Lots of research shows us that happiness is linked with longer and more fulfilling lives, better mental and physical health, stronger relationships and many other psychological, social and economic benefits.
But how do we get to happiness?
A team in the UK has created an approach that moves away from mental ill health towards a focus on positive mental health. It is called the Wheel of Wellbeing (WoW), and has been developed over eight years in conjunction with communities and organisations to shape new ways to improve well-being.
WoW is based on six universal aspects of well-being:
• Body
• Mind
• Spirit
• People
• Place
• Planet
The material that makes up the WoW program has been carefully designed to be easy to understand, appealing and accessible to everyone through its use of clear language and a unique, colourful brand and visual style that engages and energises audiences about the subject of living happier lives.
The Queensland State Government is particularly keen on the program, and a few years ago funded RAQ to start a pilot project using WOW in Logan – the Logan Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub.
The Hub has been a big success, thanks to the hard work of RAQ’s Jan Elston, who has raised awareness, built capacity and developed a solid network in the Logan community and beyond. Now, the Queensland Stage Government has awarded us a contract to expand WOW in more locations across Queensland.
Winning the contract demonstrates how far we’ve come in building capacity in mental health and wellbeing, and gives us the opportunity to better people’s lives by building on the fantastic work that Jan has done. Jan will be leading the program, and is already hard at work. Her initial focus is on delivering training in Atherton to build skills and capacity in the new Hub there. She will also be consulting widely to determine the key regions in Queensland where the WoW program would have the greatest impact over the two years of the contract.
Would you like to know more about the Wheel of Wellbeing? Click here: https://www.wheelofwellbeing.org/