Our relationships form the fabric of our lives. The relationships we have with our families, partners and friends have the greatest impact on our emotional wellbeing and greatly influence our outlook and overall mental health. Strong social networks are linked with better physical and mental health. Evidence shows that people with strong social ties have better outcomes with regard to coronary heart disease, exercise, blood pressure, obesity and stopping smoking. It is also easier to cope with difficult periods in life when there are others to confide in or rely on. Here are a few tips to promote mental wellbeing with your family and friends.
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In the age of technology, meals are more likely to be shared with the television or computer than with another person. Slow down, join some family or friends and cook a meal together. Try to make this a weekly or fortnightly occurrence at least. Having family and friends around during special occasions are always a lot of fun, why not make it a more regular occasion.
www.classic.com.au/wizard/schools.htm - Various cooking schools
www.yourrestaurants.com.au - A restaurant finder guide, with links to all major Australian cities.
www.whatsfordinner.net/QualityTime.html - List of fun, educational activities for parents and children, list of table topics and recipes
www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/quality-family-time-327642.html - An article on the importance of quality family time and a list of activities for a "family night"
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Try to make this a regular occurrence, such as once weekly or fortnightly. It could be by phone, email or in person. Sounds pretty simple, but fast paced living makes it more challenging for us to keep in contact with others. Keeping in contact can be as easy as sending a quick email to say hello, picking up the phone or organising a catch-up. It is easy to fall into the habit of not making the effort to contact others but once you begin you will be glad you made the effort.
www.facebook.com - Create a page just for your family and friends so you can easily keep in contact with them wherever you are
http://webmessenger.msn.com - Allows you to have instant messaging conversations with other people, anywhere in the world
www.skype.com - Free phone calls nationally and internationally
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This way you'll be keeping up-to-date on what is happening in each others lives, having fun with the group your with and meeting new people at the same time. Clubs or groups can cover a whole range of hobbies and interests, from outdoor activities like bushwalking or hiking to a range of indoor activities like Latin Dancing or Tahitian Dancing or if you prefer something more low-key something like a chess club might attract you. It will give you an opportunity to socialise and mingle with people outside of work. If you don’t want to join by yourself, drag a friend or family member along.
National
http://rotarnet.com.au/clubdirectory- A listing of all Rotary Clubs in Australia
State
www.bushwalking.org.au/clubs.html - Bushwalking clubs in NSW and ACT
www.clubsnsw.com.au - A guide to all clubs in NSW
www.dsr.nsw.gov.au - Lists what sporting facilities are in your area and how to get involved in them
Local
www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Community/default.asp - A list of services and activities within the Sydney city
www.northsydneycentre.com.au - Offers various programs for the local community of North Sydney
www.mosman.nsw.gov.au/community - Provides services to the community in Mosman
www.bcl.com.au/sydney/wotson.htm - What's on in Sydney
www.lanecoveclub.com.au - A place to meet up with people in a friendly atmosphere within Lane Cove
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Laughter Clubs were first set up in India in 1995 by Dr Madan Kataria, combining laughter exercises with yoga breathing. Recent research has shown laughter to be highly effective in raising the performance of individuals. There are now over 2500 laughter clubs around the world, so there must be something good about laughing for your mental health. There are many reasons to start laughing. 
Here are just a few personal reasons to laugh according to the Laughter Works group -
1) Stimulates the mind and gets the creative juices flowing
2) Relieves stress and helps you cope with daily pressures
3) Produces endorphins, which reduce pain and induce pleasure
4) Reduces blood pressure
5) Strengthens the immune system and heals the body
6) Oxygenates the blood and gives your respiratory system a tremendous workout
7) Weight loss. It's true! 10 minutes of laughter burns about 45 calories
You can even have laughter sessions at any social event you are holding either a wedding, parties, anything you can think of! It is a great way to start your event on a natural high. Laughter will get people socialising. It is a great social lubricant, acting as a buffer to start people talking to each other.
www.laughterclubs.com.au - This is fantastic organisation that has been providing services throughout Australia and Asia, running corporate and social laughter clubs. Information available on the many benefits of laughter, not just socially but in terms of your wellbeing in your personal life and in the workplace too.
www.hohohahaha.com/LC_in_NSW.htm - Lists times of various laughter club meetings in NSW
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Why not re-connect with past friendships that you lost touch with. Catching up with people either from school, as early as kindergarten, to work has been made easier with the new social networking sites that you can join on the internet. Not only does it help you to find lost friends, it also helps you to keep in contact with them and organise get-togethers. It is always fun to catch-up with people you haven’t spoken to in a while, finding out what they have been doing, how much their lives have changed, reminisce over happy memories and it can also help you reflect on how far you’ve come, how much you’ve changed and what has stayed the same.
www.schoolfriends.com.au- Helps you to get in contact with old school friends
www.facebook.com - Can help you find old workmates, neighbours, university or school friends by joining networks
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Physical activity boosts your health, energy and wellbeing and can keep you connected to others around you. There are many benefits to physical activity, not just physical. Exercise has been found to trigger elevated mood states and an overall improved sense of well-being and helps to keep stress, anxiety and depression to a minimum. Research has found that after exercise, people seemed to be able to concentrate and focus much better than before. They were better able to block information that was irrelevant to the task at hand, and responded much faster to information relevant to the task. The benefits were seen in both men and women.
www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/active - How to keep active in your area
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Give something back to your community by donating blood. Only 1 in 30 actually donate blood, however 1 in 3 people will need it at some point in their lifetime. You don’t need to donate money. All it takes is an hour of your time to save lives, you can even go on your lunch break. People who need blood are those who are victims of trauma, or have acute health problems or chronic diseases like cancer. About a third of the donated blood in Australia goes to patients suffering from cancer. Organise do this with your friends and family and treat yourselves afterwards to a tasty brunch or lunch.
www.donateblood.com.au - Who, what, where, and why on donating blood
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