Sometimes it’s difficult to find ways to bring joy and positivity into one’s life, whether emotionally or physically. There’s a number of options one could consider: buying socks with silly designs on them, going for a drive, resisting temptation by walking past the chocolate aisle and straight to the fresh produce without even sneaking a peek, or giving away their time and money to nonprofits. According to the CAF 2021 World Giving Index, 3 billion people offered their help to complete strangers, in the form of volunteering or financial donations. In spite of the world collectively picking up its pieces after the long stretch of COVID-19 and in spite of the economic hardships, 3 billion people chose to help anyway, most of them from lower classes. Why is that?
Donating has a variety of benefits to it emotionally. It allows one to be part of something bigger than themselves, to step back from their troubles and take some time to help their community instead. This is especially important in times like these where people are still recovering from the isolating effects of the pandemic and are struggling to put together a support system. What better way to form long lasting bonds with likeminded people than by giving your time or lending any help you can to an organization that shares the same beliefs as you?
The benefits of these social connections don’t stop here – they extend to physical health as well. Neuropsychologist Patricia Boyle was one of the many doctors who had conducted studies looking into the links between decreased mortality and volunteering, and she explained how when people contribute to society in this manner and develop a sense of purpose from collectively working towards one goal, they end up living longer, and with a reduced chance of developing Alzheimer’s. In another study, researchers at the University of Oregon discovered, through the use of an fMRI machine, that seeing one’s money go to a good cause activates pleasure-related centers in the brain, similar to those activated when receiving money. There’s no sense of loss when it comes to helping those around you accomplish what they believe in.
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Citations
Boyle, P. A., Buchman, A. S., Barnes, L. L., & Bennett, D. A. (2010). Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Archives of general psychiatry, 67(3), 304–310. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.208
Charities Aid Foundation. (2022). World Giving Index 2022. https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/publications/2022-publications/caf-world-giving-index-2022
Contie, V. (2007). Brain Imaging Reveals Joys of Giving. National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/brain-imaging-reveals-joys-giving