Get involved and make a contribution
Why getting involved and making a contribution is good for your mental health
Well being is not just about passive satisfaction or transient happiness; it is about an active engagement in life and with others. For instance research shows that intimate friendships, strong family networks and belonging to some kind of community or social group all have beneficial effect on well being.
The New Econonmic Foundation (NEF) Well Being Manifesto pulls together the Well being research and conclude there is much more to life than satisfaction; people also want to be leading rich and fulfilling lives -developing their capabilities, fulfilling their potential and leading socially useful lives. The NEF model of well being has two main domains: personal and social. The personal domain includes people's satisfaction but is also about personal development a concept which includes our need to be engaged in life, to have purpose and meaning. The social domain includes the well being benefits of a sense of belonging, feeling we are contributing to society and engaged in pro-social behaviour.