Wellbeing support for members over the winter break

As we head into the winter break, members will be taking a well-deserved break. During this season, as the days are short and the weather is getting frostier, maintaining mental and physical wellbeing can be exhausting.

We’ve compiled our favourite tips and wellbeing activities in this blog. We can’t wait to see you in the new year and to welcome you and your girls back!

Mental wellbeing

Indoor:

• Make a positive list about what you’ve most enjoyed about the year, in/outside of guiding and share yours with friends and family.
• Have your favourite warm drink – be it a loaded hot chocolate, mulled wine or piping hot tea, a warm drink can help ease anxiety and is a tasty way to lift your mood!
• Find a new festive film to watch or re watch and old favourite with warm freshly popped corn!
• Staying indoors alone can be isolating. Arrange an online or in-person Christmas jumper competition and get crafty! Will the winner be the one with the ugliest or most fabulous jumper?

Outdoor:

• Straight from our past partnership with the RSPB, why not set up a birdfeeder on your window and try to identify some of the feathered visitors?
• Though it seems daunting in the bitter cold, taking a stroll outside even just a short one is a great was to stimulate positive energy and relieve screen fatigue.

Physical wellbeing

Indoor:

• If you’re not keen on leaving the warmth of your home, crank up some music and have an indoor boogie session!
• Many towns and cities have indoor swimming pools that are heated during the winter. Why not visit your closest one for a dip?

Outdoor:

• If you feel up to exploring the wintry outdoors, go on a colour-led trail by picking a colour of the rainbow and walking where you see an item of that colour! You might just discover a hidden gem or a new secret hideout…

Additionally, you may have seen that we’re running an advent calendar leading up to Christmas day. If you’re looking for inspiration on indoor/outdoor activities for all ages, check out our Facebook and Instagram pages.

For more support on winter wellbeing, MHFA England have a selection of great blogs and articles which you can find here – mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/blog/

Check out our other article on supporting you through receiving volunteer and girl enquiries over the break –  www.girlguiding-anglia.org.uk/support-with-vol…the-winter-break ‎