Providing Hope and Opportunity ... continuously improving Well-being
In a landmark study published in the British Medical journal (BMJ) today it has been found that 'depression' is not medically linked to levels of Serotonin in the body, and that drugs are having little more than a placebo effect. The only benefit appears to be from the 'hope' they provide to people that they can/will get better. Real drugs (i.e. not placebos) have additional and unintended consequences/side-effects and if drugs offer little more than 'hope' then questions arise as to why people are taking them. Many of these drugs are addictive and have negative withdrawal symptoms however, so the last thing people should do is stop taking them! Likewise, withdrawing 'help' when no other forms of help exist is not helpful either!
There are a few forms of 'alternative help' available (e.g. 'social prescribing') which work well. These are effective in terms of outcome, albeit limited in scope, availability and capability, hence the Good Turns Foundation is starting to help further in this regard. The key to addressing depression is not drugs ... but creating 'hope and opportunity'! 'Hopelessness' is predominantly what drives anxiety, depression and worse (e.g. suicidal ideation / suicide), and as the main author of the study said, it's 'hope' the drugs have been providing, depression is not a medical condition, its's a psychological condition ... an emotional reaction to the environment individual's 'see'.
And a little more background ... thousands of years of both psychology and philosophy highlight how well-being can be broken down into two main areas; hedonistic well-being and psychological well-being. The former involves seeking pleasure for oneself and creates short-term happiness (e.g. eating cake). The latter focuses on leading a meaningful/purposeful life, for instance by doing good for others, communities and the planet. As social animals this connects directly with our inner-self and our intrinsic desire to do good for others and is well known to lead to a fulfilling life and, paradoxically, to long-term happiness too. And the above is, for instance, why 'social prescribing' works so well ... i.e. putting meaning/purpose back into people's lives and "giving people hope".
The Good Turns Foundation directly focuses on improving psychological well-being, by recognising and rewarding the good people do for others, for communities and the environment. The Good Turns Foundation has the following Purpose ... Providing hope and opportunity - continuously improving well-being ™
The Good Turns Foundation is at the frontier of a new movement in Well-being, and is focused upon uniquely recognising (and rewarding) the good people voluntarily do for others, for communities and the environment ... all of which add meaning/purpose to people's lives. To do this the Foundation is introducing a new measure of good, called Good Points®, with many unique and meaningful sub-categories. For instance:
- Climate Points® - e.g. planting trees / walking to school
- Environment Points® - e.g. cleaning rivers / canals / beaches
- Community Points® - e.g. helping local communities
- Volunteer Points® - e.g. helping voluntary groups / organisations
- Charity Points® - e.g. helping local / national / international charities
- Mentoring Points® - e.g. mentoring young people
- Coaching Points® - e.g. sports / exercise coaching
- Tutoring Points® - e.g. academic training / tutoring
History and philosophy highlight the power/importance of stories, and by introducing Good Points® people start to create their own unique and meaningful story! They also allow people to shout-out-loud about their thousands of good points too! The Foundation provides detailed/objective references for all the good they do too, something forward looking enterprises so desperately look for and yet is so difficult to find (many try to find this out by looking to see what people do in their spare time)! Psychology also points to the fact that the most important story of all is the one our mind tells itself every single day, and this story by itself has the unique power to transform a person’s well-being and increase their opportunity to thrive.
In one of the most motivating speeches ever given, US Navy Seals Admiral William H. McRaven profoundly stated … "If you want to change the world, measure people by the size of their 'heart', not by the size of their 'flippers' … " where 'flippers' is synonymous with things like 'academic ability', 'physical ability', 'wallet' ... and with its clear mission of "creating a world where good is valued", the Foundation new measure of value, Good Points®, is a unique and meaningful measure of a person's 'heart', i.e. a measure of the good one voluntarily does for others, for communities and the planet.
Recent reports also highlight the importance of many more areas looking into the future too; including the growing importance of character/skills, volunteering and connecting with communities, unleashing untapped talent and nurturing creativity too. These also align very well with what the Foundation has planned (e.g. Finding You®, The Creative Crew®) and in addition to the above points people also now earn wider Character/Personality Points® too. For instance:
- Leadership Points® - e.g. leading activities / events
- Teamwork Points® - e.g. being a helpful member of a team
- Resilience Points® - e.g. facing adversity / challenges
- Resourcefulness Points® - e.g. gathering / connecting resources
- Creative Points® - e.g. creativity / entrepreneurship
- Health Points® - e.g. healthy activities for the mind / body
- Wellbeing Points® - e.g. meditation / mindfulness
- Spiritual Points® - e.g. spiritual / religious activities
- Exercise Points® - e.g. exercise / sporting events
- Nutrition Points® - e.g. healthy eating
The Good Turns Foundation is uniquely positioned to transform well-being, nuture key characteristics/skills and to help people and communities to thrive ... the Foundation has recently submitted the above into the Government's 'Call for Evidence: Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan' in order to help shape mental health and well-being provision into the future, and to provide hope and opportunity and continously improve well-being ...
... and by partnering with like-minded individuals and organisations we are now bringing this to life ...
David Clift, Founder of the Good Turns Foundation
© Good Turns Foundation 2022
