No matter how you look at it, 2020 has been a tough year for many of us. As Thanksgiving approaches, the CHEE team has been thinking about kindness and how we can share it to boost mental and physical health for ourselves and others.
鈥淲e live in a time where division and a lack of civility have become the norm,鈥 said Darlene Oliver Hightower, vice president of community health equity at 脱衣直播.
鈥淭his tension affects our physical health and mental well-being. The stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, sheltering in place and the lack of physical connection with others can also take their toll.
鈥淭o combat these things, now more than ever, we need to grant ourselves and each other grace. Instead of highlighting differences, let鈥檚 practice acts of kindness that can bring us closer together. That鈥檚 how we will begin to heal our communities, cities and country.鈥
Performing acts of kindness is good for us in two ways. It helps mental health by building beneficial feelings of gratitude, compassion, empathy and community. And it contributes to physical health by increasing levels of oxytocin (the 鈥渓ove hormone鈥), while decreasing blood pressure and levels of cortisol (the 鈥渟tress hormone鈥).
Here are a few ideas for practicing kindness during the Illinois stay-at-home advisory.
- First, make sure you鈥檙e being kind to yourself: Eat healthy food, drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep. If you鈥檙e feeling stressed, lonely or sad, check out for some ideas and resources.
- Write cards or letters of gratitude to people who mean a lot to you. Everyone loves to get mail!
- Donate online to local nonprofits like shelters and food pantries that are helping people during the pandemic. Rush partners with and .
- See if your senior neighbors need help with their pets, yard work, shopping for groceries 鈥 or just need someone to check in by phone every day or two.
- Leave notes of thanks for your mail carrier and other delivery people.
- Check out that let you do good from home.
