Volunteer wellbeing and support

Your wellbeing is very important to us and is a priority when volunteering.

We're here to support you as a volunteer at every step of the way. Carly and Sophie in the Volunteering Team are both certified Mental Health First Aiders, so please do contact us if you have any questions, or if you would like to discuss anything to do with your health and wellbeing and the support you may need.

Resources 

We will keep you informed of any additional information and resources we create and add to this page.

Being kind to yourself

In September 2024, we held a volunteer meet-up centred around wellbeing and the importance of self-kindness as a form of self-care. The NHS considers self-esteem to have a significant impact on wellbeing and says that part of raising self-esteem includes being kind to yourself. This means being gentle to yourself at times when you feel like being self-critical.

If you struggle with this, think about what you'd say to a friend in a similar situation. We are often much kinder to others than we are to ourselves and even tend to give better suggestions about what to do!

Part of being kind to yourself is also listening to yourself – being aware of how you feel and what you think throughout the day at any given moment. Sometimes this might mean taking a step back from a situation or taking a deep breath to turn inward and reflect. There are many forms of self-care and self-kindness. 

The discussions we had around this were brilliant. Here are some of your tips for self-care:

  • Link time for reflection to a hobby you enjoy so it becomes part of your usual daily/weekly rituals.
  • If you're already outside for a chore like walking the dog, take the time to be mindful of your thoughts.
  • Exercise, including walking, can drastically improve your mood and is often a go-to solution.
  • Sometimes others prioritising their wellbeing can encourage or leave time for you to do the same (and vice versa).
  • Singing and music can really lift your mood, no matter if it's with a choir group or by yourself at home.
  • Quality time with loved ones can be very important, particularly at set times you can look forward to.
  • Listening to podcasts or audio books are great alternatives if you feel you don't have much time to read.
  • Eating well with food that you make yourself from scratch can have a huge benefit to your mood.
  • Being aware of your triggers and when you're having a bad day allows you to do activities that better support you.
  • Have someone you can rely on to be kind and considerate of your bad days, and who can understand your vulnerabilities.
  • Getting practical suggestions can help you focus on something tangible and make you feel more prepared.
  • Create space for yourself and negotiate boundaries with loved ones so you can have time to focus on your wellbeing.

Thank you so much to the volunteers who shared those helpful tips!

During the meet-up, we also went through an interactive bingo activity with a list of activities that are considered good for wellbeing. Why not have a go yourself? If you haven’t managed to do all or most of these activities, that’s completely fine.

Wellbeing is very personal to you and your circumstances. The best kind of wellbeing activities are the ones that actually work for you and ones that you can easily make time for. This list is less about scoring (despite the bingo nature!) and more about hopefully giving you some ideas for things to try if you haven’t done them before and get you thinking about the small steps you can take to focus on your wellbeing. 

In the absence of a singular definition, wellbeing is generally thought to be made up of things like the experience of positive emotions, people’s perceptions that the things they do in their lives are meaningful and worthwhile, and life satisfaction.

NHS Health Survey England

5 steps to mental wellbeing

The NHS have outlined 5 steps that can help improve your mental wellbeing. In line with these steps, we've listed some opportunities below that you may like to get involved with.

1. Connect

Connect with people around you; having others to talk to and share experiences with is important for mental wellbeing. 


2. Be Active

Physical activity can boost your mental health alongside your physical. 

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3. Learn

Set yourself a goal and learn something new to help raise your confidence and self-esteem. 


4. Give to Others 

No matter how small, giving back to others helps provide a sense of self-worth and purpose. 


5. Be Present 

Mindfulness is important; it means having an awareness of your body, thoughts, feelings and environment. 

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Putting the day to bed really matters

Dr Mike Scanlan is a retired therapist and lecturer in mental health at the University of Northampton and De Montford University. In this podcast he talks to Lymphoma Action’s Anne Hook about sleep and achieving good, restorative sleep.  

In this podcast Mike talks through a number of techniques that people can try that may prove helpful. The first of these is the technique of writing things down that are playing on your mind, so your brain feels that anything troubling is being addressed. He then talks about cognitive shuffling, where you create pictures in your mind to help you try to get back to sleep, and later Mike provides visualisation techniques where you place your worries on a ‘Leaves on a Stream’ and let them float away.

Find out more about sleep and achieving restorative sleep by listening to the podcast. (Also available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.)

You can also listen to Mike's 'Leaves on a stream' meditation on YouTube.

 

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