Nov 16, 2015

More Than One Reason To Be Kind To Others

A policeman’s act of kindness went above and beyond his duty when he responded to an elderly couple that called 999 because they were lonely. The officers responded by making a visit to their house for a cup of tea. Whilst it’s not something policemen normally would do, it does highlight the issues in the community for elderly people and social isolation and the lack thereof of the appropriate supports to address this.

Who would have of thought being kind to others can improve your own life satisfaction?

Over the years there has been a growing body of evidence to suggest that there are many positive implications for people that do good for others. One study published by the Journal of Social Psychology, measured the overall life satisfaction of eighty-six participants. The participants were randomly assigned into three different groups where they have to perform either 1. daily acts of kindness, 2. new and novel activity or 3. no acts of kindness for a period of ten days. With the outcome of the study revealing that the two groups that practiced the two meaningful activities 1.daily act of kindness and 2. new novel activity that overall their life satisfaction was higher than those that did not practice any acts of kindness or activities.

Another research study from the University of British Columbia that acts of kindness and doing good deeds for other can make socially-anxious people feel better. People with high levels of anxiety over a four week program were asked to acts of kindness to others. These included simply things such as buying lunch for a friend, holding the door open for others, donating to charity and doing errands for others. The outcomes of the research showed that doing nice things for others lead to a significant increase in the participants mood in a positive way. As well as improved relationship satisfaction and a reduction in avoidance of social situations in people with social anxiety concerns.

Kindness can be anything from a simple smile or saying two kind words thank you. It provides a way to connect with an individual even if only for a brief moment. It doesn’t cost anything to take time out for a simple gesture in your passing. Why not give it a try and really go out your way to be kind to others.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Students show off their Augmented Reality game designed for older people

South Australian primary school students have connected with local older people to bridge the tech gap between generations. Read More

Art imitating life: in praise of the Murphy Brown reboot

Who knew that writing an article about the new iteration of Murphy Brown would broaden my education? And sharing that with you, just in case it’s also news to you, it turns out (according to Wikipedia) that the phrase that I’m familiar with, that “life imitates art”, was not only first voiced by Oscar Wilde,... Read More

Laughter is the best medicine

In this episode of Grey Matters, Tracey and Ben discuss the importance of laughter as we age. Social interaction is important for all of us at all stages of our lives and research is now showing us just how important it is for older people. Loneliness can have far-reaching health impacts and can have a... Read More
Advertisement