Mental Health Awareness Week 2020
Kindness, the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2020
Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week (18-24 May) which will focus on the power and potential of kindness.
Why kindness?
The Mental Health Foundation explain that they chose kindness as this year’s theme because of it’s ability to unlock our shared humanity. Kindness strengthens relationships, develops community and deepens solidarity. Our individual and collective mental health depend on kindness, and it is something that everyone should experience and practise.
Kindness and mental health
Kindness is defined by doing something for yourself and others, that is motivated by wanting to make a positive difference. Research shows that kindness is an antidote to isolation; it helps to reduce stress, deepens our relationships and creates a sense of belonging. Kindness to ourselves can help to prevent shame and increase our self-esteem. Kindness can even improve feelings of confidence and optimism.
A kinder society
Research shows that inequality is rising in our society and that this has harmful effects on our health. Life expectancy is falling for the poorest for the first time in 100 years. As child poverty rises, children and young people poorest parts of our country are two to three times more likely to experience poor mental health than those in the richest areas.
Kindness could transform our schools, places of work, communities and families. Let’s help create a society that favours good mental health, for all of us, but especially for those who are most vulnerable.
Celebrate kindness – what you can do
Next week we will be sharing stories of kindness that have been happening in our local communities. One act of kindness can lead to many more, so we want to inspire people to be kind to others and themselves.
To show your support during Mental Health Awareness Week:
- Send us your story. If you’ve given or received kindness that made you feel moved, protected, held, seen, or loved, we want to hear about it. With your permission, we’d also love to share it with our online community. If you’re happy to do this then email us at [email protected] and we will get in touch.
- Reflect on an act of kindness. Share your stories and pictures (with permission) of kindness during the week tagging @MindBLMK, using #KindnessMatters, #KindnessBLMK, and #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
- Join us in practising acts of kindness to yourself and in your family, school, workplace and community
- Share your ideas on how you think we could build a kinder society that would support our mental health tagging @MindBLMK, using #KindnessMatters, #KindnessBLMK and #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
Please join us this Mental Health Awareness Week and make kindness matter.
Posted on: 12th May 2020
