Owen's 5 x 5 Ways of Wellbeing: Part 3

by Owen Griffkin

Mental Health Participation Support Worker

In Part 1 of my series I looked at how to Connect. Part 2 was all about Keep Learning.

Number 3 in our series on practical ways to follow the Five Ways to Wellbeing plan is Take Notice!

According to the mental health charity Mind reminding yourself to ‘take notice’ can strengthen and broaden awareness. The research shows that being aware of what is taking place in the present improves wellbeing. It’s thought that becoming more aware of your surroundings in turn leads you to become more self-aware, and allows you to have a better understanding of your motivations, and helps you make positive choices.

This might actually be the easiest of the five steps to implement, as it can be something as simple as changing your route to work/school run. So here are 5 ideas for you to try out yourself.

1. Leave your phone at home

This one is self explanatory - leaving your phone at home might mean that you aren’t wandering around checking email, being interrupted by a Facebook notification that is of no interest to you, or if you’re in a social situation you might engage more with your friends or colleagues. I do this a lot and it works a treat (admittedly I usually leave it by accident). Once you lose that 'no-phone' anxiety then it becomes quite enjoyable, and will help some of the other ideas in this article. Except for...

2. Bring your phone out with you

"What? But you just said leave it at home?? I’m confused!"

Yeah, phones are a big barrier to becoming aware of surroundings, but they do have a great feature, which can really help you notice the world around you. The camera. There was a recent challenge shared on social media which encouraged people to post 7 black and white photos in 7 days. Taking photos of your daily commute, using one of those fancy filters which seem to be the norm on all social media pics, really gives you a new eye on what’s around you, and allows you to maybe see something beautiful that wasn’t there before.

I had a quick go at this myself, and you can see a sample of my pics that I did around the photogenic offices of PAVO. Very arty.

3. Start a bullet journal

I recently started a bullet journal, after my partner and others raved about theirs for ages. It’s a simple idea; imagine a superpowered, creative, analogue diary. It’s simple to set up, and the more time you put into it, the more info you can pack into it and usefulness it can bring.

Bullet Journal by Eleanor Outram-Rees

My artistic talents are pretty low, so mine isn’t the most beautiful work ever, but I have seen examples of other people's that are creative and useful. As well as helping with future planning, which is a great help to wellbeing, it also allows you to record thoughts, ideas and feelings to reflect on later. 

It’s explained in much better detail by the creator Ryder Carroll on his website Bullet Journal.

Bullet Journal by Jessica Rose

There are also two great Facebook groups you can join for inspiration and advice: BuJo (Bullet Journal) Beginners and Bullet Journal Junkies UK.

4. Take a walk on the wild side

I usually drive my daughter to school due to time issues and the fact it is just that little bit too long to walk. However on the occasions when we do walk together it is a much happier time. We have longer conversations that we wouldn’t have in the car, and everything seems a bit less hectic. Even on my own, a walk instead of a drive leaves me feeling relaxed and helps with my mindfulness. SO if there is a journey you regularly make by car, that you could actually walk, give it a try every so often. Another tip is to change your route up, and go a way you don’t usually go to add extra ‘awareness points’.

5. Notice the seasons

I’m a city boy by birth and upbringing, and one of the things I’ve noticed and enjoyed most since moving to Powys is how much more noticable the changes in the seasons are. Take a walk and take stock of the landscape and nature, then repeat this over a period of time. Maybe you could even record it creatively, either by drawing, or writing about how it makes you feel. You can also combine this with the photo challenge, taking pictures of the same scene over time and building them up into your own personal work of art.

I really appreciate this ‘way to wellbeing’ as Powys is the perfect place to take comfort from your surroundings and there is always something or somewhere new to see. It’s a cheap and easy way to improve your wellbeing just by taking a step back and contemplating and reflecting on your own feelings. Now I’m off to go and look at all the fresh snowdrops and crocuses/croci and wait for spring to arrive properly.

Is that cup of coffee really blue....?

The Five Ways to Wellbeing was devised by the clever folk at the New Economics Foundation and is supported by Powys Teaching Health Board and Public Health Wales.

R.A.B.I – supporting farming families in Powys

Becky with her Dad, and his dog, Merle!

This week’s guest post is from Becky Davies

Regional Manager of R.A.B.I for North Wales and Warwickshire 

My name is Becky and I work for a charity called R.A.B.I, aka the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. We are a national farming charity working throughout Wales and England. We aim to help people of all ages from the farming community, particularly those who have found themselves in difficult circumstances through no fault of their own.

I work for R.A.B.I four days a week as a “Regional Manager”. What this means is that I help to raise money for the charity and also raise awareness of what we do, and how we can help people. The charity has its head office in Oxford, but I get to work from home, and my work takes me out and about throughout North and Mid Wales, and Warwickshire. I am originally from a farming family in Shropshire but I have recently moved to live on a farm near Dolgellau. My colleague Linda Jones also works with me as a Regional Manager in Powys. Linda and I have two fabulous colleagues working with the farmers in Powys – Mel Jones and Claire Critchard. Mel and Claire are Regional Welfare Officers. They both work very hard visiting people in Powys and beyond, making sure that we are doing all we can to help.

Some people don’t understand how farmers can end up feeling depressed. It can be a lovely, rewarding occupation. They are surrounded by our beautiful Welsh countryside, getting out into the fresh air each day. But from time to time it can be difficult to pick your head up and notice the beauty in your surroundings.

Farming is a 24/7 business and many in the industry work very long hours in isolation in remote, rural areas. On top of that, there will always be factors that can quickly cause stress and anxiety to escalate such as market fluctuations, poor harvests, bad weather and animal disease. Not seeking support when symptoms first emerge can make things much worse.

People approach the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I) for all sorts of reasons. At R.A.B.I we give out grants to people from the farming community, and provide a range of additional support. For some people, our help might just provide a breathing space to hopefully take the pressure off. It’s incredible how having someone to talk to can so often be that vital first step on the road to recovery. For some people, tackling their financial problems can immediately relieve some of the stress, anxiety and worry.

Farmers Lizzie and David Ottley with R.A.B.I Regional Welfare Officer Sally Hubbard

We offer a free, and confidential service. Most of the people that we help, choose to remain anonymous (as is their right), but some individuals agree to share their story. David Ottley is one of these people.

David and wife Lizzie run Blue Welly Farm and have three young daughters. David remembers the time before he called on R.A.B.I for help: “I had the farm and the family I’d always wanted but something was not right. I was not happy.”

Over the years, David’s problems worsened. A string of unfortunate circumstances befell the farm and David felt that he had ‘hit the bottom and crashed’.

David described a particularly difficult time when his ewes developed health problems, leading to them lambing four weeks early. Most of the new-born lambs could not survive.

“I was afraid of going into the lambing yard to see what I’d find next. I couldn’t do it. Lizzie held it all together, until the morning that she needed my help with a ewe that was having trouble. She said it was like watching someone who had never lambed before. I didn’t know what to do.

“I sat on the floor and felt empty and dead and just for a second I felt I might as well be because I had no feelings.

“I went to the doctor's and went on medication, but I was still under a very dark cloud. Months of not being on the ball had meant that money had gotten very tight. I started hiding the bills from Lizzie, but also from myself.

“One day I sat outside at our table. Everything was dead, there were no birds and no life. I decided I had to do something because this couldn’t carry on.”

David sought the help of R.A.B.I, and Sally Hubbard, one of our welfare officers, met with him to work out how the charity could help him and his family.

“She came out and went through everything. She helped us put together a plan on how we were going to pay off these bills. Things weren’t as bad as I thought they were. She also called some of our creditors and spoke to them on my behalf, which is something I couldn’t do.

“Most of all, she listened. She listened without rushing me.

“The money R.A.B.I gave us kept the house running so the farm had a little bit of time to rest and pay for itself. We could function and pay our bills.

“Sally and R.A.B.I helped me focus on the farm and walk through the fog to see the sun and hear the birds. They helped me get back on track to do farm work again. I’m looking ahead with a smile again.”

People are generally surprised when I talk about all that R.A.B.I can offer. Our primary aim is to offer financial support to farming people, but in reality, we do so much more than just hand out grants. You can explore a bit more on our website. Many of the people who have made the brave step to contact R.A.B.I are often relieved once they have contacted us. If you know of anyone linked to the farming community that might need our support, please get in touch with R.A.B.I by emailing: info@rabi.org.uk or ringing the freephone helpline: 0808 281 9490.

Powys Befrienders - knitting for wellbeing

When I have time, especially in the winter, I like to knit and listen to the radio. I find it very therapeutic. Its rhythmic and repetitive nature has often been compared to meditation. Many of my office colleagues knit too, and we love to pass on tips about our favourite yarns and patterns. We might have a bonding moment or two comparing bamboo knitting needles and angora wools when the broadband dips out for a couple of minutes…

This Tuesday I was invited to meet another friendly group of knitters and crocheters at Abbeyfield House in Newtown for their regular fortnightly session. If you’re a knitting enthusiast, you’ve probably come across the Knit & Natter concept. This incarnation is the Newtown Knit Tea Together group set up by the Powys Befriending Service. (Read Powys Befrienders – it’s given me back my life for more on this PAVO project generally). It was snowing, so not all the regulars had been able to make it, but Eileen, Betty and Carol were joined by first-timer Olive for a chat, loads of laughs, and plenty of knitting, sewing and crocheting.

Olive works on a twiddle mitt

This week they were busy making twiddle mitts and cushions for people locally living with dementia. (Online pattern for knitters!) “People with dementia are always looking for things to touch,” they explained, “so we sew bells, beads, eyes and Velcro to the mitts, and people find them very therapeutic.” While I was there Lesley Austen, the Powys Befriending Services Co-ordinator, arrived to gather up mounds of the mitts to take to Bethshan Care Home, also in Newtown. Past group projects have included making baby blankets for local maternity services, and creating colourful knitted toys and clothes to raise funds for the group. At a market stall in Glanhafren, Newtown Market Hall, on 8 December, they raised £380 through sales, and are now planning a summer stall.

While the women sit and sew they swop tips, plan trips – including activities and shopping – and update each other about the latest local news stories. They happily share their skills, and experience. Carol promises to teach Olive how to crochet the next time they meet. There’s a haberdashery moment and in five minutes Eileen’s volunteering to shop at her favourite supplier for all the others. And who would have known that the best and cheapest way to stuff a knitted doll is to pull a pillow apart for the filling? 

L-R: Lesley (Powys Befriending Service Co-ordinator), Olive & Eileen
"Tell me again, what's a split stitch in knitting...?"

Why we like to knit and crochet

"It relaxes you. It keeps your hands moving. It you have arthritis it helps to keep them moving. You have to keep active."

"It keeps your brain moving too! If you’ve got one! It helps keep your mind off a lot of problems. You can take it out in your knitting. You go faster if you’re in a bad mood!"

Several members of the Newtown Knit Tea Together group are also active Powys Befriending Service volunteers in their local community. The two volunteers present tell me about the clients they support. One is a gentleman with Parkinson’s disease who is visited at home, and another is a lady who is supported to attend afternoon teas at the Smithfield Bell in Welshpool, or the Lakeside Restaurant at the golf course near Montgomery.

Carol does crochet... and is also a PB volunteer

Later Lesley told me more about Eileen’s contribution as a Powys Befriending Service volunteer:

Eileen’s husband died after a prolonged illness and was bedridden for the last 6 months of his life. He did not want to be in hospital so Eileen had cared for him at home supported by Health and Social Services. For over a year she had rarely left the house and had lost a lot of confidence about going out on her own as well as suffering from grief and loneliness. Her daughter referred her to the Powys Befriending Service and accompanied her to one of our group lunches.

Eileen was very chatty and helped people sitting around her. At the end of the session, when I asked how she had got on, she said she loved it: “But I’m so much better off than some of the others, wouldn’t I be of more use helping them?”

Eileen duly attended the Befriending Induction training, got her DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) approval and two glowing references and asked “When do I start?” She didn’t want to have to drive too far, so I matched her to a housebound gentleman with early stage dementia and other health needs who lived a few miles away. As we approached the gentleman’s house she told me she and her husband used to walk in the area and used to chat to a lovely man tending his garden – and this was the gentleman she was getting matched to!

Both he and his wife recognised Eileen and were delighted to see a familiar face. The client has memory loss and several health conditions requiring appointments and visits, so we agreed Eileen would visit every two weeks. The match is a great success – both client and volunteer share a farming background and enjoy talking about farming and the local countryside, reading the local paper and following sports events on TV. 

The client’s wife now has a regular couple of undisturbed hours when she can do things that she enjoys, getting out in the garden, baking and having a chat on the phone with friends, which she had not previously been able to do easily, having to keep an ear and eye out for her husband’s needs.

This still left Eileen with time on her hands and a will to help people, so she asked if it would be possible to have another client to see on alternate weeks and is now also matched with a lady who had no means of getting out and about. She takes this lady to an afternoon tea group, and is now supporting the group by helping with clients.

Eileen then asked if she could come along to the Newtown Knit Tea Together group as she loves knitting and sewing, and after a few sessions she and another volunteer were quite happy to run the group themselves with me in the background for occasional support. Lots of our female clients list amongst their interests knitting, crochet and sewing, but no longer have anyone to make things for. Eileen soon armed them with patterns, needles and wool and got them making baby clothes in premature sizes, which we now send in regular parcels to Special Care Baby Units in Welsh Hospitals.

Oh did I mention…………… Eileen is 86 years young!

Eileen told me “I get as much out of being a volunteer as the people we help. It’s been a lifeline to me since I lost my husband.”

Betty with one of her knitted dolls

If you would like to join the Newtown Knit Tea Together group run by the Powys Befriending Service (don’t worry if you can’t knit, sew or crochet – there are plenty who will happily teach you) then give Lesley a call to find out more on 01597 822191 or email: lesley.austen@pavo.org.uk

Are you a knitter or crocheter? Does it help boost your emotional wellbeing? Let us know in the comments box below.