The 5 Ways of Wellbeing
Have you noticed that through counselling, often self-care increases? It becomes more of a priority and motivation is found to do it.
So what might self-care of our mental health look like? Caring for our mental health can involve many different aspects. Getting enough sleep and enough nutritious food are foundational and really benefit us.
The organisation MIND highlights Five Ways to Wellbeing, originally developed by the New Economics Foundation. They are:
Connect
Be Active
Take notice
Learn
Give
We may connect with others or with other living beings, with our natural environment. There are many ways to be active but perhaps the simplest is just to walk in our local park or to take the stairs when we could choose the lift. What gives you a lift when you take notice of it? A piece of art? A beautiful sky? A bird? Learning may be learning a new word or a new skill, something large or small, something that stimulates our curiosity. To give may mean paid or voluntary work for someone but for another person it may be holding the door open for someone who is pushing a pram or feeding the local birds.
To read more about the 5 Ways to Wellbeing go to
Edinburgh Counselling Partnership 