03/06/2023
Did You Know…?
…that people suffering from depression may help alleviate their symptoms by doing good deeds for others?
A study involving 122 people in central Ohio suggests that "Doing nice things for people and focusing on the needs of others may actually help people with depression and anxiety feel better about themselves."
David Cregg co-authored the study, who led the work as part of his PhD dissertation in psychology at The Ohio State University, along with his research partner Jennifer Cheavens, professor of psychology at Ohio State. Their study was published December 2022 in The Journal of Positive Psychology.
“Some of the acts of kindness that participants later said they did included baking cookies for friends, offering to give a friend a ride, and leaving sticky notes for roommates with words of encouragement.”
"We often think that people with depression have enough to deal with, so we don't want to burden them by asking them to help others. But these results run counter to that," Professor Cheavens said.
Full article: Healing Through Helping - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2022.2154695
Citation:
Ohio State University. "Feeling depressed? Performing acts of kindness may help: Study finds helping others reduces focus on your own symptoms." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 January 2023. .
