With Community Services you can access a range of opportunities across Oldham to support long term health and wellbeing.
Following completion of our active monitoring programme, talking therapies or following a drop in appointment, people can see what’s available locally to them across Oldham and be signposted into clubs and groups providing training and personal development workshops and sessions.
Often people are unaware of what’s available locally to link in to. It can be difficult to find out about new opportunities and can also be quite scary. We hope to take some of that worry away and provide some options to explore, linked to 5 Ways to Wellbeing.
There is strong evidence that indicates that feeling close to, and valued by, other people is a fundamental human need and one that contributes to functioning well in the world. It’s clear that social relationships are critical for promoting wellbeing and for acting as a buffer against mental ill health for people of all ages.
If you feel like you need to connect more in your life why not try:
- Calling an old friend you haven't spoken to in a while
- Joining a new activity to meet new people (cycling club, photography classes, a choir)
- Switch off the TV in the evening and speaking for 45 mins to your family
- Taking the time to go for coffee with friends.
Regular physical activity is associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups.
Exercise is essential for slowing age-related cognitive decline and for promoting well-being. But it doesn’t need to be particularly intense for you to feel good - slower-paced activities, such as walking, can have the benefit of encouraging social interactions as well providing some level of exercise.
If you think that you need to be more active, why not try:
- Getting off the bus a stop earlier and walking the rest of the way or parking 5 minutes further away from work
- trying to go out for a walk in a local park for 45 mins each weekend
- Joining a new club such as, trampolining, hot yoga or rollerskating, exercise doesn't have to be hard work!
- Going for a swim in the evening
Reminding yourself to ‘take notice’ can strengthen and broaden awareness.
Studies have shown that being aware of what is taking place in the present directly enhances your well-being and savoring ‘the moment’ can help to reaffirm your life priorities.
Heightened awareness also enhances your self-understanding and allows you to make positive choices based on your own values and motivations.
Continued learning through life enhances self-esteem and encourages social interaction and a more active life.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the opportunity to engage in work or educational activities particularly helps to lift older people out of depression.
The practice of setting goals, which is related to adult learning in particular, has been strongly associated with higher levels of wellbeing.
Participation in social and community life has attracted a lot of attention in the field of wellbeing research.
Individuals who report a greater interest in helping others are more likely to rate themselves as happy.
Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in wellbeing.
