A new study has found that small acts of kindness can improve symptoms of depression. More than 600 mildly depressed volunteers participated in the online study. They were asked to participate in one of three online training programs or a control group, complete exercises, and report back every other day for three weeks. Two months later, the study found that the participants deemed the most disagreeable had the biggest relief from depressive symptoms and the biggest increase in life satisfaction. How did they accomplish this? They performed small acts of kindness for people in their close relationships. The study authors explained that disagreeable people often lack empathy, even for those close to them. They don’t cooperate and often have turbulent relationships in which they might be rejected or antagonized. This creates a lot of stress and unhappiness as disagreeable people essentially exist in a hostile social climate. The researchers addressed this problem in a way that was almost too obvious: they gave these disagreeable participants some specific ideas for how they might show kindness and empathy to people close to them. This intervention only took about 15 minutes a day and had a significant impact on the participants’ quality of life. The study also tested the effects of loving-kindness meditation. Participants spent about 10 minutes a day thinking about someone and directing positive feelings toward that person, using phrases like, “May you be happy,” “may you be safe,” and so on. This also had positive effect on all participants, but the disagreeable participants were helped most by performing simple acts of kindness. As more agreeable people are probably kinder to their loved ones to begin with, it makes sense this intervention had less impact on them, although it certainly couldn’t hurt. Another study found that happy people are kinder than unhappy people. The study also found that you can increase your happiness just by counting your own acts of kindness, even if you were already happy. This is perhaps because being kind to people in need reinforces your own sense of gratitude. Helping others makes you appreciate what you have and it boosts your self-esteem because you can be valuable to another person. Kindness also gets you out of your own head. When you’re depressed or unhappy, you tend to dwell on your own problems. That’s not to say these feelings aren’t valid, just that they’re too much in the foreground. Helping someone else makes you consider things from their perspective and interrupts your rumination. This is one reason why 12-step programs emphasize volunteering. Many people who struggle with addiction are also depressed. Volunteering helps you connect with others and be of service. It also doesn’t hurt that you help to create a more harmonious social environment to live in.
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