Mitchell
Popovetsky, MD, a primary care doctor at Rush University Medical Center, cited
a study of charitable donations. In the study researchers conducted a
functional MRI scan on the donor brain that functions to detect activity in the
brain. After people make a donation, the part of their brain that "turns
on", or becomes active, is the mesolimbic system.
According to
Popovetsky the mesolimbic system is the part of the brain that controls
feelings of appreciation and pleasure that can also be activated by things like
food, medicine, and sex.
He added
that there is also growing research linking different types of giving or
donating to a better quality of life.
Here are the
benefits of giving a donation to mental health:
1. 1. Feel happiness firsthand
There is
scientific evidence behind why you might experience a wave of happiness when
you do something good or generous to others.
A 2016 study
from the University of the South shows that doing "acts of kindness
carried out unplanned" for others or for the world can improve your mood.
This study found that helping others can improve your mood more than if you had
done something to help yourself.
Medical News
Daily also notes that donating can help improve your mood because doing so
encourages your body to release dopamine, which gives you what some people call
"Helper's High", a name for the positive emotional state that some
people experience after provide help to others.
2. 2. Increase overall life satisfaction
A 2017
report from the Women's Philanthropy Institute notes that people as a whole are
happier when they give to others and that the more they do or give, the more
they tend to be happy. It is only referred to as "the pleasure of
giving."
The study
found that men experience more happiness when they start giving and women feel
happier when they increase their generosity over time.
3. 3. Reduces stress levels
High stress
levels can have a bad impact on your health, but some suggest giving back can
help you reduce them.
According to
Stephen G. Post, professor of preventive medicine and director and founder of
the Center for Medical Humanity, Compassion and Bioethics at Stony Brook
University, acting generous and giving can help reduce your stress levels.
4. 4. Helps to keep things in perspective
Many people
are not aware of the impact that different perspectives can have on their
outlook on life.
Helping
others who are in need, especially those who are less fortunate than you, can
provide a sense of real perspective and make you realize how lucky you are,
allowing you to stop focusing on what you feel you are missing, helping you
achieve a more positive view of things that might cause you stress.
5. 5. Eliminating negative feelings
Negative
emotions such as anger, aggression or hostility have a negative impact on your mind
and body.
Engaging in
unplanned good deeds can help reduce negative feelings and stabilize your
overall health.
6. Make life more meaningful
When you
donate money to charity, you create opportunities to meet new people who
believe in the same goals that inspire you. That action, and has a real impact
on those causes, can make your daily life more meaningful. If you are stuck in
a rut, both personally and professionally, sometimes the simple act of donating
money can do tricks and refresh your life.
7. Strengthen personal values
In research,
"Why do we give, a feeling of social conscience" this reason is the
most widely given for charity. Whatever type of charity they support, 96% say
they feel they have a moral obligation to use what they have to help others, a
sentiment that is deeply rooted in their personal values and principles.
Having the power to improve the lives of others is, for many people, a
privilege, and one that emerges with its own sense of duty. Acting on this
strong sense of responsibility is a great way to strengthen your own personal
values and feel like you are living the right way for your own ethical
beliefs.
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