Well-Being

Well-Being

The state of being comfortable, healthy, or Happy Wellbeing refers to a persons’ state of happiness

and health It is important to have good wellbeing sustained so

you can live a longer, happier and healthier life. Just as exercise and good diet can reduce our risk of illness, investing in our wellness can reduce our risk of developing a mental illness.

Mental Health is one of the toughest challenges we face in today’s world. 1 in 2 people will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime.

Well being

Seligman’s PREMA Well-Being Model• Positive Emotion• Engagement • Positive Relationships• Meaning:• Accomplishment/Achievement

Well being• Positive Emotion: For us to experience well-being, we need positive emotion in our lives. Any positive emotion such as peace, gratitude, satisfaction, pleasure,

inspiration, hope, curiosity, or love falls into this category – It's really important to enjoy yourself in the here and now, just as long

as the other elements of PERMA are in place.

Well being• Positive Emotion:

Adding Positive Emotions The very act of reflecting on some of the good things that happen to

us actually contributes to our wellbeing. By doing this we start to notice what goes right as well as wrong in

our lives, changing our focus to the positive not the negative. Even on a bad day there are some good things that happen, however

small. It is important that we accept it, learn from it and move on with a positive attitude

Well being• Engagement When we're truly engaged in a situation, task, or project, we

experience a state of flow time seems to stop, we lose our sense of self, and we concentrate intensely on the present.

This feels really good! The more we experience this type of engagement, the more likely we are to experience well-being.

Well being• Enhancing Engagement Engagement is achieved by becoming absorbed and immersed in your

work, love, friendship and social life. Being less distracted assists as there is more time for our minds to

concentrate and become engaged in a task. The key to increasing engagement is to identify your strengths and

develop a plan for implementing them into your life. Character strengths form a large part of engagement. Finding and

applying our character strengths enables us to feel great satisfaction and appreciation of ourselves, others and the world.

It helps us to think more clearly, openly and increases our motivation and passion for life.

PREMA Model (Contd.)• Positive Relationships: As humans, we are "social beings," and good

relationships are core to our well-being. Time and again, we see that people who have

meaningful, positive relationships with others are happier than those who do not. Relationships really do matter!  

PREMA Model (Contd.)• Enhancing Positive Relationships: The sizes of people’s social and family networks vary greatly. However large your social networks are, it is important to surround

yourself with people who make you feel good. Friends and family help give meaning to our lives, fulfil our need to

belong, and provide support during tough times. Having positive relationships makes you happier, and when you are

happier you are more likely to attract more and better quality relationships.

Also, when we are happy we actually contribute to making others around us feel happier too.

PREMA Model (Contd.)

I believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. Therefore, it is important to discover what will bring about the greatest degree of wellbeing.

Dalai Lama.

PREMA Model (Contd.)• Meaning: Meaning comes from serving a cause bigger than

ourselves. Whether this is a specific deity or religion, or a cause that helps humanity in some way, we all need meaning in our lives to have a sense of well-being.

PREMA Model (Contd.)• Enhancing Meaning:• Belonging to and serving something you believe is bigger than

the self. It is the understanding of how your sense of self is driven by a sense of purpose, and that this purpose has greater activation when you contribute to community that is beyond your immediate environment.

• Having purpose in your life helps you to focus on doing the things that make you happy. The busyness of work and day to day activities can often overwhelm us. By regularly considering your purpose you can remain more focused. You may not realise it, but when you live with purpose, you’ve made a decision to take control of your life. This allows for a deeper level of wellbeing rather than finding simple pleasures, as it gives your life meaning.

PREMA Model (Contd.)• Accomplishment/Achievement : Many of us strive to better ourselves in some way,

whether we're seeking to master a skill, achieve a valuable goal, or win in some competitive event. As such, accomplishment is another important thing that contributes to our ability to flourish.

This element of wellbeing is where dreams turn into possibilities. Intrinsic motivation is created in the goals that bring meaning in our lives. It is achieving those points that we chose to measure by way of planning, and recording the accomplishments along the way.

Sustaining your wellbeing• Positive Relationships: Write down your thoughts and put them somewhere

you’ll see them. Revisit your thoughts and plans each month and

update your progress, reflecting on any changing ideas.

Prioritise your wellbeing – keep it at the forefront of everything you do.

Ask yourself if you are doing the things and interacting with the people that are positive influences.

Take a light hearted approach to things instead of taking yourself too seriously – don’t criticise yourself if you don’t stick to your plan, just consider why you didn’t

What Factors Lead to Well-being….?

– Mindfulness– mindfulness is said to be a state in which one is able to give

uninterrupted attention over a period of time in a nonjudgmental way to ongoing physical, cognitive and psychological experience, without critically analyzing or passing a judgment on that experience (Kabat-Zinn, 1994).

– Mindfulness involves being aware of oneself and the environment in the present moment without judging or reacting non-intentionally, as well as being able to describe one’s subjective experience (Baer et al., 2006).

– Resilience– Resilience is a personal trait that helps individuals cope with

adversity and achieve good adjustment and development during trying circumstances. It is a trait that inoculates individuals against the impact of adversity and traumatic events

What Factors Lead to Well-being….?

– Emotional Intelligence– Self Beliefs (Core Self Evaluations) – Self Esteem– Supportive Climate

Lets practice Mindfulness Meditation

• Let us begin by sitting comfortably – Now take three slow, deep breaths to inject both energy and

relaxation – Let us breath naturally and bring a very gentle attention to our

breath- Become aware of in breath, out breath, and space in between- Let the mind ret on your breath

– If at any time you feel distracted by a sensation, thought, or sound just acknowledge it, and very gently let it go.

– Bring your attention very gently back to the breathing

Let us do this for three minutes……

Recommended Reading material Readings from Martin Seligman and Barbara Fredrickson

• Fredrickson, Barbara (2009) Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive, Crown Publishers, New York

• Seligman, Martin (2011) Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Wellbeing – and How To Achieve Them, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London

• Seligman, Martin (2003) Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realise Your Potential for Lasting Fulfilment, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London