The Helper’s High University of Michigan re- searcher Sara Konrath, Ph.D., has found that people engaging in acts that benefit others tend to have more calming hor-
mones like oxytocin and progesterone coursing through their bodies. If pre- sented with a tough situation later, they are likely to react with a muted stress response, churning out fewer harmful stress hormones, such as cortisol and norepinephrine, and maintaining a calmer heart rate. Konrath is studying whether altruistic thoughts and behav- ior might also be associated with an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. “Just thinking about giving seems to have a beneficial physiological impact,” says Post. For instance, a late 20th-century study by then Harvard Psychologist David McClelland found that when people watched a film about Mother Teresa’s work with orphans in Calcutta, levels of immunoglobulin A (a marker of immune strength) shot up. A more recent study found that people had higher levels of oxytocin in their blood after they had watched a moving film about an ill 4-year-old boy. Some research further suggests that the act of giving may release natural opiates, such as endorphins, into our system. One landmark analysis of 1,700 people published in Psychology Today found that more than 68 percent experi- enced a “helper’s high” when physically helping another person, and 13 percent reported a decrease in aches and pains afterward. It’s a concept that’s been documented many times since. Meanwhile, new brain-imaging research has shown that acts of giving (including making a charitable dona- tion) stimulate “reward centers” in the brain. This includes the mesolimbic pathway by which natural dopamine is released, leaving us feeling euphoric. On the flip side, “We found that people that are high in narcissism and low in empathy have higher cortisol lev- els,” advises Konrath. “They walk around with high stress reactivity, which is really hard on the body.” One other clear ex-
ample of the health benefits of helping lies in the field of addiction research. Recent studies by Maria Pa- gano, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medi- cine, found that recovering ad- dicts that volunteer to help other addicts stay sober are twice as likely to remain so themselves. That’s because narcis- sism and self-absorption are often at the root of addiction, and generosity is an antidote to narcissism, Pagano says. “The founders of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) figured it out,” Pagano continues, noting that a primary focus is on serving others. “They figured out that this selfish root is there before the illness develops, and is sustained unless you treat it. This is treatment; it is a way of continually weeding out the narcis- sism that made you sick.”
Born to Give
Stephanie Brown, Ph.D., an associ- ate professor of preventive medicine at Stony Brook, is the daughter of an
evolutionary psychologist and a pioneer in the study of altruism’s neuro- biological roots. In sharp contrast to what she describes as the long-held “self-
interested” assumption about human nature (that we help others only to help ourselves), she suggests that humans are biologically wired to be empathetic and generous.
“It makes more sense from an evolutionary perspective for us to sup- press self-interest,” for the benefit of the whole sometimes, she says. New research from the University of Wash- ington suggests that babies as young as 15 months old exhibit fairness and empathy.
So, why don’t we always stop to help? Our anxious, busy, modern-day lives get in the way, suggests Brown. “It could be that our natural, default state is to help when we see need, but what prevents that is our stress response.” That is, stress often gets in the way:
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