Continuing on with the Five Steps to Mental Wellbeing. Missed Step 1? Start here and see how volunteering helps connect you with others.
Step 5: Be Mindful.
This is the last step in the Five Steps to Mental Wellbeing. The NHS website says:
Be more aware of the present moment, including your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you. Some people call this awareness “mindfulness”. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.
Ok, so this link with volunteering is perhaps a little more tenuous, but many of our volunteers practice mindfullness as part of their recovery and to maintain their wellbeing; and they volunteer to help them engage in activities in which they practice mindfullness.
Let’s look at a couple of examples:
A Feedback Volunteer who is speaking and listening to service users and carers about their experiences to then represent them in meetings or give that feedback to others. That volunteer would find it pretty hard to concentrate if they were too busy worrying or getting caught up in their own whirling thoughts. That volunteer is being present in that moment with that service user and that carer, connecting with them and paying attention to what is being said.
A Support Volunteer who is doing activities on wards with Service Users and Staff. That volunteer is engaging in those activities with those people and may be being more aware of the smell of the baking they’re doing, the sight of the colours of their artwork or the physical feeling of their body as they dance.
Interested in getting involved and finding out more? Give us a call to find out what volunteering opportunities we have available: 0800 052 1415 or email us: volunteering@nottshc.nhs.uk
Still need more convincing? We’ve been through all the steps, maybe just contact us and let us answer your questions.