Sheffielders should continue celebrating acts of kindness for Mental Health Awareness Week

The Mental Health Foundation - a mental health charity that has hosted the week and set the theme for 20 years - has decided to change the theme from ‘sleep’ to ‘kindness’ next month.

The decision was made in response to the coronavirus outbreak and the charity hopes that by making the theme more ‘relevant’ to the current times, it will help inspire people.

Mark Rowland, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: “Now more than ever, we need to re-discover kindness in our daily lives.

“We want to use Mental Health Awareness Week to celebrate the thousands of acts of kindness that are so important to our mental health. And we want to start a discussion on the kind of society we want to shape as we emerge from this pandemic.

“Kindness unlocks our shared humanity and is central for our mental health. It has the potential to bring us together with benefits for everyone, particularly at times of great stress.

“One thing we have seen all over the world is that kindness is prevailing in uncertain times, helping people to connect and communities to cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Kindness is also a vital way we can help support the millions of people who were experiencing mental health problems long before the pandemic started.

“The research clearly supports this – it shows that acts of kindness can help improve emotional well-being. This is true whether we are giving or receiving it.”

Mental Health Awareness Week will run from May 18 to May 24 and encourages the country to focus on mental health, using research findings, tips, ideas and stories, through the theme of kindness.

Charities and organisations throughout Sheffield have already been showing acts of kindness since the pandemic began.

Numerous support groups have been set up by neighbourhoods.

This is encouraging for the people of Sheffield, as the charity believes that ‘doing good does you good’.

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