I came across this article from the Ruidoso, NM news and it made me smile.
The article details how clinical psychologist are linking the act of helping others to longer and happier lives. If you’ve ever taken a philosophy class one of the first things you will be taught is the idea of altruism. Altruism is the act of doing something for the benefit of someone else and not receiving something in return or benefiting from it personally. Obviously the implications of this article and other articles and studies like it wouldn’t indicate that receiving a “high” from helping would be considered altruism. Volunteering- is it altruistic? Not according to the definition, but could it possibly it is a form of pseudo-altruism? I may have just made that word up, but more to the point. We volunteer because we want to help someone else benefit and don’t necessarily expect anything in return. This idea of “helper’s high” that we get from volunteering is what breaks from the idea of our actions being altruistic, because, according to some clinical psychologist, we do benefit. Greatly. James Martin (2014), the clinical psychologist who wrote the article I am referencing makes note of an article in the Arizona Republic that says that elderly people who get involved with helping others actually live longer and healthier lives. I was intrigued. To my dismay I was unable to find the specific article that sparked Dr. Martin’s interest, however with the right idea you don’t have to search long to find other articles that convey the same message.
Dr. Christine Carter (2010) outlines how some statistics have shown that for people over 55 volunteering can have as much of an impact of living a healthy life as quitting smoking can! That’s an amazing statement to make. This form of pro-social behavior can help to increase feelings of self worth which can also decrease the feelings of depression (Carter, 2010). Elderly people who volunteer experience a boost their overall sense of self worth and well being. It could be that feeling better about oneself and having something to live contributes to the longevity experienced by those who volunteer.
The reason we cannot be truly altruistic in volunteering is because our brains release endorphins (pleasure hormones) when we engage in charitable activities (Baraz & Alexander, 2010). When we contribute to charities or engage in volunteer work the pleasure centers of our brain light up and our brain gives us something in return, “the helper’s high”. This research used FMRI’s to show that the pleasure center of the brain lights up when a person thinks about giving money to a charitable cause. If the pleasure center is activated at the thought of being helpful to other people then the action of helping is sure to create a response as well.
Taking all of this information and putting it together the bigger picture begins to emerge. It is no secret that happier people tend to live longer. If it is true the volunteering makes people, and their brains, happier and if it is true that happier people are less depressed, they circular pattern of volunteering shows itself in true form.
This information wouldn’t be complete without a little bit truth serum. An extensive research by Li and Ferraro (2005) wanted to lend credence to the theory that volunteering reduced depressive symptoms in elderly people. The evidence is there too that volunteering does contribute to a decrease in depressive symptoms. However, evidence also suggest that a person must already possess certain pro-social attributes that enable them to volunteer in the first place. It makes sense when you think about it. A person who does not want to volunteer probably won’t and if they do they probably won’t get the same results as a willing person would, especially if the unwilling volunteer does so begrudgingly of those they are volunteering to help.
What have we learned? Clinic counseling and research lend credit to the theory that volunteering can contribute to the over all health of human beings. Using this research and other research like it we could find non pharmaceutical ways of aiding in mental health while creating a sense of community and extending the length and quality of our lives. If you have the willingness to volunteer the benefits of your pseudo-altruistic contributions will far outweigh any consequences. So my advice would be … go get your “helper’s high”.
References:
Martin, J; (2014) Clinical counseling: rings of life record a person’s development, Ruidoso News June 5, 2014 retrieved from: http://www.ruidosonews.com/ruidoso-news/ci_25908570/clinical-counseling-rings-life-record-persons-development
Carter, C; (2010) What we get when we give, Psychology today February 18, 2010 retrieved from: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/raising-happiness/201002/what-we-get-when-we-give
Baraz J., Alexandre, S; (2010) The helpers high, Greater Good February 1, 2010 retrieved from: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_helpers_high
Li, Y., & Ferraro, K. F. (2005). Volunteering and depression in later life: Social benefit or selection processes?*. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 46(1), 68-84. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/201666479?accountid=13158
Thank you for providing this food for thoughts.
A couple of semesters ago, I took Positive Psychology course, and there, I read about the reason why true altruism do not exist. In the book, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, by Harry Browne (2004), he stated that when we do something for others expecting no material return, we ultimately expect the action itself to make ourselves feel good. I have since then became disillusioned with the notion of altruism. Coming into contact with thinking on Harry Browne’s book strengthened the inkling I had for the past 10 years that many people who are involved with volunteer work cared more for the image of themselves doing good than the actual result of their work. Perhaps many of the people who are resistant to doing volunteering work do not like to work for an organization or with the people that are more for themselves rather than for doing good for others.
This relationship of altruism and volunteering in self serving way seems like a great topic for an empirical research. I have looked up these key words on Lion Search on Penn State Library site, but I could not find any research on something like that. Going that deep on understanding of altruism might help clinical counselors to be even more successful in dealing with depression.
Source:
Browne, H. (2004) How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World (Internet ed.). Pamela Browne. ISBN 0965603679
I also view altruism as a myth. We gain something from helping… a sense of accomplishment, feeling better about ourselves, recognition, and so forth. That doesn’t take away from its value to society and our own wellbeing.
You point to the rehabilitative nature of volunteering, especially for mental health. For cases of depression, this can be an especially helpful component of therapy. It makes sense, intuitively, that depressive symptoms would be reduced through volunteering. Depression is, to some degree, a preoccupation with ones self, and marked with a deep sense of helplessness. Volunteering focuses on others’ needs and empowers individuals to help meet those needs. Essentially, it redirects narrow internal focus to broader focus on society and provides a sense of control (the ability to impact others lives). The difference between recovery and simple treatment is giving patients the tools they need to create (within themselves) and sustain psychological and physical wellbeing (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012).
So, how could clinical psychologist tap into this power if patients are resistant to volunteering and not likely to benefit even if they do? Are there other ways to create a similar effect for patients that don’t have the volunteer bug?
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381