How to cultivate wellbeing in the digital sphere

If you work in any kind of digital church communications, you’ll know that alongside the excitement and connectivity social media offers, it can also pose challenges for our wellbeing. Digital Labs recently ran a special webinar on this topic, where, joined by Rev Rob Merchant, we explored the challenges to good mental wellbeing in the digital sphere and how we might approach them. You can catch up on this here. Below are some of the insights from that session.  

1. What does wellness look like to you? 

What is wellbeing? We can think of wellbeing as the absence of ill health, but a more positive approach can be helpful – what does it look like to be well? The World Health  Organisation describes wellbeing as “a positive state experienced by individuals and societies. Similar to health, it is a resource for daily life and is determined by social, economic and environmental conditions. Wellbeing encompasses quality of life, as well as the ability of people and societies to contribute to the world in accordance with a sense of meaning and purpose.”  

This framing emphasises the importance of meaning and purpose. Wellbeing isn’t about merely surviving but flourishing and thriving. Exploring what gives us meaning and purpose can help orient us more positively as it gives us motivation, rather than focusing only on the things that are difficult. Finding a ‘why’ that gets you up in the morning won’t erase the challenges we face but can empower us to face them in a new way. 

When it comes to keeping track of our wellbeing, it can be helpful to have a regular checkup to keep on top of it and help us be aware of how we are. The graphic below from MHFA England shows the questions you could ask yourself for a weekly checkup.  

The 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique is also a simple, practical strategy for dealing with anxiety and stress in the moment and cultivating calm in your life. It looks like this: 

• 5: Acknowledge FIVE things you see around you. It could be a pen, a spot on the ceiling, anything in your surroundings. 

• 4: Acknowledge FOUR things you can touch around you.  

• 3: Acknowledge THREE things you hear. 

• 2: Acknowledge TWO things you can smell.  

• 1: Acknowledge ONE thing you can taste. 

You can find other breathing techniques and wellbeing exercises here.  

2. Resources to help others 

A useful way to boost our own wellbeing is to do something that helps other people. How could you create online material that will help boost others’ wellbeing?  As Rob talks about in the Reel below, community is a powerful gift that can help us all to build each other up. What could you create online that helps cultivate community and a supportive environment? You could think about: 

3. Tips for wellbeing 

Lastly, here’s four things to think about that could help cultivate a positive mindset when things are difficult.  

• Talking to your team: It’s important to share. Who could you talk to about things that are difficult? And likewise, are there others who might be struggling who you could support?  

• Perspective: What’s the big picture? Trying to take a wider view of our situation can help us re-evaluate what may feel overwhelming. Is the challenge you face also an opportunity? Also, making time to plan ahead with your workload can help you feel less reactive and more prepared for difficulties that may emerge. Try planning and scheduling tools to get some peace of mind e.g. Meta Business Suite (for Facebook and Instagram) or Buffer. 

• Boundaries: When it comes to work - when do you need to accept your limits and say ‘no’? And with technology - when could you put your phone away? Try fasting from your phone for some of the day and see how you feel after.  

• Agency: There’s a well-known prayer that says, ‘Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’ We can find peace by accepting what lies beyond our control, and we can also be empowered by acknowledging the changes we can make. You could try curating a positive news feed to combat the negativity you might usually see. Social media can be an angry and reactive place - how could you use your voice to encourage curiosity over judgement, and help others to have a more open, less toxic experience on social media? 

Whether you’re reading this and thinking about your own journey or someone else who might be struggling – help is always available. You can catch up on the full wellbeing webinar here. For more reading, here's a blog with tips for looking after yourself on social media, and here’s a blog about creating a social media policy for your church. There are Christian wellbeing support organisations like Kintsugi Hope and Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries, as well as support lines like SANE, Mind, and Samaritans.