it and gently guiding ourselves back to what matters. We’ve all heard the saying that in life there are ups and down and there is the classic eastern saying that life is filled with 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. With this there’s the wisdom that all things come and go, but the brain has a funny way of amplifying the sorrows and minimising the joys for good evolutionary reasons. Whenever the brain perceived something as “bad” it starts to worry about it. But often there is no real utility to the worry, it only serves to dig us into a deeper hole and blinds us to the joys that might be waiting around the corner. Here is one of the best cartoons we’ve found that says it like it is: There really is no way to cure worrying, but we can learn to get better and better at recognising it and gently guiding ourselves back to a sense of perspective and what matters.
1. Soften your understanding of worry The utility of worry is to try and anticipate and avoid any potential dangers and to keep us safe. It’s the brain trying to protect us and so worrying certainly has its place and time. But often times worrying only serves to ramp up our nervous system and kick us into an imbalanced place that only leads to more worrying. The brain has good intentions, but it leads us down a destructive vicious cycle. 2. Allow/Accept the feeling Worrying usually arouses the feeling of fear or anxiety. In this mindful step, we’re simply acknowledging that this feeling is here. Calling it out. We want to do the opposite of resist it, because what we resists persists. So instead we practice allowing it to be as it is. Here you are just saying to yourself, “allowing, allowing, allowing.” 3. Feel into it with kindness Now we have the opportunity to deepen our awareness and investigate the feeling. Here you may choose to put your hand on your heart or wherever you feel the sensation in your body. This is one way of signaling to the brain a sense of love or kindness to the feeling which may shift it all by itself. The brain also has to map the sensation of the touch which is inversely correlated with mental rumination, turning the volume down on negative thinking.
4. Expand awareness and wishes to all people Whatever the worrying is about, it’s important you know you’re not alone. Feeling vulnerable is part of the human condition and millions of people struggle with the same source of vulnerability that you experience. But when we’re feeling vulnerable with anxiety the focus is all about us, we need to also impersonalise the experience and get outside of ourselves. You can do this by imagining all the other people who struggle with worrying and wish them all the same intentions that you just wished yourself. For example, May we all feel a sense of safety and security. May we all be free from the fear that keeps us stick in a perpetual cycle of worry. May we all feel that sense of belonging, etc… If you notice, steps one through four spell the acronym SAFE so you can easily remember what it is and what it’s for. As you intentionally practice this over and again, in time you will notice that you start to become less reactive to the worried mind, more compassionate with yourself as worry arises, and even have perspective that this worrying is part of the human condition and you are not alone. If we were able to turn the volume down on worrying in our lives, what would be there instead? For many people, it’s a sense of spaciousness, ease and joy. As always, please share your thoughts, stories and questions below. Your interaction creates a living wisdom for us all to benefit from. We may have outgrown our fear of monsters hiding under the bed, but night-time anxiety continues to keep many of us awake long past lights out. So is there a way we calm our anxious minds, and get to sleep more quickly? One of the most common difficulties with getting to sleep is people just can’t turn their minds off. You might be tired and sluggish all day, but you lay down in bed and all of a sudden your mind just starts going and won’t stop. If that sounds familiar, here are four ways you can quiet the mind and sleep soundly: 1. Encourage positive distractionsFocusing all your attention on how you can’t get to sleep will only make sleep more difficult. We recommend distracting yourself with interesting and engaging imagery, involving as many as your senses as possible. For example, close your eyes and picture a nice beach - can you hear the crashing of waves? Feel the sun on your skin? Taste the salt from the sea? These kinds of images can then transfer into dream content, so keep it pleasant and positive. 2. Allow worrisome thoughts If you’re unable to sleep because you’re fixated on something stressful that’s happening the next day—like a big presentation at work, or a confrontation with a family member - it’s common to want to push those thoughts from your mind. However, doing so may hurt more than it helps. Not only will you start to think about these things again, now your arousal will be higher, too. Rather than trying not to think about what’s worrying you, he recommends considering what comes after the big event. Remembering the mundane tasks that follow something stressful - like cleaning up your meeting space after the presentation, or going grocery shopping after you’ve seen family - can help you recognise that the panic will pass. Keep going until the stressful part is over and you’re back into your normal life, don’t just replay the worst parts over and over. 3. Practice nightly mindfulnessOften when we’re wide awake worrying, we’re focused on something that’s happening in the future. In those cases, mindfulness can be a powerful antidote as it directs your attention towards what’s happening in the present. You can always focus on your breathing, but it may also be helpful to focus on a physical sensation like how warm and soft your blankets feel. You can also try a body-scan meditation to relax both your body and mind. Anything that helps you focus your attention on something that’s happening right now, rather than something that might happen in the future. 4. Focus on gratitude Finally, focusing on the good can evoke pleasant emotions and help soothe you to sleep. For example, rather than thinking what might go wrong, try to focus your attention on something you’re looking forward to. You can also think of something that happened during the last day or two that you are grateful for. It can also be comforting to think of a positive person in your life, or nice deeds other people have done for you. Feeling fortunate or grateful for that person can reduce worry and help you sleep. References Jared D Minkel, PhD: https://www.lifespan.org/jared-d-minkel-phd |
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