Mental Health Awareness Week - 18th-24th May

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May is mental health awareness month with Mental Health Awareness week being 18^th-24^th May 2020. This year the focus of the week was to Be Kind.

In 2020 a lot has happened and being kind has been the focus throughout most of this. The campaigns following the suicide of Caroline Flack in February 2020 that initiated the Be Kind initiative. Following this, 2020 then threw us into the middle of a pandemic and gave us Covid-19. It’s during these times that our mental health can really be tested and we really have seen how kind humans can be.

Captain Thomas Moore has been a huge example during lockdown with him raising millions of pounds by walking laps of his garden all in aid of the NHS. Neighbours will greet each other every Thursday evenings with warm smiles and waving across the street as we all gather to clap in thanks for the NHS and the work they do.

Not being able to see people in lockdown has had a huge impact on many people and their mental health and sometimes an act of kindness is all it takes to make someone smile again and help them get through a “bad day”. All over the internet are little gifts that can be sent in the post to show a friend your thinking of them from cupcakes to sweet boxes or a bunch of flowers. Even a little card or a text message can brighten your day.

There has been a huge response from Celebrities and TV channels to help with Mental Health Week being advertised widely. There was a media sing-a-long encouraged by Radox with the hash tag #rhymeandshine which was a huge success. Joe Wicks has become a popular name in most households with his PE sessions online along with many other personal trainers all over the UK.

It is clear that during these tough times everyone is trying to help make it a little easier and be kind to those around them.

At Johnson Astills we have been having regular staff meetings via Zoom to keep staff morale up and have been sharing photos of our home working space and photos of us joining in the clapping on Thursdays. We have been making sure we look after our mental health and show kindness and we hope you have all managed to look after yourselves and experience some little acts of kindness during this tough time.

At Johnson Astills we have designated staff who are there to help with any mental health issues and are always available for a chat or a coffee, even during lockdown. We hope you are all staying safe and taking care of yourselves. Our offices may be closed but we are still operating remotely and can still be contacted on either 0116 2554855 or 01509 610312.