Studies have shown that practising kindness can boost serotonin and dopamine levels in your brain, which are known as the 'feel good, happy hormones.' While negative emotions such as anger and frustration contribute to the production of cortisol - the ‘stress hormone’ - which in turn, can lead to a weakened immune system and weight gain.
By focusing on the importance of kindness and the role that it plays in our mental health, we can reduce stress and improve our emotional wellbeing and physical health.
The Mental Health Foundation has some ideas to explore particularly in relation to kindness during the corona virus outbreak.
Don’t forget to be kind to yourself as well. It can be easy to forget about yourself while practising kindness, however, self-care is essential in maintaining healthy general wellbeing, particularly when you have responsibility for others.
- A good place to start would be by downloading and developing a Wellbeing Action Plan (WAP). This is a personalised, practical tool we can all use – whether we have a mental health concern or not – to help us identify what keeps us well at work, what causes us to become unwell, and how to address mental health challenges should you be experiencing them.
- Also, have a look through some of the personal wellbeing resources and see what you can do to develop your wellbeing.
- Take some time to complete your Covid Care Card, a daily diary to fill in to identify actions to help improve mood and manage anxiety.
- Get some headspace, meditations you can listen to anytime.