Mental Health Awareness Kindness Series (3)
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF KINDNESS?
Doing something positive for yourself or others of course, has benefits to it. One of the most obvious ones is that everyone feels good - the giver and the recipient. This does assume that it’s genuine kindness.I found numerous benefits - and am still finding more each day. Here are just a few:
Physical / Practical Benefits:
You can enable others to achieve something that they might otherwise have been able to do or have
Biochemical Benefits (just a few examples)
It stimulates the production of serotonin which heals wounds, calms and increases a feeling of happiness.
It releases oxytocin, a 'cardio protective' hormone that releases another chemical called 'nitric oxide in the body that dilates blood vessel, thus reducing blood pressure
Eases pain as it produces endorphins, the brain’s natural painkiller
Helps with stress and anxiety.
Kind people have 23% less cortisolSlows down aging
Helps with depression.
When we give of ourselves, everything from life satisfaction to self-realisation and physical health is significantly improved.
Relational Benefits
Asking yourself ‘is this a kind way to speak / behave’ has huge benefitsSupports communication and conflict resolution
Builds trust and understanding
Creates a positive culture
Enables connection - to strangers to build new relationships or deeper relationships within existing relationships
My Personal Top 5 benefits:
I’m calmer and more patient
I’ve met new people around the world because of kindness
It helps me on “bad days” to get perspective and to feel I achieved something
I’ve had work opportunities because of a kind approach
I see kindness in the world that I would have missed before
