This is my second local voices piece, and I had some really positive feedback about my first piece on the five ways to wellbeing. So I shall continue to share my thoughts on this topic.

Last time we looked at 'Take Notice' and that we should take time out for us to enjoy the wonderful things around us. This time I would like to look at 'Give or Give Back.'

This is all about giving something back to the community by volunteering or giving up some time to help others. Very rewarding, if we can just find the time, and I guess that is the whole crux of the matter. The vicious circle of busy lives that cause us stress and anxiety are the very reasons we don't have time to give back or volunteer. So we have to be bold and break out of that circle and find a way to give back. I can tell you that volunteering to help a group or club or even a neighbour is both rewarding and will help you keep well. It's proven stuff.

Lowestoft Rising has secured Big Lottery funding to have a volunteer co-ordinator for Lowestoft based with Access Community Trust in their workspace building in High Street. Emma Langdale is there to help support and connect people to volunteering opportunities. We are acting as a kind of honest broker, finding out who needs volunteers and hopefully finding volunteers to help. This is a real win-win situation, as it helps people keep well and the more people who help the more capacity we have in our community to help others.

Whether it's helping with a football or sports team, a charity, a museum, or just being a good neighbour, it can offer so much. Indeed it will almost certainly keep you active, it will connect you with other people and often it requires some new learning. So you can achieve three of the five ways to wellbeing in one go. Give it a go; see what a difference it can make.