
Kindness and helping others are some traits that have always been hailed as essential for a good social life. Now a study has revealed that kindness isn't just one of the good human traits, it also helps in recovery from anxiety and depression. The study was carried out by David Cregg and Jennifer Cheavens from The Ohio State University.
“Social connection is one of the ingredients of life most strongly associated with well-being. Performing acts of kindness seems to be one of the best ways to promote those connections,” Cregg said.
For the study, 122 volunteers from Ohio were studied. These people had moderate to severe symptoms of depression. They were then divided into three groups. First two groups were given the usual treatment in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) i.e. social interactions and cognitive reappraisal.
The third group was told to perform acts of kindness for two days per week.
An act of kindness was defined as “doing nice things for people and focusing on the needs of others” and it found that it actually helps people with depression and anxiety feel better about themselves.
All three groups were monitored for five weeks and then re-evaluated. All three groups benefitted from respective treatment plans but the one told to perform acts of kindness showed marked improvement in thesymptoms of depression and anxiety.
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