You Don’t Need to Reinvent Yourself to Feel Better

There’s a particular sort of pressure that comes with wellbeing.

Apparently, somewhere out there is a version of you who gets up at 5am, meditates before sunrise, drinks something green, runs ten kilometres, keeps a gratitude journal and has somehow prepared overnight oats before the rest of us have found our glasses.

I’ve never met him.

And, frankly, I’m not convinced I’d want to.

For me, wellbeing has always been much less dramatic. It’s about noticing the ordinary things that make life feel a little better and doing more of them.

A decent night’s sleep. Moving your body.

Getting outside. Eating reasonably well. Seeing people you actually like. Having somewhere you belong. Occasionally putting the phone down.

Nothing revolutionary there.

But perhaps that’s the point.

We’ve made wellbeing far too complicated

One of the ideas I’ll be exploring here is something called the Wellness Wheel.

There are different versions, but the basic principle is wonderfully sensible: our wellbeing isn’t determined by one thing. Physical health matters, certainly, but so do our relationships, environment, emotional wellbeing, sense of purpose and the communities around us.

If one part gets neglected for long enough, we often feel it elsewhere.

That means looking after ourselves doesn’t necessarily require a dramatic lifestyle overhaul.

Take movement.

The World Health Organization recommends adults aim for around 150–300 minutes of moderate physical activity each week, alongside muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days. But there’s another bit of its advice that I think deserves considerably more attention:

Some activity is better than none. (World Health Organization)

Walking counts.

Gardening counts.

Cycling somewhere instead of driving counts.

Swimming counts.

You don’t have to own Lycra or know what a burpee is.

Then there’s the outdoors

This is where things become particularly interesting for those of us who are naturists.

The Mental Health Foundation reports that 70% of UK adults say being close to nature improves their mood, while 49% say it helps them cope with stress. Its research also suggests that it isn’t simply being outside that matters; consciously noticing and connecting with the natural world appears important too. (Mental Health Foundation)

That makes sense to me.

Think about the difference between marching through a woodland staring at your phone and actually noticing where you are.

The temperature of the air.

Birdsong.

Wet grass.

Sunlight through leaves.

The peculiar ability of a bramble to locate the only exposed bit of skin within a twenty-yard radius.

Naturism can add another dimension to that connection. Not because taking your clothes off possesses some magical healing property — I’ll leave miraculous claims to people selling £38 bottles of something involving Himalayan berries — but because naturism can encourage us to become more present in our bodies and surroundings.

You feel the breeze because there’s nothing between you and it.

You notice the warmth of the sun.

You stop treating your body entirely as something to look at and remember that it’s also the thing through which you experience the world.

That distinction matters.

Start ridiculously small

So here’s my first suggestion.

Sometime this week, give yourself twenty minutes outside without trying to achieve anything.

Walk somewhere.

Sit in the garden.

Stand barefoot on the grass if you fancy it.

Go skyclad somewhere private and appropriate if that’s your thing.

Leave the headphones behind. Put the phone away.

And notice.

That’s it.

No stopwatch. No target heart rate. No before-and-after photograph.

The Mental Health Foundation’s 2026 polling found that 30% of UK adults already deliberately spend time in nature to support their mental wellbeing. (Mental Health Foundation)

Perhaps they’re onto something.

Over the coming weeks I’ll be exploring sleep, movement, food, ageing, connection, loneliness, sauna, breathing, mindfulness, seasonal living and plenty more besides. I’ll look at what the research actually tells us, what seems genuinely useful, and occasionally what the wellness industry would very much like us to believe.

Because wellbeing shouldn’t become another job.

Sometimes looking after yourself starts with something considerably simpler.

Open the door.

Go outside.

And see how you feel.

What’s one ordinary thing that reliably makes you feel better?

Dave Thomas writes about wellness, wellbeing and living well for Naturism Wales.