Swansea Mind

Emotional well-being for young people: Kindness

Moments of kindness and selfless behaviour from people in our lives can help us to feel comfortable feelings such as love, appreciation, and happiness.  But it is just as important to be kind to ourselves!

Be your own best friend
Have a look at the following tips about being kind to ourselves. How well do you do at these?
Be aware of your Acknowledge your good points – praise yourself : skills and your talents, accept them and be proud of them. It is not big headed to like things about yourself and to be proud of your efforts and achievements. If you know you are good at maths, be proud of this. If you know that you are a great listener be proud of that. Own your skills and enjoy them.

Everyone is different

It is natural to see things in Don’t compare yourself to others: others that you wish you had yourself. This can help you decide what is important to you and what you would like your life to be like. It is good to grow and challenge yourself towards new goals and achievements, but make sure that they are worthwhile and true. Many things we see are not real, for e.g. people often only post the best things in their lives on social media and pictures that are heavily edited etc.
Perfection is not real. Don’t reach There’s no such thing as perfect – You are enough : for it. If you want to improve aspects of your life make sure to choose small, achievable targets to reach and make sure that you are doing them for the right reasons. For e.g. ‘I want to be thinner’ is not as helpful or healthy a goal to reach as saying ‘I want to feel healthier, I shall aim to run for 10 minutes without stopping’.

We learn more from Accept mistakes – forgive and learn: making mistakes than we do by getting things right first time. Mistakes can lead to uncomfortable feelings such as embarrassment or shame, but everyone makes them. They are a normal part of life. Accept that you have made a mistake, learn from it and forgive yourself so that you can move on and try again.

Do something nice for yourself every now Treat yourself: and then. Indulge yourself to some me time or buy yourself something that you want to give yourself things to look forward to.
Be your own best friend: The easiest way to check if you are being kind to yourself is ask what advice would you give your best friend? We are often kinder to the loved ones in our lives than we are to ourselves. It should be the same. Friends may come and go throughout your life, but you will be with yourself forever, so treat yourself right. The same way you would treat your best friend.

Be kind to others:
Being kind to others is not only a lovely thing to do that makes them feel good, but it helps us to feel good about ourselves too.

The Ripple effect!
Think of a time that someone was extra nice to you, when they reached out to do something kind that you didn’t expect. How did it feel? When we feel comfortable feelings we are more likely to be nice to others and influence other people’s feelings and behaviours to be nicer to others as well. The kindness ripples on.

What can you do right now to show some kindness to others?
Do some chores around the house
Bake/cook something
Make an extra effort to thank someone in
your life with a card or letter
Make someone a present
Watch someone’s favourite film with them
Share something of yours with someone who would also appreciate it

Call someone just to ask how they are

If you find it hard to be kind to yourself, be kind to others and then take pride in these nice actions and their appreciation of them.  These are difficult times for everyone. If we can all try to spread some kindness to each other then it will be easier to get through it.

If you would like to talk to the Swansea Mind Young Person Worker:
Email: youngpeople@swanseamind.org.uk
Text/Phone: 07552369268