It’s Thursday and this is the last blog I will write sharing my thoughts for Mental Health Awareness Week 2020.
I wanted to use this post to reflect on my thoughts this week and to share actionable examples of kindness that have been done to me, and also from the MHF as well.
I talked on Tuesday about why kindness matters to me and my own experiences as both a giver and a receiver of kindness. Through kindness, I found great benefit to my mental health, as I felt it gave me a purpose, and I could see that I was able to do something good, which created positive thoughts I could cling onto.
The biggest way that people have been kind to me is just by being there for me. My friends have listened when I have needed to talk.
It’s the day to day kindness that they’ve shown that got me through these times the most. From a meme to a supportive WhatsApp, my friends have been there and helped me when I’m feeling low.
When I started my mental health journey, I would reply to people on the ChildLine message boards. Spending this time to cheer someone else up was a great comfort for me. It gave me a purpose and made me feel useful.
Being kind to myself has helped me out a lot as well. Being kind to myself mainly consisted of allowing me time not to do a lot, as I mentioned on Instagram.
It’s also been allowing myself to discharge, taking a break from the news and just going with the flow during most days.
I think that most of us would say that we’re trying our best, no matter how good we’re doing that as we navigate through these times.
That’s how kindness has been helping me over the last couple of months. I now want to focus this second section sharing some of the ideas that MHF suggests to get involved in kindness.
The first thing on the list is volunteering. Especially doing these times, people who are shielding will need support more than ever, especially if they are confined to quarters.
We need our community more than ever. Maybe if you’re sitting around with nothing to do, an empty routine then maybe volunteering would help your mental health.
Or maybe you want to fundraise. While you don’t have to raise as much as Captain Sir Tom Moore, there are many charities out there that could do with a hand.
But you can also get involved in much smaller ways as well. You could ring a friend you haven’t spoken with for a while to check in and make sure they’re ok.
There’s a whole list of things that the MHF suggests but pick something you enjoy and that will help someone.
It’s important to look after yourself too. Make sure to take some time for yourself so you can process your own thoughts and take some much-needed self-care time.
It’s more important than ever that we’re kind to one another. And we need to be more allowing with ourselves during these times as well.
Jake Symons is an entrepreneur and passionate mental health advocate determined to share his story to help others. Alongside writing on this blog he hosts Mental Monday: Mental Health Live a biweekly intimate and unscripted conversation about mental health.
