Allan Luks and writer Peggy Payne wrote in their groundbreaking book The Healing Power of Doing Good, offer us insights into the relationship between health and what happens when we do good for others. Luks, a renowned health and social services professional, led the first research linking emotional and physical health benefits experienced by those who regularly helped others—especially those with similar health issues or behaviors.
20 years later, the work of an associate professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Marie Pagano, PhD, has been published in the Alcohol Treatment Quarterly. In her research, Dr. Pagano highlights the helper therapy principle (HTP), a concept embodied by AA, as a means of diminishing egocentrism or selfishness, a root cause of addiction. The HTP is based on the theory that, when a person helps another individual with a similar condition, they help themselves.
This is based on the same principals evidenced in the work of Luks that shows when people help other people they are in essence helping themselves through the positive behavior they are enacting with their compassionate assistance of others.
Pagano’s published review article on Helper Therapy Principal in the Alcohol Treatment Quarterly cites studies that demonstrate a wide variety of health conditions can be improved with the application of HTP.
Individuals suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, chronic pain and depression experienced a substantial decrease in their symptoms than they had been experiencing prior to the volunteering. The most well know HTP intervention is the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Step program, where individuals who have experienced alcohol abuse counsel and are counseled by others with the same condition.
Here are seven scientific healing benefits of doing good from a 2017 study published in goodnets.org.
1. DOING GOOD DECREASES STRESS - According to a 2017 study examining the relationship between volunteering and hypertension, giving back can have a significant impact on blood pressure. Researchers found that adults over 50 who volunteered about four hours a week were 40 percent less likely than non-volunteers to have developed hypertension four years later.
Additionally, being generous can have the same effect, according to a different, 2010 study, which found that the less money people gave away, the higher their cortisol levels.
2. DOING GOOD INCREASES LIFE-EXPECTANCY - Researchers from the University of Buffalo found a link between giving, unselfishness and a lower risk of early death. The findings show that subjects who provided tangible assistance to friends or family members (running errands, helping with child care, etc.), reported less stressful events and, consequently, had reduced mortality. In other words, “helping others reduced mortality specifically by buffering the association between stress and mortality.”
3. DOING GOOD MAKES US FEEL BETTER - Ever felt a sort of “rush” after performing a good deed? That sensation is known as ‘helper’s high’ and is produced when your brain releases endorphins, the feel-good chemicals of the brain. When you do something good for someone else, your brain’s pleasure centers light up, releasing endorphin and producing this high. Not to mention, doing good has also been known to generate feelings of satisfaction and gratitude.
4. DOING GOOD MAKES US HAPPIER AT WORK - According to a study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, altruists in the office are more likely to be committed to their work and less likely to quit their jobs. The researchers also found that individuals in their mid-30s who rated helping others in their work as important, reported they were happier with their life when surveyed 30 years later. Overall, the study came to an important conclusion about office altruism: those who help others are happier at work than those who don’t prioritize helping others.
5. DOING GOOD PROMOTES MENTAL HEALTH - The results are in! After an extensive review of 40 studies on the effect of volunteering on general health and happiness, the BMC Public Health journal has concluded that volunteering is also good for mental health. The review found that - along with improved well-being and life satisfaction – volunteering is also linked to decreased depression.
6. DOING GOOD LEADS TO HAPPINESS - "People who engage in kind acts become happier over time.” It’s that simple, according to Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. Lyubomirsky, who has studied happiness for over 20 years, found that performing positive acts once a week led to the most happiness. In addition, Researcher Stephen Post of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found that when we give of ourselves, everything from life satisfaction to self-realization and physical health is significantly improved.
7. DOING GOOD WILL MOTIVATE YOU TO DO GOOD AGAIN - A 2012 study published in Psychological Science found that thinking about times you’ve helped others will make you want to help others again. The research found that reflecting on your past good deeds makes you feel selfless and want to help more, as compared to reflecting on the times others have helped you. In other words, thinking about what you’ve given others – and not only what you’ve received - will motivate you to do good again and again.
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