This month is Wellbeing Support Month in our EDI Calendar. Wellbeing underpins everything we do and impacts our ability to show up, be present and really thrive at work, at home and in all areas of our lives.

What is wellbeing?

In super simple terms, it’s about what we need so that we can be and feel ‘well’ in our bodies, minds and throughout our experience of life. This is something that we can all benefit from but it will look different for each of us depending on our lifestyles, the cultures we come from, whether we have faith or no faith, what age group/stage of life we’re in, whether are disabled or consider ourselves to be disabled or not, and many other factors.

How does the University Support our Wellbeing?

The University of Manchester has a wonderful Wellbeing Team, including a network of Staff Wellbeing Champions who volunteer their time to signpost employees to University Wellbeing Services, help organise events and promote national health and wellbeing days, amongst other things. You can find out more about Wellbeing Champions and how to become one here.

The Colleague Wellbeing Pages on StaffNet contain information about the different wellbeing support services that are available at the University such as the Employee Assistance Programme, other mental health support offerings and other resources.

Doing one thing

It can feel overwhelming knowing where to start with wellbeing; we’re all busy people with lots of conflicting demands on our time but, making changes to improve your wellbeing can start small.

The Six Ways to Wellbeing are 6 ways to integrate wellbeing in to your life. You can start with one and work up from there. Recently, I’ve been doing more to ‘Take Notice’ by incorporating short meditation sessions into my day or taking a short walk in the park and noticing the sounds, sights and smells around me.

Slowing down and taking notice of the world around me and how my body feels has helped me to tune in to my emotions and feelings on a day-to-day basis.  This makes it easier for me to know when I need to rest, move my body or spend some time sitting with how I’m feeling.

You could start with something different, maybe making more time to ‘Connect’ with the people in your life either virtually or in person. You might decide to ‘be active’ by finding an activity that you enjoy and that suits you, whether that’s cycling, walking, running, swimming or gentle movement throughout the day.

Small changes can make a big difference to your wellbeing, health and mental health.

Steph Danson – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Project Officer and Wellbeing Champion in the ED Directorate

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