Altruism

Altruism

You Get a Lot by Giving

What if research showed that one medicine could improve your overall health, reduce stress, relieve depression and decrease your awareness of pain? Would you be interested?

That research is in. A national survey of 3,000 Americans who tried this medicine showed that more than 95 percent of those who took it regularly said they experienced heightened physical sensations--a "helper's high"--which for many led to the effects just described. The amazing prescription is altruism--helping other people--and it works.

The research also shows that there's a particular kind of altruism that, over time, boosts your health and happiness the most. It's not when you write a check for charity and not when you take care of your own family and friends (even though these bring fulfillment, too.) The altruism that keeps you happier, healthier and feeling younger is when you have one-on-one contact with a stranger. Then the benefits bloom for both of you.

Why? Helping a stranger in need begins to break down the sense of "them" versus "us"--and that empathy is the key to experiencing the lasting euphoria and youthful energy that altruism brings, says Allan Luks, an attorney who heads New York City's Big Brother/Big Sister organization and who led the national volunteer survey, which he describes in his book The Healing Power of Doing Good.

More than 20 volunteer organizations across the country participated in the survey, and three-quarters of the more than 3,000 volunteers were female. They were asked questions about the type and frequency of helping activities they participated in, the state of their health and their perceptions of the physical and emotional effects of helping.

The volunteers' responses suggest that people who are altruistic more frequently report better health and increased happiness, says Howard F. Andrews, Ph.D., epidemiologist and senior staff associate in neurology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Dr. Andrews analyzed the data from Luks's research and concluded that those who help others often report significantly better health, including less depression, less pain and even fewer visits to doctors.

Problems and pain don't vanish completely when you volunteer, Luks says, but they can be alleviated to a great degree when you focus outside yourself. Helping someone else helps you leave your worries behind.

An Antidote to Loneliness

Many people experience physical and emotional problems more often as they age, Luks says, and altruism offers real relief for some of these ills. It's a particularly effective remedy to loneliness and a sense of isolation, and it reduces stress levels that can eventually trigger illness, he says.

"By helping others--focusing intently on these people and getting good feelings back--the good feelings literally replace your negative feelings," Luks says. "You hold that person's hand, they smile at you, they hug you--these good feelings are buffering and reducing the negative stress in your life. What an incredible antidote to loneliness and isolation."

Keeping Your Spirit Young

"A miserly spirit is a dying spirit. My advice is to give. It's the only way of life that makes sense," says Millard Fuller, president and founder of Habitat for Humanity International in Americus, Georgia, the organization of volunteers who build houses for people in need. "Every physical possession will ultimately be taken away from every person anyway," Fuller says. "The only thing that cannot be taken is that which has been given away."

Want to feel that kind of ageless spirit? Here's how to get started.

Check out the possibilities. If you're at a loss about where to begin, think of what you care about and head for the phone book, says Luks. "If you're concerned about a certain health problem or social cause, you'll often find a local nonprofit group in the telephone book," he says. "And many communities have a volunteer action center of some sort."

Find the right fit. You can also start by simply visualizing yourself in situations to see what feels like a good fit, Luks suggests. "Just imagine yourself--'here's me helping a baby' or 'here I am tutoring for literacy' " he says. "Then when you call an organization in the area you've chosen, say 'Do you use volunteers? I'm thinking about volunteering. And can you send me some literature?' They'll be glad to hear from you."

Give personally. Meeting and spending time with the person you're helping will have a much greater impact on you than if you limit your helping to less personal tasks, such as collecting clothes or canned goods for the poor, says Luks. Of the volunteers he surveyed, only 5 percent of those who had one-to-one contact with the person they were helping did not report a feeling of euphoria. But people who never encountered those they helped were three times less likely to experience that youthful, buoyant feeling.

Help through a group. It's even more effective to help strangers in the company of kindred spirits, such as through involvement with a supportive organization of volunteers. Dr. Andrews's analysis of Luks's data suggests that people who helped strangers through a group rather than on their own made significantly fewer visits to the doctor and reported more positive effects and lasting good feelings from helping.

Make it a habit. Those warm holiday feelings inspire a desire in many of us to help people in need. But people who help frequently year-round will continue to experience the good feelings altruism brings the giver, Luks's national survey showed. So make your volunteer activity a regular routine to reap its fullest benefits, Luks says.

Use your talents. When you use your own particular skills and knowledge to help others, the experience is even more satisfying, Luks says. He cites surveys that asked people who were already volunteering why they continued, and one of the frequent reasons given was that they were able to use their skills to do something useful. Using your own talents to help or support someone else gives you a particularly strong sense of usefulness, which in turn reduces stress, he says. If you're a lawyer, help at a free law clinic. If you can teach, you can tutor. If you can grow a vegetable, you can feed the hungry. The opportunities are limitless, Luks says.

Take a volunteer vacation. You can use your time off not only to rejuvenate your own spirit, but also to help other people or rescue the environment. Habitat for Humanity International, for instance, will connect you with a nearby group working on housing for the poor, Fuller says. You can write to them at 121 Habitat Street, Americus, GA 31709-3498, for more information.

Or you could help to conserve endangered species, environments or cultures as a member of the EarthCorps. EarthCorps volunteers join Earthwatch expeditions and assist scientists on research expeditions all over the globe. "You can help on one of 165 projects in 58 countries and 25 states," says Mary Blue Magruder, Earthwatch's director of public affairs. Write to Earthwatch at P.O. Box 403 R.P., Watertown, MA 02272, for details.

The Healthy Helper

Though nothing beats the selfless experience of helping other people, you have to keep your own needs in mind, too, Luks says. Here are his tips on how to avoid disappointment and "volunteer burnout."

Go at your own pace. Start gradually and volunteer at a pace that's right for you, Luks says. If it starts to feel like a weary obligation, you're doing too much or you're in the wrong volunteer activity.

Don't fix everything. If you try to rescue the whole world, you'll set yourself up for disappointment, Luks says. Don't take on total responsibility for even one person or blame yourself for circumstances you can't control.

Do it together. A good way to deal with "beginner's nerves" and take the first step to getting involved is to pursue a volunteer activity as a family or with a friend, Luks says. You will strengthen your relationships as you each receive the emotional and health benefits of helping, he says.

Feel free to change your mind. If one situation or project isn't bringing you satisfaction and well-being, it's perfectly okay to look for another, Luks says. Nobody is indispensable, and you need to find the helping activity that's right for you. You'll know it's the right fit when you feel more energetic after a volunteering session than you did when you started.