What is Wellbeing?
Wellbeing is really about how you are feeling and how you are coping with everyday life. Our wellbeing does not stay the same all of the time. It can naturally go up and down at different times because of something specific or for no particular reason.
When our wellbeing is good we can:
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Feel good about ourselves overall.
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Have good relationships.
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Feel confident in different things we do.
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Enjoy our lives.
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Deal with stress in everyday life.
Parenting and Wellbeing
As parents, whether you are a single parent, a mum, dad or carer, we all want to do what is best to keep our children safe, fit and well. However, it can be easy to forget about our own health and wellbeing. Looking after yourself helps you do the job well. That is because looking after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally helps you to provide yourself with the strength you need in all areas of life, including what your children need to grow and thrive. When you are focused on caring for children, it is easy to forget or run out of time to look after your own wellbeing, but it is worth it and it is good for you and good for your children.
What can affect our Wellbeing?
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How we are feeling physically in ourselves.
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How our relationships are.
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How much we can communicate what we are thinking and feeling.
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How we feel about our environment (school, home, work).
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Things that happen in our lives that cause stress.
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Or other areas of life.
Tips for looking after our Wellbeing
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Open communication with your partner and family members. Communicating about how you are feeling can help others in your family understand your perspective. Equally, giving someone space to talk can be helpful in itself; letting family members know that they are not alone and that you are there can help.
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Connecting with other people who can support you. Part of the emotional support that someone can offer another person is around keeping in touch and involving them in social events or talking about other parts of both of your lives.
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Focusing attention on now or the present moment.
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Being physically active.
Being physically active is also an important part of looking after our wellbeing. Here are some links to explore what is on offer locally:
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Local parks and outdoor spaces can be found here: Parks - Barnet Council
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Leisure facilities can be accessed locally: Leisure and Sport Facilities - Barnet Council
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Walking, running and cycling trails: Walking, running and cycling trails - Barnet Council
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Learning new skills – Community Barnet - New Crafts and Skills
Links to Useful Websites
Mind - Looking after your wellbeing
The Mind website gives some great ideas for what we can do to look after our wellbeing, such as:
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Doing something creative -
Learning something new
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Eating healthily -
Getting enough sleep
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Helping others
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Doing things you enjoy
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Connecting with others
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Doing things to help you relax
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Asking for help when you need it
The Anna Freud Centre also have a page dedicated to self care with lots of ideas from young people themselves about the things that they do to look after their mental health and wellbeing. Have a look at the information through this link: Self Care - Anna Freud Centre
Here is the link for more details about each of the above steps:
NHS - 5 steps to mental wellbeing
The NHS also have videos on their Every Mind Matters page about self care when thinking about social media, dealing with change, dealing with unhelpful thoughts and worries and ideas around sleep and exercise. Take a look here:
Self care video tips for young people - NHS Every Mind Matters
MindEd has advice and information for families put together by a team of professionals and parents/carers.
What is Available Locally?
We know that connecting with others and doing things you enjoy is really good for your wellbeing. Here are some links to information about local community and faith groups. Take a look to see if any might be of interest to you:
Keeping up to Date with Events
Doing different activities, particularly enjoyable and creative activities can help us with our wellbeing. Here is a link to local events that are happening in Barnet libraries:
Library events - Barnet Council
Summary
At Wren, we aim to provide a nurturing, caring and supportive environment for all our families. We hope to maintain this ethos through our strong parent/carer/school communication links; parent information mornings; class assemblies and through our day to day contact. Wellbeing is at the forefront of the Academy's curriculum and ethos and promoting good mental health is a priority for us all.