{"id":2025,"date":"2020-05-20T09:47:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T08:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2025"},"modified":"2020-05-20T09:47:21","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T08:47:21","slug":"mental-health-awareness-week-2020-kindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/mental-health-awareness-week-2020-kindness\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 – Kindness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since news of the latest coronavirus came to light, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the mental health of people all around the world. According to research conducted by YoungMinds<\/a>, over half of carers and parents are concerned about how the pandemic will affect their children\u2019s mental health in the long-term. What\u2019s more, research from the Royal Society for Public Health\u2019s latest survey<\/a> suggests that young people suffer the most mental health effects during lockdown.<\/p>\n

The goal of the UK\u2019s Mental Health Awareness Week for 2020, which takes place from May 18 to May 24, is to raise awareness on a topic that is connected to mental health. In this Pacific Prime UK article<\/a>, we\u2019ll discuss all the important details surrounding the annual event.<\/p>\n\n

Who created Mental Health Awareness Week?<\/h2>\n

The Mental Health Foundation<\/a> created the UK\u2019s Mental Health Awareness Week. Founded in 1949, the organisation held its first Mental Health Awareness Week in 2001. The charity describes the annual event as a \u201cpublic mental health approach to prevention, finding solutions to individuals, those at risk and for society to improve everyone\u2019s mental wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowadays, the event is one of the most important mental health awareness observances globally. Mental Health Awareness Week in the US takes place in October, occurring simultaneously with World Mental Health Day on October 10.<\/p>\n

What is the theme for this year?<\/h2>\n

The theme for the UK\u2019s Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 is kindness. While sleep was the original theme for the week, the Mental Health Foundation chose to change it after taking the pandemic into account. In fact, the change only occurred in April, making it a rather last-minute decision. Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said that the need to rediscover kindness in our everyday lives is more important than ever.<\/p>\n

The aim of this year\u2019s Mental Health Awareness Week is to celebrate the many acts of kindness that are essential to our mental health. Additionally, the organisation would like to get people talking about the type of society we want to build as we come out of the pandemic. Rowland also said that the organisation has seen kindness triumph throughout the crisis, despite times of uncertainty. It has helped people connect and communities cope with the effects of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

While kindness is the theme for this year, the original theme of sleep will be used in the future, said the Mental Health Foundation. The organization will continuously release new data surrounding the benefits of spreading kindness on mental health throughout the third week of May.<\/p>\n

How can you participate?<\/h2>\n

There are many ways you can participate in Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 online, such as by starting conversations on social media or holding virtual fundraisers.<\/p>\n

The Mental Health Foundation website encourages people to reflect on or perform an act of kindness and share it on social media along with a photo or video. Similarly, you can use the hashtags #MentalHealthFoundationWeek and #KindnessMatters, as well as tag the Mental Health Foundation in relevant posts. If you\u2019re posting an Instagram story, be sure to include the dedicated #KindnessMatters gif. You can easily find it by searching the following terms in the gif function: MentalHealthFoundation or KindnessMatters.<\/p>\n

In addition, you can get involved by fundraising online through activities such as organising a fundraiser via Facebook Donate or hosting a virtual quiz for family and friends. If you\u2019re looking for more virtual fundraising ideas<\/a> in honour of Mental Health Awareness Week 2020, head to the dedicated page on the Mental Health Foundation\u2019s website. The virtual Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival<\/a> will also offer live-streamed film screenings and events.<\/p>\n

Ways to take care of your mental health<\/h2>\n

Sudden changes to daily life, such as remote work<\/a> and schools closing, due to the COVID-19 pandemic can have an effect on your mental health. Quarantine at home<\/a> can also be hard on your mental health, making it crucial for you to know how to look after yourself. The followings tips offer practical ways to care for your mental health:<\/p>\n

Discuss your feelings<\/h3>\n

Talking about your feelings can help you maintain good mental health and deal with issues when they arise instead of bottling them in.<\/p>\n

Stay active<\/h3>\n

Aside from improving your mental health, regular exercise can also help you sleep, concentrate and feel better.<\/p>\n

Eat healthily<\/h3>\n

The right blend of nutrients is needed to help your brain, body and mind stay healthy and function at its best.<\/p>\n

Drink sensibly<\/h3>\n

Many people drink alcohol to change how they feel, though the effect is not long-lasting. It\u2019s common to feel worse after drinking as well since it affects your brain and body.<\/p>\n

Stay in touch<\/h3>\n

While you may prefer to catch up with your friends and family face to face, communicating via phone or chat can also be a good alternative.<\/p>\n

Ask for help<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s completely normal to become overwhelmed or tired from time to time. During those times, be sure to ask for help from your friends and family so you don\u2019t have to go through it alone.<\/p>\n

Take breaks<\/h3>\n

Taking breaks by going for a walk or changing pace can be beneficial to your mental health since it allows you to destress.<\/p>\n

Engage in activities you enjoy<\/h3>\n

One of the best ways to beat stress is to do an activity you enjoy. Since you also tend to be good at activities you enjoy, this can boost your self-esteem at the same time.<\/p>\n

Accept yourself<\/h3>\n

Wishing you were someone else is a waste of the person that you are. Accepting yourself will not only boost your confidence but help you cope when difficulties arise.<\/p>\n

Care for other people<\/h3>\n

You need to care for people in order to maintain a close relationship with them. Help your friends whenever you can and allow them to do the same for you.<\/p>\n

What Pacific Prime UK can do for you<\/h2>\n

Whether you\u2019re searching for international health insurance<\/a>, family health insurance<\/a> or maternity insurance, Pacific Prime UK can help you find the ideal plan for your needs and budget. We compare health insurance solutions so you can be confident that you\u2019re getting the best policy possible. Contact us<\/a> to have your health insurance questions answered or to receive a free plan comparison<\/a> or quotation today.<\/p>\n

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Since news of the latest coronavirus came to light, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the mental health of people all around the world. According to research conducted by YoungMinds, over half of carers and parents are concerned about how the pandemic will affect their children\u2019s mental health in the long-term. What\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":2026,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[770,1125,768,217,216,457,40,159,167],"class_list":["post-2025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ban_gen","tag-compare-health-insurance","tag-cta_gen","tag-family-health-insurance","tag-family-insurance","tag-individual-health-insurance","tag-international-health-insurance","tag-international-insurance","tag-maternity-insurance"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/mentalhealthawareness2020.jpg?fit=1140%2C495&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcnTsc-wF","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2028,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025\/revisions\/2028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}