According to a recent study, people suffering from depression or anxiety may be able to help themselves by helping others — even in small ways.
Conducted on 122 people with depression or anxiety symptoms, the study showed that those who started fitting small acts of kindness into their day showed an improvement in their symptoms. Moreover, when it came to boosting feelings of social connectedness, those kind gestures worked even better than two techniques used in standard “talk therapy,”
The experts concluded that the findings point to the power of simply being kind. One hypothesis is that acting this way helps people with mental health symptoms get out of their own heads, even temporarily.
Past research has shown that acts of kindness — writing a supportive note to a friend or buying someone a cup of coffee — can not only make the recipient feel good, but also be a boon to the givers’ well-being.
You can read more about the study here: https://studyfinds.org/kindness-best-medicine-depression-anxiety/
If you’re interested in the topic, I invite you to check out some of my previous articles about random acts of kindness: