Medical Files
Helping others, healing oneself
By Rafael Castillo, MD
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:59:00 12/19/2008
Filed Under: Health, Lifestyle & Leisure
THANK GOD for the Christmas season and the holiday spirit, which make us a little more generous, a little more compassionate and a little more altruistic than other times of the year. But one health secret which everyone needs to learn is that if we can practice altruism all year round, the health benefits it gives us may be worth more than whatever we selflessly shared.
Altruism is the genuine concern for others without expecting anything in return, but in the process, we’re actually reaping rewards, in terms of health benefits for ourselves.
I’m proud to be involved with a small company which makes it a point to share its earnings with people who have much less in life and who would never be able to pay back whatever you give them.
The company has adopted a small impoverished barangay and tries to help it in various ways. Every time I join employees of the company in its outreach activities in the barangay, I come home with such a natural high that would make me feel so good for days on end.
The warmth and grateful smiles of the residents, from their barangay officials to the children in their makeshift daycare center, bring so much joy in us that instantly melts whatever stress and mental or emotional baggage we brought along with us.
The so-called helper’s high is not really just a mere psychological lift. Many authors like Allan Luks, Peggy Payne, John Stossel and Sylvia Johnson have discussed the health benefits of generosity and altruism extensively in their respective books.
The “helper’s high,” truly gives the giver or helper a feeling of exhilaration and a burst of energy similar to that one experiences after intense exercise. The feeling of calmness and serenity which follow it can linger on for days, sometimes weeks.
Dr. Luks studied over 3,000 Americans involved in volunteer services and reported that the helper’s high in these volunteer workers lasted several weeks. They also reported improvements in other aspects of their lives, including their work and relationships. What was amazing was that the euphoric sensation returned whenever they thought of the good deeds they had done.
The volunteers also added that doing altruistic acts served as an antidote to stress, chronic pain, and insomnia. Although it’s hard to objectively document it, the do-gooders believed their altruism helped control their high blood pressure, chest pains, ulcers and whatever physical ailments they had.
Another study, done at Harvard University, reported a phenomenon which they called as the “Mother Teresa effect.” More than a hundred Harvard students was shown a film about Mother Teresa’s work among the Calcutta’s poor, then the researchers measured the level of immunoglobin A (IgA) present in the students’ saliva.
IgA helps protect the body against many types of infections. An increased level of IgA was shown suggesting an enhancement of the immune system even just after simply witnessing somebody else involved in charity work.
One can expect that actually doing charity would even yield greater benefits for the generous and selfless individual. When we turn our attention to help other people, we forget our own problems and ailments, and we realize how much more fortunate we are to be on the giving rather than receiving end.
Practicing altruism can be the best exercise we can do. As Bernard Meltzer wrote: “There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up.”
|
