Our Bolton based Community Mental Health Service, BAND shares 10 free acts of kindness that can help us all feel more positive and improve our mental health.
For some reason, to us humans, the act of giving results in higher levels of satisfaction than receiving. There is a sense of wellbeing and a feeling of connection that comes from doing something for another person that there is little substitute for. Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. One of the six ways to wellbeing, a tool for improving mental health, is devoted to giving. It is an important part of being human.
None of the acts of kindness on this list of 10 will cost you a penny, and you’re free to use them as you please:
1. Do a household chore for a family member
If somebody has left some dishes to soak in the sink, give them a nice surprise when they come back to finish them – the surprise being, the dishes are washed and back in the cupboard!
2. Don’t let good work go unnoticed
If an employee in a shop brightened your day or was especially attentive, find the business on social media and let them know. If your friend has lifted your spirits or someone has done you a good turn, don’t let them forget about it.
3. Pass information on
If someone you know is looking for a job, has a particular interest in a topic, or is looking for a new car, pass on any leads you come across. Something you happen to stumble upon could be the same thing they’ve spent weeks looking for.
4. Pick up litter in your neighbourhood
You will be the object of your whole streets affections, and will be doing your bit for the environment’s wellbeing too.
5. Plant flowers and bushes in your garden
This gives local insects, birds and animals both food and habitat. If you want to go a step further, planting in public areas will brighten neighbourhoods and towns.
It might be your comment that pushes them a step closer to their dreams.
6. Leave comments on articles and blogs
If you have read something interesting or helpful on the internet, let the author know. It might be your comment that pushes them a step closer to their dreams or, at the very least, they’ll feel warm inside for a bit.
7. Send somebody a book
You can get books at really reasonable prices in charity shops. If you’ve recently read a corker, pass on that feeling and gift it to a friend when you are finished with it.
8. Make somebody a cup of tea
If you’re putting the kettle on for yourself, ask the person in the same room as you if they want one too. Then you can both talk it over, over a cuppa. Wellbeing, brewed.
9. Send a letter or card to a friend
Send a card or letter to your friend so when the mail drops through their letterbox, there will be a pleasant surprise sitting amongst the bills. At the risk of contradicting the title of the article, you could enclose a small gift such as a chocolate bar, a tea bag, or a packet of seeds that will one day turn into their favourite flower. Or if you feel like experiencing the benefits of creative writing on your mental health, you could try writing your friend a poem.
10. Stop to help
If you see somebody in the street who may need assistance, offer to help them. They might say no, and then again they might say yes. You could end up making their day.
Bonus: Self-kindness
While we’re on the topic of free acts of kindness, it would be rude to exclude ourselves. Here are three ways to repay yourself for your kindness by focussing on your own wellbeing:
- Daily me time. Make sure you have something you can look forward to indulging in every day. You might have a favourite TV show, a certain food that you like, or an activity you can enjoy doing.
- Love yourself. You have to spend every second of your life with yourself. Be your own best friend, your inner dialogue should talk to you in the same way you would talk to somebody you profoundly cared about.
- Remember you are equal. Excuse the anecdote, but often people will put a lot of love and effort into the food they cook for their children or their partner. And then on the days when they only have to feed themselves, will suffice on a few slices of toast or a butty. This is not good enough! Make sure you do for yourself as much if not more than what you would do for another person.
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