Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 – Kindness15 May

This year, the Mental Health Foundation has decided to choose the theme of kindness for Mental Health Awareness Week.
In a time like this, it is easy to feel lonely, isolated and to have an increase in mental health issues. Suffering from anxiety, depression and more can be increased through the lack of support, lack of friends and struggling with being unable to keep your usual routine up.
How can kindness affect your mental health?
Kindness and mental health are connected, with the feeling of loneliness profoundly effecting the nation at the moment, completing simple acts of kindness can increase the sense of support to those around you. Showing that your community is connected through compassion, strengthening relationships, and more through acts of kindness can help one another.
Take time out of your day, week or month to celebrate kindness, celebrate those helping you, the NHS and other key workers. Anything from a smile, to fundraising, to cooking a meal for someone struggling can increase your connection with those around you.
Share your acts of kindness with #KindnessMatters and #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
By just adding more kindness into your day, you can help build a kinder society!
We can often retreat from showing kindness, feeling that it’s too tricky to do. Take a step out of your comfort zone and see how you can help your community – finding different ways that might not even mean singling someone out. For example, donating food to organizations that are creating food parcels for those who are isolating can also help that little bit more to your community.