What are the five steps of well-being for men’s mental health?
When it comes to mental health, there is still this stigma that we need to work on breaking.
But more importantly, everyone needs to be able to work on themselves and overcome their daily struggles. That is where the 5 steps of well-being come into play.
Through highlighting these steps in this blog, we hope to offer ways that you would be able to help others and yourself deal with any mental health issues.
So without further ado, let’s delve into what the 5 steps of well-being are and what they can do for men’s mental health.
Connecting with others who understand what you are going through
By actively trying to connect with people through building stronger, healthier and closer relationships you will be able to work on improving your mental health and well-being.
Through the connections that you are able to build with others, you will be able to find a sense of community, belonging and self-worth.
Here at ManGang UK, we have a number of activities and support groups where you will be able to meet others that have the same experience as you and are looking to connect with others like them such as our weekly face-to-face meetings on Wednesdays. We want this to be a positive experience where people feel safe and unjudged in sharing their life stories.
On our website, we are proud to have a 24/7 message pop up where one of our support team members will get back to you ASAP. We have this in place as we want to be accessible for everyone that could need our help whenever they may need us. This may be for anything from emotional support to advice on certain issues they are facing.
Keeping active as much as you can
Making the effort to keep physically active is not only great for your physical health and fitness but also helps to improve your mental health and overall well-being.
That is why ManGang UK chose to set up the walk and talk activities that take place every Saturday. We meet at 9:45 am for a 10 am start and every week we create this support network that offers the chance to chat and have a laugh about any and everything possible.
We believe that having this activity in place, not only raises the self-esteem of the men that come along but also helps them to set goals and challenges together, thus creating a sense of community and comradery.
Our walk-and-talk activities are an opportunity to chat with each other and say what we are thinking and feeling. This enhances our belief that it’s not weak to speak, especially when there is no judgement, no politics, no ego and no BS involved in anything we do. We pride ourselves on being a network of men who believe that going out and being there for each other is what matters the most.
Keeping active definitely deserves its place as one of the 5 steps of well-being as it helps to ease the pressure modern men face in life and want to break down the stigma of talking about our bad days.
It also helps us to increase those all-important happy hormones and lift spirits with like-minded men.
Take notice of the good things around you
You may not even realise the massive positive impact that just by simply paying attention to what is happening around you can do on you. For instance, by simply listening to your thoughts, feelings and what the world and your own body are telling you you can help to improve your mental well-being drastically.
Here at ManGang UK, we have a mission for our members to do 3 positive things in 7 days. This can be as simple as waking up or getting out of bed. We ask them to do this to make them appreciate the little things in life. By doing so, your whole view of the world and what is going on will begin to change for the better.
Another term for this is mindfulness (“paying attention to what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment”) and by being open to it, people believe that it can help us to enjoy the world more and even understand ourselves better.
Give back to others whenever you can
There is a saying that states whatever you give out into the world you will receive the same. People call it karma, others just call it doing an act of kindness or goodwill, but it is proven to increase your well-being if you are willing to help others when you yourself are in need of help.
Out of the 5 steps of well-being, the research on giving back to others has shown that by frequently committing an act of kindness the person will be happier and their mental health has been shown to improve over a six-week period.
Some ways that you can give back to others are: being grateful and thanking someone for something they do for you, asking someone how they are, supporting someone who may need it more than others or even volunteering for a local charity in your area to help out your community and those less fortunate.
We all fully encourage this step with all our members as their happiness and that of others around them are of the utmost importance to us.
Keep learning and never stop
Did you know that continued learning throughout your life not only helps to enhance your self-esteem but also encourages social interaction and a more active life?
That’s not all. Studies suggest that the opportunity to learn helps people through mental health issues such as depression.
It doesn’t have to be learning a new language, it could be something as simple as finding something new out about your friend or co-worker. There are so many new things you could do in order to keep learning and never stop, such as reading a book, taking part in a new class, joining a book club, completing a puzzle or even learning a new word!
Everything that you need to know about ManGang UK
How it started
ManGang was founded by a man who struggled with poor mental health all of his adult life. Feeling this experience was something no one wanted to talk about and so it was bottled up for a long time through fear of judgement.
However, after losing a friend to suicide in 2017, he set out to break the stigma that led his friend to feel so isolated and alone. That is why our aim is to tell men all across the country that they are not alone.
There is always going to be support out there for people who feel they have no one to turn to, and we will always be here to supply it.
Who we are
Though we are born out of a tragic circumstance, we now set out to make a difference in the world. For too long men have been made to feel emasculated by talking about their mental health but we are trying to end that.
Our community is a network of men who believe it’s not weak to speak. We have grown in numbers since our first meeting and survived the pandemic by meeting regularly on a weekly basis via Zoom calls (that are now back to being face-to-face).
They have continued to grow and we are proud to be able to say that we have helped to remove the negativity around men talking about their issues and show how vital a simple conversation can be.
What we do
We provide multiple meetings across Southampton and the surrounding areas and these meetings allow men who are struggling with their mental health to have the chance for this type of conversation.
Our groups are free from judgement, with no BS or hidden agendas so all our members know that we are simply here to help men talk to one another.
By having a conversation with someone who has faced similar hardships as you, you can rest assured in knowing that you are not alone and therefore you will be able to get the support that many men have never had. The access to this personal support network means that we have been able to help men all across Hampshire speak up about their mental health, share their hardships and help not only themselves but others around them as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog on what the 5 steps of well-being are and how they can positively impact men’s mental health. If you would like to know more about what we do and how we help men to tackle their hardships, you can contact us by phone (0330 0436525) or email. All the information you could possibly need is available to you on our website.
Remember: it’s not weak to speak and you are not alone.
