Stay aware this February

We're all for awareness days that educate and inform about mental health, here at Fortis.

We may have to wait until May for the more frivolous National Doughnut Day (who doesn't love a jammie doughnut with their mid-morning brew?) but there February is home to a handful of dates that are close to our heart (and our mission).

On February 2, it was Time to Talk Day. Run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, in partnership with the Co-op, Time to Talk is all about bringing people and communities together to talk about mental health.

You may wonder why we would need an awareness day around this topic - and why we're still talking about it this late in February - but many people still don't feel comfortable talking openly about their mental health or don't know how to reach out for help. Three key points are raised during this important awareness day.

Firstly, how common it is to experience a mental health problem. Statistics show every year one in four of us will need some extra support.

Secondly, encouraging a conversation around mental health helps to create a supportive community and empower those seeking advice when they need it the most.

Finally, talking about mental health and normalising the issue means we can better support both ourselves and others.

We think any time is a good 'Time to Talk' but a day organised by a mental health charity helps to keep this vital message at the fore.

Then, it was Children's Mental Health Week on February, 6-12. Here at Fortis, we offer a comprehensive service for adults, families and children, so we wholeheartedly support raising awareness of how best to support youngsters and their mental well-being - something we talk all about in our Children's Mental Health Week blog that popped up earlier in February too.

Organised by children's mental health charity Place2be and now in its ninth year, Children's Mental Health Week helps to shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people's mental health.
This year's theme - 'Let's Connect' - was about making meaningful connections.

Loneliness and feelings of isolation can negatively impact everyone's mental health, not least children’s. Learning ways to form meaningful connections with family and friends can increase their resilience to mental illness and help to make them feel seen and heard.

The Let's Connect campaign that ran this February, aimed to encourage young people to connect with others in healthy, rewarding, and meaningful ways. If you're wondering how to help your child make connections, you could suggest they join a sports club, or choir, for example, or simply encourage them to invite a friend from school to come over to hang out and do homework.

Then, it was Random Acts of Kindness Day, on February 17. To us, this should be a daily celebration, however, it was created to remind ourselves to sprinkle kindness around like confetti - and that can only be a positive thing, right?

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a nonprofit organisation and its mission is to 'make kindness the norm', not just on one dedicated day of the year but every day. The foundation's website offers plenty of resources to inspire people to get involved with Random Acts of Kindness Day, either at school, work or at home.

From being a good listener to hiding painted rocks for others to find, a random act of kindness doesn't have to be a grand gesture. A kind word or deed that benefits someone else, with no expectation of anything in return is the goal.

In the words of the Dalai Lama, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” And there are plenty of studies to back up that way of thinking, with psychologists agreeing - when we do good, we feel good. You can read more about the benefits of acts of kindness on our blog.