SPRING WELLBEING
Wellbeing is about feeling good and functioning well and includes engaging in meaningful activities and pursuing goals.
Here are a few seasonal wellbeing tips and ideas that you may like to try.
SPICY SPAGHETTI WITH GARLIC MUSHROOMS
A low fat, fail-safe pasta dish that proves that it's just as easy to whip up a meal as it is to turn on the microwave. Recipe here.
You could use dried parsley and dried chilli flakes if it is easier and you already have those in your cupboard at home.
This meal is easy, cheap and refreshing. Perfect for spring. You could even batch cook some extra and have it cold the next day for lunch or reheat it in the microwave.
LONELINESS AWARENESS WEEK
Loneliness Awareness Week takes place from 9-15 June 2025 and is a campaign dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness. It is about having open, honest conversations to create supportive communities. Loneliness is a natural human emotion - we are hardwired to need social connections. By talking about it, we can support ourselves and others.
There are lots of resources on their website here to help you connect and maybe find inspiration of new things to do with others.
EXETER RESPECT FESTIVAL
Exeter Respect Festival takes place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June in Belmont Park. You can find out more about it here. There is a nominal £2 per person charge to enter that helps keep the festival going, but it is well worth it. There are lots of stalls, entertainment and food.
Exeter Respect is a celebration of diversity using performance and creative arts to engage the wider community, getting to know one another and sharing our cultures. We are all different, all equal!
5 WAYS TO WELLBEING
If we:
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connect with others
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keep learning
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take notice of what is around us
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give something back to our community
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stay active
then our happiness and wellbeing will increase. These 5 Ways To Wellbeing inform and underpin how we engage and work with individuals and communities to enhance and promote wellbeing.
"I've been looking for support for years and got no help. Then you arrive and in five minutes you set me up with a group I can go to every week, which led me to meet my current support worker. Now I have some support. What you do is so important!"
Got a minute?
Take time to think about yourself.
Got an hour?
Invite a friend to catch up over coffee and cake.
Got longer?
Join one of the free Exeter Red Coat Walking Tours - you will learn lots of interesting things about Exeter you never knew and meet lots of new people.
Got a minute?
Think about what interests you.
Got an hour?
Enrol for a course online - there are lots of free courses with the Urban Learning Academy.
Got longer?
Learn something you've always wanted - a craft, language, instrument etc. Find free tutorials on YouTube.
Got a minute?
Shimmy around the kitchen whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.
Got an hour?
Go for a walk around your neighbourhood - on your own, with your partner, neighbour or friend.
Got longer?
Power up your walk by using a free app such as PaceDJ to match your playlist to your chosen walking pace.
Got a minute?
Have gratitude for small gestures - take compliments and pass them on.
Got an hour?
Look out for interesting nature in your local neighbourhood. Put out some food for the birds.
Got longer?
Do something you enjoy and take notice of how it makes you feel.
Got a minute?
Send a friend an encouraging message.
Got an hour?
Research local volunteering opportunities or other ways in which you can support your local community.
Got longer?
Volunteer - do you have a few spare hours a week you can give to a local charity?
ACTION FOR HAPPINESS
The mission of Action for Happiness is to help people create a happier world, with a culture that prioritises happiness and kindness. Action for Happiness brings people together and provides practical resources. They help each other learn evidence-based skills for happier living, feel a sense of belonging and commit to personal action to create more happiness, for yourself and others.
Take a look at this month's calendar below for lots of wellbeing tips and hints throughout the month:
