Improving Wellbeing
Wellbeing, includes our quality of life, happiness, physical health and mental health.
Maybe you are feeling that you are struggling a bit and aren’t sure where get support, or you want to make lifestyle changes but are not sure where to start. Perhaps you are feeling lonely and you’d like to meet new people. If this sounds familiar then one of our team can help you improve your wellbeing both on a one to one basis or one of our friendly groups.
Our group activities are friendly, relaxed and welcoming and a great way of meeting new people.
However, if you’d like one to one support initially, then we can offer that too. Our Health Improvement Practitioners can help you improve your wellbeing by helping you plan a routine, suggest tools to be more mindful and relax and to be a listening ear to help you off load.
Our staff can also support you to get out and about, find out what’s on in your area, make new friends and build your confidence.
Please contact us to find out how we can support you
Children and young people’s wellbeing
Zoneworks is the social prescribing service for children and young people.
Currently active in four West End Schools and the West End Family Health groups of GP Practices, Zone West is a mentoring and signposting service for children helping to improve their lives and focused on the achievement of developmental goals. The link workers work with children identified from their school or GP practice by designing a programme for the child personalised to their specific needs.
Find out more about Zoneworks.
There are lots of things you can do to help your own wellbeing
- Make time for yourself.
- Eat healthily
- Get plenty of sleep
- Get some exercise
- Spend time and stay connected to friends and family
- Talk about your problems with people you trust
- Don’t ignore how you’re feeling.
If you’ve stopped doing things you usually love, you’re tearful, not eating or sleeping properly, drifting from people close to you, taking alcohol or drugs to cope or self-harming, then talk to an organisation such as The Samaritans, one of these NHS identified mental health helplines (you can also contact these if you are worried about someone else) or to someone you trust.
Take a Wellbeing Walk with Healthworks
Taking a walk is a great activity for all ages, and not only helps you get active but can also have a really positive impact on your wellbeing. You don’t have to have a car or live in the country to access some lovely walks, there are some great parks and green space located in urban areas or you could just take a walk and explore your own local area instead!
Our virtual Wellbeing Walks have been developed to:
- inspire people to get active and improve their wellbeing through walking
- give people ideas for walks using their local parks and green spaces
- bring an “outside-inside experience” to promote positive mental wellbeing for people who are unable to get out and about for whatever reason
Take a Wellbeing Walk with us in Hodgkin Park in Benwell
We have a series of local and regional walks which can be found on our You Tube.
Or try one of our historic trails that you can find in Our Resources.
Do more of the things you enjoy!
There are a number of things that you could try:
- Gardening
- Walks in nature
- Getting active
- Reading
- Cooking – take a look at our healthy eating page or our YouTube channel for inspiration to get you started
- Free online learning and activities – we’ve a free Family Activities Online resource which brings together a range of activities, there really is something for everyone!
- Taking photographs using your mobile phone
- Jigsaws
- Puzzles and crosswords
- Calling a family member or friends – you can keep in touch with groups of people by video calling too!
Try relaxation exercises
The Samaritans website has a really useful “Practical ways to help yourself cope” guide with lots of useful information including these easy relaxation exercises.
Controlled breathing
This can be a useful tool for feeling calmer quickly and reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. This technique is easy to memorise and can be practised almost anywhere
Muscle relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and releasing pairs of muscles in sequence. It can help if you imagine tension leaving your body as you release your muscles.
You’ll need a quiet, private space for this to work well. Find somewhere to sit, with your feet planted shoulder width apart, flat on the ground. You might like to read through the steps of this simple technique first, then practise without any guidance, and you may want to use the breathing exercise above before you use this one.
Start with the muscles in your head. Tense your forehead muscles by raising your eyebrows and holding for up to 10 seconds. Then release, imagining tension leaving your body.
There are some other useful online resources that to help promote good mental health and improve wellbeing:
NHS Mental Health and Wellbeing advice