There are many ways you can enhance your well-being

We have included below some tips from our PSW webinar to help promote well-being. Ultimately, talking with someone you

trust can be a hugely helpful process. Most of the time, how you are feeling are normal reactions to difficult situations, and

not a sign that you are weak or can't do your job. In fact, acknowledging and talking about things when they are difficult

shows insight, courage and strength.


Taking care of the basics:

Tip 1

 

It's important to remember to take care of your basic needs. Whilst this seems obvious, it is surprising how often we

can find ourselves lacking in sleep and nutrition. Without taking care of these basic needs, other aspects of life can 

become more difficult to manage. Our basic needs represent the foundations on which we can grow and thrive.


Take time to tune in:

Tip 2

Taking time to pause and tune in to how you are doing, both physically and psychologically, can be one of the most useful

well-being strategies. It's easy to stay busy and not find time to do this, but even taking 10 minutes to check in with you

can help you to notice if you are feeling stressed, tense or even just hungry.

Doing this can enable you to do something about it.


Identify your recharge activities:

 

Tip 3

Identifying those activities that help you feel recharged and re-energised is important for sustaining yourself in

the long-term. If we don't take the time to invest in these recharging activities, we can risk burning out. These

recharge activities differ for everyone, but some of the examples individual's have shared with us include walking, 

socialising, baking or cooking, gardening, yoga and reading - to name a few. 


An apple a day:

  Tip 4

 

There are many ways you can manage your anxiety, and the above 'apples' model can be a useful one to practice.

Breathing exercises can be useful here, as well as practicing mindfulness.


Develop your growth mindset:

Tip 5

 

Reflecting on challenging times can help us to understand what helped get us through, what a wellness action plan 

could be for us in the future when we encounter more challenges. Using the above SSRI model helps us to develop

a growth mindset and to better psychologically prepare ourselves for the future.

Back to top


Free well-being webinars:

  • WARD have made available on their YouTube channel four videos exploring topics such as moral injury and burnout, self-care, positive psychology and wellbeing, which you can watch here.
  • NHS Horizons hold webinars on the second Wednesday of every month, with different wellbeing focuses - including finances, leadership, working parents, preparing for winter, psychological safety and many more. You can register your interest in upcoming webinars, and review previously recorded webinars here.

 


Useful well-being resources*:

 

 *The above resources do not represent content endorsement by NHS England; the resource section above serves as a platform to host accessible information that may be useful to doctors in training wishing to look after their mental health and wellbeing