It’s the very antithesis of the dictum of the yuppie ’80s or the bumper sticker that says “He who dies with the most toys wins”, but it really seems that giving is healthier for you than receiving.
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The average motorist on the same stretch of highway as you this morning will focus on getting to work on time. A few will make it their business to get there before you. Generally there’s at least one who seems to believe he should get there instead of you.
Apart from the hazards of reckless driving, there’s growing scientific evidence to suggest that helping others – everything from being courteous in traffic to helping out at the local soup kitchen - can make you live a longer and happier life.
Mental health linked to giving
Researchers at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan studied a group of 423 elderly couples for five years, reports the Boston Globe. It was found that those who reported helping others were half as likely to die as those who did not.
It seems to back up a study published in the journal Psychometric Medicine last year, which reported that mental health seems to be linked more to giving help than receiving it. This followed a study by behavioural scientist Carolyn E Schwartz, of about 2000 Presbyterians.
I'm so lonely, I could die It seems to have something to do with loneliness, which in turn is linked directly to stress. You do get loners who are quite content with their own company, but it’s also been found that in lonely people, the stress response is more active and there are increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. That’s fine for a limited time, but over a prolonged period the body’s immune system will be compromised.
Modern life puts the human body at an increased state of stress. Many things can increase the amount of adrenaline in your body: too much caffeine, salt and fast food. Combined with queues, commuting, lack of fresh air, exposure to tobacco smoke and other toxins, drugs (prescription drugs and illegal ones) and simply being away from home all day, you can end up a mess.
Charity does begin at home
So, is the solution to chuck in your job as a debt collector and join the Peace Corps? Maybe, but there are certainly people who work selflessly who feel alienated and stressed. Three of the most indispensable professions around are also the most underpaid and thankless: nursing, teaching and policing.
Some people will say that the only way to benefit from giving is to “give ’til it hurts”.
A more pragmatic solution might be to start giving what you can manage. Start by giving time to your family and friends, and see what’s left over before buying into the current buzz around “volunteerism”.
Dealing with stress
Part of dealing with stress also requires learning to differentiate between the things you can change and the things you can’t.
And while there’ll always be people who could benefit from your help, one of the major stressors in modern life is the lack of time alone.
The folk who spend their working lives tapping away at computers and conduct their entire social lives chatting online might find they just need to switch the machine off and get out.
So offer of yourself, but on your terms. One thing is certain: even people with ostensibly mundane skills like bricklaying and cooking will find people who need to be taught those skills. One more point about longevity: according to the Journal of Death Studies (No, we hadn’t heard of it either), a new study finds that on average, poets live for 62 years, playwrights 63 years, novelists 66 years and non-fiction writers 68 years.
Female writers in all those genres outlive their male counterparts.
Tragic, when you consider that the brilliant Dylan Thomas managed to drink himself to death by the age of 39, while the celebrated children’s author Beatrix Potter lived until the exact inversion of that age – 93. (William Smook)
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