Wellbeing interventions are for anyone, of any age to support mental wellness.
Wellbeing interventions are often described as universal (to support resilience and wellbeing), or targeted to support someone who may be experiencing distress.
The information here relates to targeted interventions for people experiencing distress. All of us experience stress but some circumstances can lead to prolonged stress which can impact our day to day life.
To gain the most from the information here, it may be useful to first sit comfortably, and now breath, really deeply, 3 times …… like this:
Breath in through your nose while counting to 4 slowly.
Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
Slowly blow out through your mouth for 4 seconds.
Repeat 3 times…..
Now lets see why this may have been helpful…..
The human body and mind have a set of important and predictable responses to threat. Under normal circumstances we may become stressed but then experience a sense of release and carry on.
However, a significant threat may unexpectedly come from an internal (e.g., pain) or external source (e.g., an assailant). When this happens, it can feel overwhelming, resulting in a sense of vulnerability and/or lack of control; where our usual coping mechanisms are overwhelmed; when our natural defences are disabled through terror, horror, and helplessness, and where there is no completed ‘act of triumph’ or a feeling of ‘safe survival’. We are not adapted as a species to being overwhelmed in this way, particularly to ongoing modern human-made conflict and disasters.
We can however do something about this:
If we can understand what is happening to us, it puts us in a better space to be able to respond in adaptive ways that can promote our coping, allow us to feel more in control and have some choice in how we respond to what is happening to us, and in so doing improve our overall wellbeing.
The video links on this page may help develop this understanding.and the next page in the blog suggests strategies that people ‘can do’ for themselves to help respond to distress.
This first video was developed to give a basic introduction and overview of how trauma and chronic stress affects our nervous system and how those effects impact our health and well-being. Much of the content is based on the groundbreaking work of Stephen Porges and his Polyvagal Theory and inspired and informed by the work of thought leaders Deb Dana, Vincent Felitti, Robert Anda, Gabor Mate, Dan Siegel and Peter Levine.
This second video gives a general introduction to what happens in the brain after children face traumatic experiences in childhood, like abuse and neglect. This animation was developed by Professor Eamon McCrory and is a part of the Childhood Trauma and the Brain resource. Learn more about the science and how to apply it to practice on the UK Trauma Council website: https://uktraumacouncil.org/resources…
With this information, that may have developed your understanding of our response to distress, you may be more empowered to try out some of the Wellbeing interventions that follow, and continue to use them to into the future.
