After sharing my own thoughts yesterday I wanted to break down some of the things that the Mental Health Foundation have been saying about this week.

The MHF has produced the usual PDF report for the week. Like last year I’m going to attempt to break it down into one blog post which is a bit of a shorter read.

KINDNESS STATISTICS FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2020

Chalkboard scribbles in Green, White and Purple, including a hand gifting a flower and the Mental Health Foundation's Ribbon.

It goes without saying that having people be kind to us helps out mental health. I’ve gone through this first hand with the kindness of friends. 63% of adults in a recent YouGov survey agreed with this.

But being kind ourselves also helps our own mental health. The MHF says that “People who carry out acts of kindness are found to experience greater wellbeing.” For me, this is because being kind gives me a purpose and makes me feel useful, which is a reason to carry on and shows me I can add happiness to the world.

It’s important to be kind to ourselves too. 48% agreed that being kind to themselves had a positive impact on their own mental health. Self care is something I’ve spoken about a lot, and it’s important to make time for others.

Self care isn’t selfish. 67% in an MHF survey found it’s essential to look after their own needs as well as be kind to others. They are not mutually exclusive, and you certainly allowed to create that time for yourself.

One study found that we’re more likely to be kind to ourselves when we receive social support and kindness from others. They also found that we were in a better position to be kind to others by being kind to ourselves.

One thing I haven’t mentioned this week is gratitude. We’re all thankful when people are kind to us, but when we show our appreciation, this can make them feel valued and motivate them too. 

55% of adults agreed that it was important for politicians to value kindness. This leads to a second article about why kindness should impact public policy, which you can read here.

The most significant stat for me from this week is that 72% of UK adults believe we should learn from this time to become kinder as a society. We’re showing our gratitude by clapping for key workers on a Thursday evening.

Maybe you’ve got to know more of your neighbours being in lockdown with them. It’s estimated that 1 million people volunteered to help others during this lockdown.

Being kind to others helps our own mental health. It also helps there’s. As I said on yesterday’s Mental Monday, I really do hope that we continue being kind once lockdowns are lifted, and we return to a resemblance of normal.

And as I wrap up this post today, I hope that’s shared with you some of the key findings in that MHF report. Let’s all continue to be kind to one another and ourselves as #KindnessMatters this week, and forever. 

By Jake Symons

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.

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