Celebrating hope and finding solace
The impact of world events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, has made the last few years an especially trying time, and has brought significant changes to the way we live, work and interact with each other: everyone has felt the effect. And while the end of a year is often a period to reflect on or celebrate the last twelve months, for many of us, the ways we traditionally mark this or restore ourselves at this time are not possible.
Minding our mental health at moments like these is so important - and that starts with kindness. Being kind to ourselves helps us to take pause, acknowledge how we feel, introduce or refresh practices to look after our wellbeing, and renew ourselves. Being kind to others empowers us to reconnect with and reengergise those around us, forge new bonds, and find solace together.
So, 12 Days of Kindmas marked an opportunity to consider how we're all feeling, spread messages of hope and solidarity, and provide some relief and restoration this winter season.
For each of the 12 days of the campaign, we shared insights and tips from our team on how we can foster kindness and compassion for ourselves and one another, develop coping strategies for the challenges we've faced, and refresh and revive ourselves to prepare for a more mentally healthy new year ahead.
Practicing self-care and mindfulness
Taking time out for self-kindness and showing ourselves empathy helps us to focus on considering what we can do to really make ourselves feel good. Whether it's setting a few minutes or hours aside for a relaxing activity or trying out a grounding mindfulness practice, we have lots of tips and ideas that will help you to get started in making yourself and your wellbeing a priority this winter.
Minding our mental health
Celebrating kindness
Over the last few years, there have been times when staying safe and helping to stop the spread of ill-health, or being in different countries from our families, and other reasons, have meant fewer hugs, less time with our loved ones and our spirits feeling down from time to time.
But don’t forget - there are some clever ways that we can extend the hand of friendship, community and love, even if we can't be together. When our ability to spend time with our family, friends and loved ones is impacted, we can still extend the hand of friendship, support and love with some simple acts of kindness. These acts show we care and give us and those we care for a real boost. From something as simple as sending a text to neighbours to check if there's anything they need help with to pairing up with a friend to learn a new skill online, there are lots of ways we can let people know we're thinking of them.
Enjoy these random act of kindness ideas to brighten your and someone else’s day.
Sending good wishes
We're sharing a free eCard which you can use to send best wishes to friends and family, letting them know that they are in your thoughts. While we might not physically be able to be with those we love as we would like to be at this time of year, taking a few minutes to share a special message with them is just one way we can show them that we are still together. Click on the links below to download a card which you can send to those in your thoughts by email or on social media. Use the hashtag #12DaysOfKindmas to help spread the positivity!
Expressing gratitude
For so many of us, our home, working and social lives look very different today to how they did even a few years ago, and we have been through experiences and felt losses that we couldn't have foreseen or prepared for. Taking a few minutes to reflect on both the people and the little things that we're grateful for can make a big difference to us.
Whether it’s enjoying a long-overdue phone call with a friend, being thankful for feeling well, or appreciating an act of kindness someone has done for you, acknowledging these moments and remembering these pockets of joy can brighten our days and give us positive boosts.
Taking stock of what we're grateful for and what brings us joy is important is a great way to be kind to ourselves. We're sharing the Walk in My Shoes gratitude journal, which you can use to write down something that you're grateful for every day and use to look back on the positive experiences you have if you ever need a little reminder of them.
