This World Kindness Day (15th November), Mental Health Expert Noel McDermott is encouraging the nation to take time out every day to engage in a selfless act of kindness with these five simple feel-good acts. From volunteering at a local charity to offering a kind word to a stranger, these acts can benefit both the giver and the receiver psychologically and help create a more compassionate world.

Act 1 - Volunteerism

Helping others reinforces our pro-social nature, helping ourselves and helping others at the same time. We get significant hormonal rewards doing good works, which improves our sense of wellbeing. It improves our psychological health, gives us purposes and meaning and increases social capital. It’s never too soon to learn the benefits of volunteerism. Helping others is evidence based to improve our wellbeing as actively supporting the ‘herd/clan’ is rewarded neurologically as species level survival activity. This can be anything from visiting a local nursing home to planting vegetables in the garden for those who don’t have the garden space!


Act 2 - Re-connect with family and friends

Reach out to a friend, family member or neighbour that you haven’t spoken to in a while so they know they are in your thoughts. Receiving a message from someone makes us feel good due to a combination of dopamine release in the brain's reward system and the fulfillment of fundamental human needs for social connection and validation.


Act 3 - The power of giving back - get the kids involved

Encourage the children in your life to donate old toys and games to local nurseries, playgroups or charities. This teaches kids important values such as kindness, generosity and gratitude. The act of giving makes you feel good, the brain releases serotonin and dopamine, creating feelings of happiness and satisfaction. Not only will you and your children be bringing happiness into another’s life, but you will also be elevating your own moods,


Act 4 - Helping others helps ourselves

Smile and make eye contact with others. This simple act of kindness can brighten that person’s day and shows a sign of respect, a human connection that can have a positive impact on the receiver and giver. As a species we don’t thrive if we are alone or if we feel lonely. So reach out to that neighbour that seems to live alone, talk to that colleague that sits on their own at lunch, chat to your elderly neighbours at the corner shop, offer to help out at a local charity. Remember how we helped each other in the pandemic? What’s changed?


Act 5 - Prioritize self-care and be kind to yourself!

Make you time, exercise regularly, laugh lots, do some decluttering, start a diary, treat yourself! When you show yourself warmth, care, and understanding, you activate your body's self-soothing system and release oxytocin which has numerous mental and physical health benefits. Kindness starts with you so show up for yourself!


Mental health expert Noel McDermott comments: “Kindness promotes our physical health, brain functions, psychological wellbeing, relational health and all that flows from that. It’s the fundamental basis of forming loving attachments with others. Our loving attachments are the superpower of our species”.


Noel McDermott is a psychotherapist and dramatherapist with over 30 years’ work within the health, social care, education, and criminal justice fields. His company Mental Health Works provides unique mental health services for the public and other organisations. Mental Health Works offers in situ health care and will source, identify and co-ordinate personalised teams to meet your needs – https://www.mentalhealthworks.net/