Help someone else and boost your own wellness
Help someone else and boost your own wellness? How does that work? There is a mystery to it. When we help someone else, it boosts our own wellness. There is something about taking our minds off of our own daily struggles and turning our attention outward which increases gratitude. If you have ever volunteered for an organization, you know the feeling. After time spent focusing on others, it somehow clears away your own anxiety and depression. Let’s look at how this works.
Generosity positively affects our brain
You know that feeling after you give time or money to help someone? There is proof the “feel-good” vibes are a real thing. Research has shown that “donating money to charitable organizations activates the same (mesolimbic) regions of the brain that responds to monetary rewards or sex.” Wow! That’s some incredible positivity…lol. In fact, just thinking and planning about helping others has neural impacts on the brain. Remember, when you help someone else it boosts your own wellness.
Helping others reduces stress
This may seem counter-intuitive, because when we feel anxious or depressed it feels like we barely have the energy to care for ourselves. But studies have proven it works. Participants in a study kept a journal in which they tracked the day’s events including:
- log daily stressors
- keep track of small acts of kindness
- list your daily emotions
- log things you are grateful for
Participants who tracked these things reported they felt better on days when they performed small acts of kindness…whether they had a stressful day or not. On days when then did not perform any helpful acts, they reported more anxiety and stress. A gratitude journal can have a similar effect. Just the simple act of keeping a daily journal or checklist can improve our mental health. Sometimes we are so stressed out that we fail to see the positive things in our lives. Spending a couple of minutes at the end of the day to write a few notes can help.
Helping others increases our own coping skills
When we help others through a difficult time, we also build our own coping skills. Columbia University validated this in a simple study. People were placed in a group which encouraged the sharing of stressful life events. Participants were encouraged to respond with short messages of empathy and suggestions of things which might help. After this, participants were encouraged to express gratitude toward those whose messages made a positive impact. Interestingly, those giving the help reported a decrease in mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression.
Giving multiplies giving
Is it too much to claim that giving makes the world a better place? Well, it actually does. It turns out that altruism is contagious. When one person performs an act of kindness or generosity, others are more likely to replicate it. It’s like a ripple effect. One person begins the giving and the effect ripples through the room, organization or community. So next time you have the opportunity to help others, be the one who starts the trend. It’s one way we can all make the world a little kinder and gentler.
Help someone else and boost your own wellness
Giving is the ultimate win-win situation. When you look for ways to help others, it brings your focus outside of yourself. The act of helping makes physiological changes in your body and brain which relieve mental health symptoms of anxiety and depression. Helping someone else think through their difficult situation also provides the opportunity to think through our own. These acts of kindness don’t have to be huge. Send a note of encouragement to a friend or family member. Reach out to someone via social media who just posted of a difficulty. Let the mom with the crying toddler go ahead of you in line at the grocery store. Give to your favorite charity. Then sit back and watch your kindness become contagious. Helping someone else will boost your own wellness every single time.
To read more about our 8 Ways to Wellness read this blog post. And don’t miss out on our FREE resource, 8 Quick Ways to Boost Wellness, which you can get here.
