5 ways to wellbeing
Connect
Maintaining healthy relationships with people you trust is important for your mental wellbeing. There are many activities you can do together at home or online, including online and virtual activities and classes for families and children. This includes many activities for children and young people and families at the Coventry Music Hub, the Coventry Cultural Education Partnership and meeting new people through free Arty-Folks courses
Think about how you can stay in touch with friends and family while you are at home – by phone, messaging, video calls or online – whether it's people you usually see often or reconnecting with old friends or neighbours.
Keep learning
Being kind to yourself is just as important for your wellbeing. Set aside some time each week for you and maybe think about hobbies that you enjoy, taking up a new skill, or make full use of the free online library services from Coventry and Warwickshire, which includes eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, eNewspapers in addition to home learning and study support for pupils.
Be active
Being kind to your body is all about staying active and looking after your wellbeing by exercising and setting yourself challenges. Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council have produced a 30-day challenge Active April calendar to help you get active this spring with lots of hints and tips to help you find something that you enjoy- from cleaning to walking to dancing. It is estimated that it takes around 30 days to turn actions into habits and maximise the chances of turning useful knowledge and techniques into positive behavioural change.
Many activities have been produced from a range of resources available online from the NHS fitness studio workouts, to Mind’s Get Active Bingo and Warwickshire County Council’s video series of gentle exercise videos.
Give
Being part of your community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you. Why not give back to your community by offering your skills and support as a Community Messenger in Coventry to help get messages into the heart of different communities about the ongoing pandemic. The existing 200 volunteers are already making a huge difference. Acts of kindness within your community at this time are increasingly important, no matter how big or small the contribution. To find out ways to help give back to your community, Warwickshire County Council has developed a webpage containing information on how to volunteer and help during this time.
Take Notice
If you’ve found that life has slowed down, you can take the opportunity to be present in the now and be more mindful, reflecting on experiences, and appreciating what matters to us. For a lot of us, the only time we spend outside has been around our neighbourhoods, but there’s always new things to notice. Take photos of your surroundings and the nature that inhabits it and see if you can notice anything you haven’t seen before.
Take a stroll outdoors and notice the colour of the leaves and local wildlife, or make changes to your indoor environment by repurposing unneeded items. This is all about being kind to your environment.
Remember, it is okay not to feel okay, but structuring our lives around the 5 Ways to Wellbeing could significantly contribute to getting through this difficult time together by prioritising your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.