As you may already know, today is the start of Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) 2020 and this year’s theme is kindness, focussing on the power and potential of kindness. Since the Mental Health Foundation launched MHAW in 2001 they have focussed on several important topics such as stress, relationships and body image but with the current challenges we are facing it was more important than ever for the theme to be something everybody can relate to and use to support our mental health.
The Mental Health Foundation’s research has shown that protecting our mental health is going to be central to coping with and recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
Why is the theme kindness?
Kindness is defined by doing something towards yourself and others, motivated by genuine desire to make a positive difference, one our values. It strengthens relationships, develops community and deepens solidarity which is something that is truly welcome during a time where many are feeling isolated and lonely, trying to cope with not being anble to see family and friends. The Mental Health Foundation’s research indicates a deep connection between mental health and kindness:
- kindness is an antidote to isolation and creates a sense of belonging
- kindness helps reduce stress, brings a fresh perspective and deepens friendships
- kindness to ourselves can prevent shame from corroding our sense of identity and help boost our self-esteem
- kindness can even improve feelings of confidence and optimism.
Get involved in random acts of kindness
There are plenty of little things you can do to show someone kindness which can support their mental health, from helping an elderly neighbour with their shopping to giving a colleague praise for something they’ve done well. Over the last few weeks you may have found that you have been doing or been on the receiving end of acts of kindness more than usual. Personally, I volunteered to be on a food collection group for people in my neighbourhood who may be struggling getting to the shops.
To celebrate MHAW we want to encourage you to do more acts of kindness and also send a message of kindness to your colleagues. Here are some small acts of kindness to inspire you.
Three ways for you to get involved with MHAW:
- Share your random act of kindness– we would very much like you to share with us your own random acts of kindness, or those you have experienced from others over the last few weeks.
- Send in a video clip – we would like to share a short film with you at the end of next week to highlight what you have all been doing across GC to support your own health and wellbeing during lockdown. We’re looking for volunteers who would like to take part. For more information please email edi@growthco.uk.
- Send an ecard to a colleague – we’ve created a new set of ecards for you to send to each other to celebrate kindness to each other and to ourselves.
Support available to you
We recently launched our Mental Health First Aid service to provide you with practical advice and guidance on managing and maintaining mental health. Mental Health First Aiders are practically trained to give support you at a time of crisis or act as a point of contact, reassurance and guidance.
The MHFA service is available for all GC employees during working hours. For out of office hours services you can contact our Employee Assistance Programme, they are available 24/7 to give free, confidential advice on a range of issues. You can contact the helpline by telephone on 0800 030 5182 or visit the online support tools such as wellbeing webinars via the health portal (username: Growth, password: Company).
We will be sharing more support services and information available to you throughout the week as well as the random acts of kindness you have shared on the Coronavirus hub. We will also be sharing information on our socials throughout the week, so don’t forget to get involved on your social media by sharing your acts of kindness using #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and #KindnessMatters.
As always, I hope you are well and staying safe.