17th October 2024
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
This quote is so true. When we go beyond our comfort zone, and give our time and energy to something larger than ourselves, something remarkable happens, we start feeling good about ourselves.
Have you ever done something kind for someone else, like giving to charity, and you felt good after doing it?
Chances are you were probably experiencing ‘Helper’s high.’
Did you know that ‘Helper’s High’ is more than just feeling good about doing good?
It involves a positive physical change in your body and mind.
The concept of the “helper’s high” arose in the 1980s, and has been confirmed in various studies since then. It consists of positive emotions following selfless service to others. It’s that euphoric feeling that you get after you’ve done something good for someone else.
It’s called a high because it’s actually a chemical response in the brain to performing an act of kindness.
It creates a train reaction of other positive effects. Thus, helping others produces a positive effect on your mental and physical health. In other words, your brain was designed for helping others.
Think of it this way. Helping others benefits human survival. Therefore, our brains are designed to motivate us to do good.
Kindness Toward Others, or
when you do a good deed for someone else, your brain releases endorphins which are hormones that have pain-relieving properties.
Think of it as your body’s natural morphine. These endorphins create the same high you would feel after taking morphine.
Greater health and increased longevity are associated with this psychological state.
A number of studies, including a 2008 study by the Harvard Business School, found that giving back to others lifted study participants’ happiness more than spending money on themselves did.
And when studying the biological effects of charitable giving, scientists at the National Institutes of Health found a “warm glow” effect in MRI scans that indicated the activation of brain regions associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust.
The more we give away, the more we gain in the long run. That is why helping others really is a win-win situation.
Go on, this festive season, do a random act of kindness and get a ‘Helpers High’ and feel good about life.
Lets all Serve, let’s share & give, Lets do good & feel good and stay blessed forever.