Home » Student Portal » Mental Health » Wellbeing
“Wellbeing is not just the absence of disease or illness. It’s a complex combination of a person’s physical, mental, emotional and social health factors. Wellbeing is strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction. In short, wellbeing could be described as how you feel about yourself and your life”. Source: Better Health
Move More, Eat Better
This dimension of wellbeing focuses on preventing disease and add quality years to your life, by integrating exercise, nutritious diet and personal safety into your daily life. This can take the form of yoga, running, swimming, cutting down on caffeine/alcohol intake or ensuring safety on nights out.
Feeding your Brain
An active and open mind leads to a life filled with passion and purpose. To further apply this dimension of wellbeing, engaging in creative and stimulating activities are ideal, helping to keep your mind sharp and your brain healthy and happy. This can include learning a new skill, reading a book or making time to for your interests in your free time.
Love the Earth
Help the planet and bring a sense of accomplishment and wellbeing to your own life. Have you asked how your daily habits can affect the world around you in a positive way? Small changes such as recycling when we can or using a reusable cup can all help to promote this aspect of wellbeing.
Live with Purpose
This dimension of wellbeing focuses on enriching your life and that of others by sharing your special gifts, skills, and talents. Whether through work or volunteering, you can make a positive impact and reap the health benefits of adding purpose to your life.
Connect with Others
Personal connections contribute to a long and fulfilling life. When you nurture relationships with family and friends, you create healthy support networks for life. Planning a phone call with friends/family or going to lunch with a colleague a few times a week can help relieve stress, build resilience, and promote wellbeing.
Practice Gratitude
Self-esteem and optimism are really powerful. Expressing love and other emotions help achieve balance in the face of challenges. Be mindful and live in the moment! Recognising, knowing and feeling our emotions by telling the people we love that we appreciate them or crying when we feel sad allows us to experience the world around us fully.
Understanding and living by a set of core beliefs or values that shape you and how you live your life enriches our spiritual wellbeing. If you’re willing to seek meaning and purpose in your life with an open mind, you will likely find inner peace. Optimise your spiritual wellbeing by spending time alone/meditate regularly, listening with your heart and living by your principles and allowing yourself and those around you the freedom to be who they are.
Sexual consent is OMFG – Ongoing, Mutual and Freely Given.
Sexual consent is the voluntary agreement between both partners with equal power to engage in any sexual activity.
This agreement can be verbal or non-verbal but should be given freely by individuals capable of consenting, that is, who are over the legal age of consent and not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Consent should never be assumed – it should be a clear, ongoing and continuous process present in every new or repeated sexual encounter.
You need consent for ALL sexual activity.
For more information on consent, please visit our consent webpage.
Connect
Make time each day to Connect. Connect with the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. By staying connected and nurturing these relationships we feel happier and more secure, giving us a better sense of purpose.
Be Active
Look for ways to be active everyday. Go for a walk or a run. Step outside. Cycle, play a game, garden or dance. Discover a physical activity you enjoy which suits your lifestyle and level of mobility and fitness. Research has shown being physically active can improve your mental health and wellbeing.
Take Notice
Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Be Curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Pay attention to the present moment – to your thoughts, feelings and to the world around you.
Keep Learning
Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Cook a new recipe. Take on a new responsibility. Setting yourself a new challenge and learning a new skill will increase your confidence which can improve your mental health and wellbeing.
Give
Giving to others is good for you. Do something nice for someone else. Thank someone. Volunteer your time or join a community group. See yourself and your happiness linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and create connectedness with the people around you.
Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) are intentional activities that aim to boost wellbeing, enhance positive feelings, behaviours.
Everyday experiences such as eating, smelling, or observing with focus on what we are attending to can help you to remain present which can reduce stress and increase Wellbeing.
Empathy interventions place an emphasis on strengthening positive emotions in interpersonal relationships. Healthy social bonds in your profession and personal life are essential for happiness and inner peace. The following practices help people to create positive feelings towards themselves and others by being mindfully connected to the present.
Kindness interventions based on compassion can include random acts of kindness, volunteering, donating or simply helping a stranger in need.
Optimistic interventions involve setting realistic expectations to create positive outcomes.
Expressing gratitude has been shown to increase happiness, positivity and motivation.
HSE – Health and Wellbeing offer various programme and supports that promote wellbeing.
Mental Health Ireland – 5 ways to Wellbeing as an in depth look at each of the five ways to wellbeing and tips for each.
A fact sheet and article on how to support and nurture your wellbeing.
This short 13 question survey, brought to you by the Centre for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota, allows you to assess your wellbeing and set goals to help improve your score.