It Feels Good to Do Good
by Ondine Brooks Kuraoka
Like ripples in a pond, an unselfish act reverberates with ongoing energy. Making the time to help someone puts life in perspective and staves off holiday blues. If that’s not enough reason to “pay it forward,” new research has confirmed connections between giving and positive immunological responses.
Stephen G. Post, PhD., is a professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, and Senior Research Scholar in the Becket Institute at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University. Post and Jill Neimark are authors of Why Good Things Happen to Good People: The Exciting New Research that Proves the Link Between Doing Good and Living a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life (Broadway Books/Random House, 2007). Post and Neimark have summarized many converging bodies of research, building on the concept of the “helper’s high.”
Post points to National Institutes of Health neuroscientists Jorge Moll and Jordan Grafman’s 2006 research which featured a breakthrough MRI study. Moll and Jordan measured brain activity in subjects who contemplated giving money to a charity they were interested in, versus keeping the money for themselves. “When subjects checked a box to donate the money, the brain lit up; it was the area of the brain associated with reward, which doles out ‘feel-good’ chemicals like dopamine and serotonin,” Post says. “Suddenly we had a neurological picture of the helper’s high.”
Post also reviewed a study from Stanford University, UC Berkeley and University of Michigan which found a threshold effect for senior volunteers. Volunteering to help others just two to three hours a week serves as a very good predictor of lower depression rates and enhanced longevity. Another watershed in this vein of research was documented as the renowned “Mother Teresa Effect” in 1988 by the late Harvard social psychologist David McClelland. McClelland found increased salivary immunoglobulin A, the standard biological measure of immune strength, in subjects who simply watched films of Mother Teresa engaged in helping children.
An exciting recent area of study is oxytocin, the “compassionate hormone” found in higher levels in women. According to Post, men’s oxytocin levels also increase somewhat at the birth of their children. “Oxytocin is not only related to compassionate behavior but also seems to create a kind of tranquility,” Post says. “We’re beginning to understand this interplay between care, compassion and connection — finding happiness as a kind of by-product, or a side effect, of generosity of heart. It involves emotions, the brain, the endocrine system and the immune system.”
An important caveat, according to Post, is that there is a difference between genuine compassionate action and pseudo-altruism, which occurs when people allow themselves to be manipulated and treated like a doormat. “When people get overwhelmed and don’t take decent care of themselves or don’t set a healthy pace for themselves, nurturing others is not a joyful experience. It leaves them feeling arid and empty instead,” Post says. “Solitude and taking time for special companionship is an essential element in helping others.”
It’s not necessary to do formal volunteer work to be a “helper.” There are countless informal ways to make a difference such as picking up groceries for an elderly neighbor, babysitting for new parents or picking up trash at a local playground. But if you’d like to become part of an established project for a particular cause, it’s now easier than ever to get involved.
The Hands On Network recently merged with Points of Light Foundation, making it the largest volunteer network in the United States. The goal of the merged organizations is to make volunteer opportunities more accessible and increase the level of volunteerism across the country.
John Jowers, director of marketing and communications of Hands on Network, explained that the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 changed the way that people think about their ability to bring about change. “We saw an outpouring of volunteers,” Jowers says. “It’s a resurgence of social activism in a different way, especially with young people. It’s not about protesting or pickets; it’s about getting out there and doing something.”
Online philanthropy has emerged as one of the easiest ways to give. E-philanthropy pioneer Robert Grosshandler founded iGive.com in 1997, enabling consumers to donate to their favorite causes while shopping online. “We’ve been at this for more than ten years now and it’s only getting better,” Grosshandler says. “Not only is iGive.com growing rapidly — members are listing 10 to 20 new causes every day- but we’re seeing the next generation of givers. Most people are now comfortable with the notion of online shopping, which makes them comfortable with the idea of online giving. With the holiday season in full swing, we expect the amount our members donate to their favorite causes to double this year, simply by shopping online.”
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation and its sister organization, the Foundation for a Better Life, are funded by an anonymous donor family. The sole purpose of the foundations is to encourage good will. Founded in 1995, the foundations do not accept donations and are not religiously or politically affiliated.
Jessica Griess is project coordinator for both foundations. “The foundations shed light on what people are doing in our nation and around the world to improve society,” Griess says. “We create public service announcements and billboards featuring inspirational quotes and everyday heroes.”
The foundations’ sites offer many ideas for community involvement and educators. There is a relevant book list, free bookmarks and e-cards. Website visitors can also subscribe to their free newsletter called “Kind Times.”
As the year comes to a close, give yourself a boost; revel in the synergy of giving, knowing that your own actions are certain to inspire someone else, and so on… into the new year!
Ready to practice random acts of kindess? Here are a few ideas to get you started...
• Deliver fresh-baked cookies to city workers
• Bring flowers to work and share them with coworkers
• Volunteer to tutor in a school
• Pay a compliment at least once a day
• Mow a neighbor’s grass
• Give a hug to a friend
• Tell your children why you love them
• Send a card to someone
• Give blood
• Open the door for another person
• Write a note to the boss of someone who has helped you, praising the employee
• Call an estranged family member
• Donate toys to a local shelter
• Offer to return a shopping cart to the store for someone loading a car
• Invite someone new over for dinner
• Let the person behind you in the grocery store go ahead of you in line
For more suggestions, visit actsofkindness.org
ARTICLE RESOURCES
actsofkindness.org
forbetterlife.org
handsonnetwork.org
pointsoflight.org
iGive.com
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