Here we are on day four of our wellbeing week. How are you doing?
Today we are focussing on the act of giving to help improve our wellbeing. Research suggests that acts of giving and kindness can help improve your mental wellbeing by:
- creating positive feelings and a sense of reward
- giving you a feeling of purpose and self-worth
- helping you connect with other people
It could be small acts of kindness towards other people, or larger ones like volunteering in your local community.
Some examples of the things you could try include:
- saying thank you to someone for something they have done for you
- asking friends, family or colleagues how they are and really listening to their answer. Make a hot drink and sit down with a family member, talk about their day and how they are doing. Show your appreciation for the things they do for you by noticing their efforts and saying thank you.
- spending time talking with friends or relatives who need support or company. Give an elderly relative a call, talk to them about the things you’ve been up to and what you’ve been learning at school today. Write a letter or make a card to send through the post to someone, the effort you put into doing this rarely goes unnoticed and can really make someone feel like you care.
- offering to help someone at home with the jobs that need doing around the house or a work project. Why not offer to wash-up, help to get the tea, make someone a drink or tidy around the house. Could you take a turn to walk the dog or clean the rabbit out?
- When we are not in lockdown you could try volunteering in your community, such as helping at school or for a local charity. Lichfield has a lot of community events that take place, could you and your family help out? Could you help support the school PTFA events? Maybe you could donate to the Lichfield Foodbank to help support families who might be struggling at the moment.
