Nowadays it seems we are hyper-aware of so many things. We are inundated with information from around the world that lives at our fingertips via our phones—through the web, news apps and live streaming. With COVID we are conscious about masks, social distancing and what our governor’s current recommendations are.  We are increasingly vigilant about so many things, yet many of them are not inherently positive.

I could write much about being in tune with nature, our bodies, our spirituality and the like, but for this blog I want to talk about kindness. I want to start out by saying that I do not believe most people are intentionally unkind; however, I do believe that we are increasingly busy, stressed, worried and tired and this distracts us from the ability to give and receive kindness. In fact, distraction and busyness may be two of the biggest thieves of kindness.

Our mental health improves when we are kind to ourselves and others. Kindness towards ourselves includes so many things—things like our diet, our amount of exercise, our social interactions, our self-talk (the words we say to ourselves in our heads)…even how much we rest and sleep. Kindness towards others may look like “paying it forward” (doing something nice for someone in the hopes that kindness will come back to you), complimenting someone, holding a door or elevator open or making a charitable donation. The possibilities for how we can be kind to ourselves and others are seemingly endless and will be explored more in the personal blog on this topic. For now, I would encourage you to take inventory of your “kindness consciousness”, meaning reflect on how kind are you to yourself and others.  Are you able to demonstrate kindness towards yourself? What does that look like? When was the last time you were kind to someone outside of your home or inner circle of family and friends? What did that look like?

If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, depressed or just on edge we can help. Please contact Life Enhancement Counseling Services today at 407-443-8862 to schedule an appointment with one of our seasoned mental health clinicians. This year is a great time to begin showing kindness to yourself and caring for your mental health is the perfect way to start. We look forward to speaking with you soon.