The Health Benefits of Altruism
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How Giving Back is Good For You
Being altruistic, or reaching out to help others, not only benefits the person being helped, but practicing altruism also has many benefits for the person doing the helping.
Altruism is an unselfish concern for the welfare of others. It is a generous way of expressing gratitude for all that you have been given.
Reaching out a hand to lift someone else up is one of the greatest gifts for the heart. The gifts that one receives from giving back and from reaching out to help others are immense and priceless.
Photo Source: Modified Microsoft Image.
Exercise Your Heart - By Helping Others
Quotes on Altruism
- There is no better exercise
for your heart
Than reaching down
and helping
to lift someone up.
Bernard Meltzer
Photo Source: Marinka van Holten. Finger Heart. Royalty Free Use.
The Healing Effects of Altruism
A Way of Blessing Yourself
Giving back to others unselfishly is a way of blessing yourself. Putting the needs of others ahead of your own helps many people to find a sense of direction and bring a purpose to life. It is also helps people survive and to heal from tragic or challenging events.
Survivors of tragic or life changing experiences reveal that altruism-the unselfish concern for others-is a common survival strategy. Focusing on others can give you a place to stand when the rest of your world may be crumbling.
Altruism is also one way of answering the questions posed by Dr. Leo Buscaglia, "How can I make my world a better place?"
Survivors of tragic or life changing experiences reveal that altruism-the unselfish concern for others-is a common survival strategy. Focusing on others can give you a place to stand when the rest of your world may be crumbling.
Altruism is also one way of answering the questions posed by Dr. Leo Buscaglia, "How can I make my world a better place?"
- Don't spend your precious time asking
"Why isn't the world a better place?"
It will only be time wasted.
The question to ask is:
"How can I make it better?"
To that there is an answer.
Leo Buscaglia
Altruism is Good for the Body, Mind and Spirit
Some of the many health benefits of altruism
Altruism or Volunteering, giving back or reaching out to help, eases the stress in the body, which results in these beneficial health factors:
- Possibly strengthening the immune-system.
- A decrease in both the intensity and the awareness of physical pain.
- Activation of the emotions that are vital to the maintaining good health.
- Reduction of the incidence of attitudes, such as chronic hostility, that negatively arouse and damage the body.
- The multiple benefits to the body's systems provided by stress relief.
- Experiencing a "helper's high," a rush of euphoria, followed by a longer period of calm, after performing a kind act.
- This initial rush from the "Helper's High" is followed by a longer-lasting period of improved emotional well-being.
- Release of the body's natural painkillers, the endorphins as part of the "Helper's High."
More about the "Helper's High"
The Health Benefits of Altruism
Articles on the health benefits of being charitable.
- Medical Mystery: What is "Helper's High"?
- A transcript from a broadcast by Indiana University School of Medicine's Sound Medicine on What is "Helper's High"?
- ABC News: The 'Helpers' High'
- From ABC News and article on Doing Good, and Feeling Better: Why Giving Back Could Make You Happier...and Healthier.
- Bah-humbug: Science is proving there is a Helper's High | Science Buzz
- Researchers look at how volunteering or giving helps ease stress in the body, which can then lead to many beneficial health factors.
- The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
- A number of scientific studies show that Acts of Kindness result in significant health benefits, both physical and mental, for those who perform them.
Did You Bring Joy?
Quotes on Giving Back
- Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death
they would be asked two questions and
their answers would determine whether
they could continue their journey in the afterlife.
The first question was, 'Did you bring joy?'
The second was, 'Did you find joy?'
Leo Buscaglia
Photo Source: Quil. Egyptian painting of Aset/Isis. Royalty Free Use.
Giving Back and Spreading Joy
Make the World a Better Place
One way of bringing joy is to give back to others, to give back a little from your heart. Try performing a random act of kindness, giving some of your time, volunteering to a worthwhile cause and experiencing genuine altruism.See the joy in someone's face, a smile on a child's or an elderly person's face and experience feelings of warmth, contentment and gratitude in your heart as you bring joy to others. You will be making the world a better place by bringing joy. Only then will you begin to understand why people give back
When you give back, you are spreading joy like a perfume, which cannot be poured on someone without getting some on yourself. When you freely give of yourself there is little room left for feeling depressed, sad or lonely.
Photo Source: Silvia Cosimini. A Lovely Smile. Royalty Free Use.
Giving - Good for the Giver and the Receiver
Quotes on Altruism
- Giving is as good for the giver
as it is for the receiver.
Science says it's so.
We'll be happier, healthier, and even
-- odds are --
live a little longer if we're generous.
Steven Post
Why Good Things Happen to Good People
Why Good Thing Happen to Good People
Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life by the Simple Act of Giving
Amazon Price: $4.99 (as of 05/28/2012)
Post, a professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University, examines, "the exciting new research that proves the link between doing good and living a longer, healthier, happier life."
With former Psychology Today features editor Neimark, Post cites studies that show how qualities like gratitude, celebration, forgiveness and compassion are not only good for the recipients of your generosity-but they can lead to a better health and longer life for the person doing the giving.
The Giving Person
Quotes on Altruism
- A giving person
sees a glass of water
and starts looking
for someone
who might be thirsty.
G. Donald Gale
Photo Source: Sanja Gjenero. Mineral Water. Royalty Free Use.
Ways of Giving Back and Volunteering
How Can I Give Back?
There are many ways of giving back and volunteering. Just keep your ears and eyes open for ways you can give back. The list below gives you some ideas and may inspire others.
- Share your expertise at a local school, Volunteer your knowledge, time, or energy.
- Clean out your closets and bring your extra clothes to the Goodwill, Salvation Army or local church thrift shop. Bless someone else with your excesses.
- Contact your local hospice for ways of helping care for those on their final journey.
- Check with your local hospital(s) for their volunteer programs.
- Pick up your knitting or sewing needles, or crochet hook and create some kindness to warm the heart of a child, a cancer patient, a homeless person or an animal.
- Many senior citizen centers have volunteer programs to provide companionship and community activities to senior citizens.
- Contact a State or National Park to see what volunteer opportunities are available. Become a park (VIP) Volunteer in the Park.
- Become a Reading is Fundamental or Children's literacy Program volunteer and help others learn how to read.
- Animal Shelters often need volunteers to help take care of animals and keep facilities clean.
- Donate cans, non-perishables and your time to organize food your local food bank.
- Contact Volunteer Match for ways you can give back to your community in person or even an online community
- Become a volunteer baby cuddler at your local children's hospital.
The Heart of Altruism in the Amazon Spotlight
The Heart of Altruism
Amazon Price: $27.36 (as of 05/28/2012)
Kristen Renwick Monroe examines many experiences of different altruists who view people not as strangers but as fellow human beings.
She believes that to understand what makes one person act out of concern for others and not the self, we need to ask how that individual's perspective sets the range of options he or she finds available.
Using Your Two Hands
Quotes on Altruism
- As you grow older you will discover
that you have two hands.
One for helping yourself,
the other for helping others.
Abraham Lincoln
Photo Source: Sanja Gjenero. Two Hands. Royalty Free Use.
Squidoo Lenses on Organizations Reaching Out to Others
Some of the Many Organizations Where You Can Give Back
Ways of Reaching Out to Help Others
This is a list of some of the many organizations involved in coordinating people who want to give something back to others.
- VolunteerMatch: Where Volunteering Begins
- The mission of VolunteerMatch is to help everyone find a great place to volunteer.
- Virtual Volunteering
- The Virtual Section of VolunteerMatch shows opportunities that let a person volunteer without having to be physically present at a specific location.
- Make A Difference Day
- A National Day of doing good on the 4th Saturday of October.
- The Ripples Project
- Exploring the extraordinary power of tiny actions. Created to inspire and reward small waves of kindness...creating ripples.
- Oprah's Angel Network
- Oprah's Angel Network is dedicated to inspiring people to make a difference in the lives of others.
- The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
- The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation inspires people to practice kindness and to "pass it on" to others.
- Reading Is Fundamental
- Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is the nation's oldest and largest nonprofit children's literacy organization.
Finding True Happiness
Quotes on Altruism
- True happiness comes from a sense
of peace and contentment,
which in turn must be achieved
through the cultivation of altruism,
of love and compassion...
Dalai Lama
Making a Life - By Giving Back
Quotes on Altruism
- We make a living by what we get.
We make a life by what we give.
Winston Churchill
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Make Haste to Be Kind
Quotes on Altruism
- Life is short and we have never too much
time for gladdening the hearts
of those who are traveling the dark journey with us.
Oh be swift to live,
make haste to be kind.
Henri Frederick Amiel
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Examples of other lensmaster's websites on giving back and kindness and making a difference.
Books on Altruism and Giving Back
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A collection of the available book resources on Altruism, or giving back to others.
Squidoo Lenses on Volunteering
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Creative Commons License © 1997-2011 Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
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Comment on the Healing Effect of Altruism
Have you felt the healing effect of giving back?
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familystorykeeper
Apr 8, 2012 @ 1:16 am | delete
- When we help others we also help ourselves. If everyone in the world believed and lived this way, what a wonderful world we would have. Thanks for spreading the word that helping others is the best thing we can do, not only for others, but also for ourselves.
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BookMama
Feb 10, 2012 @ 12:15 pm | delete
- Great topic and it's true! As someone who works at home a lot, I occasionally go days of seeing no other human beings. And from this I've decided to become a Meals on Wheels volunteer, because it will get me out one more day and also, I'll be seeing other people who need not just the food, but additional human contact.
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traveller27
Jan 1, 2012 @ 1:08 pm | delete
- Wonderful lens on a great topic - blessed by a travelling angel.
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UtopianDreamer
Nov 2, 2011 @ 5:05 pm | delete
- What a lovely lens. Good for the soul. I've added it as a related lens.
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holistichealthguru
Oct 24, 2011 @ 8:09 pm | delete
- Wonderful lens. Few people really understand that we are more than physical beings. Things like altruism absolutely have an impact on both mental and physical health.
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