This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and the theme is kindness. While a lot of the focus will probably be aimed at being kind to other people, I would like to focus on Self-kindness and the positive effects it can have on our physical and mental wellbeing.
In my last blog, Why Now May be a Good Time to Start Meditating, I highlighted how dangerous negative thoughts and emotions, such as anxiety, can be for our health.
The further we traverse into the uncharted territories that this pandemic is presenting to the world then the more important actions such as kindness are. As people become more afraid and stress increases, words such as kindness, love and care seem to get forgotten, replaced by anger, frustration and an urge to find someone to blame.
Numerous studies have shown that emotions such as anger and hatred can be a significant cause of premature death. Dr Redford Williams at Duke University, and Dr Robert Sapolsky at Stanford University have conducted studies that showed how anger, rage and hostility are particularly damaging to the cardiovascular system. Read more →
For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you will be familiar with the photographs I share, under ‘Morning Walks’; I have been getting some lovely comments about how the photos help people, so I thought I would create a photo book with a selection of my favourite photos. 
