What is Well-being?

Well-being is the experience of health, happiness, and prosperity. It includes having good mental health, high life satisfaction, and a sense of meaning or purpose.

Well-being is something sought by just about everyone, because it includes so many positive things — feeling happy, healthy, socially connected, and purposeful. Unfortunately, well-being appears to be in decline. (Psychology Today, 2015)

Positive psychologists have suggested that there are two main types of well-being: hedonic and eudaimonic. Hedonic well-being means feeling good in the present moment, and includes physical pleasure, peak experiences and a sense of gratitude or appreciation. Eudaimonic well-being is more long term – it includes a sense of meaning and purpose, of being connected to something larger, and of flourishing through creativity or self-development.

Martin Seligman’s PERMA model offers a similar perspective. According to this model, the five main elements of a life of flourishing and well-being are positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. 

PERMA is an acronym for a model of well-being put forth by a pioneer in the field of positive psychology, Martin Seligman. According to Seligman, PERMA makes up five important building blocks of well-being and happiness:

• Positive emotions – feeling good
• Engagement – being completely absorbed in activities
• Relationships – being authentically connected to others
• Meaning – purposeful existence
• Achievement – a sense of accomplishment and success

There are, of course, different types of well-being.  The 5 main types are;

• Emotional Well-Being. The ability to practice stress-management techniques, be resilient, and generate the emotions that lead to good feelings.
• Physical Well-Being. The ability to improve the functioning of your body through healthy eating and good exercise habits.
• Social Well-Being. The ability to communicate, develop meaningful relationships with others, and maintain a support network that helps you overcome loneliness.
• Workplace Well-Being. The ability to pursue your interests, values, and purpose in order to gain meaning, happiness, and enrichment professionally.
• Societal Well-Being. The ability to actively participate in a thriving community, culture, and environment.

Our programmes focus on some of the factors that contribute to emotional well-being including;

• Happiness Skills
• Mindfulness Skills
• Positive Thinking Skills
• Resilience Skills