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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. | 
