BBC Radio Cornwall May 2020: Kindness & mental health awareness

Talking with Tiffany Truscott this Mental Health Awareness Week, Malachy shares 5 ways in which a little kindness can make a big difference.

Listen here. Interview starts at 1:11 👂Enjoy!

5 Ways to practise kindness

1. Be kind to your mind Give yourself permission to recognise that we all have this dimension - this mind that is worth looking after - and be kind to yourself. We are all likely to find our wellbeing threatened by anxiety, depression or persistent psychological distress at some time in our lives, and by tending to our mental health we can grow stronger, freer and learn to accept and feel at peace with our mental landscape.

2. Make kindness your default position. Sadly, over the years mental health has been something we’ve been ashamed of. So, people have become incredibly skilful at finding coping strategies to cover up their distress. It is very difficult to know when people are suffering. If we are kind to everyone, those who are suffering will not experience rejection. If we are habitually compassionate, no one will be missed.

3. Recognise our differences. Right now many people are experiencing anxiety and stress. It was natural to feel anxious about going into lockdown and, now that we are familiar with spending so much time at home, it is natural to feel anxious about going out. We may begin to see other people as a threat. But the virus is dangerous; people aren’t. One of the kindest things you can do is accept that what seems natural to you may be entirely unnatural to someone else. We need to let go of the idea of ‘common’ sense. Our experiences are different and so are our decisions about what is safe or ‘right’.

4. #SpeakYourMind Mind is encouraging us to reach out to others who are feeling particularly lonely or anxious as a result of the pandemic. Our time is the greatest gift we can give. Giving a little of yours to someone else can make an enormous difference to their day.

5. Go a little further. Get outside as much as your anxiety allows, and connect with other people (safely) as far as you can manage. If your anxiety is very high, push it back a little by telling it, “I’m going to go a little further.”

Contact a Lifetime counsellor

We’re working hard to support people through what is a really difficult time online and over the phone. To make an appointment, or to find out more, get in touch.

Why kindness?

The Mental Health Foundation chose kindness as the theme of 2020’s Mental Health Awareness Week for “its singular ability to unlock our shared humanity.

“Kindness strengthens relationships, develops community and deepens solidarity. Wisdom from every culture across history recognises that kindness is something that all human beings need to experience and practise to be fully alive.”

Chief Executive, Mark Rowland shared his experience of supermarket staff handing out umbrellas to customers queuing at a social-distance in the rain to illustrate the point:

If I asked you the last time you gave or experienced kindness, you would tell me stories of when you felt moved, protected, held, seen, loved. 

Mark Rowland, Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation