Altruism is Good for Your Health! Got Stress? Try This Pop Quiz:
By award-winning author and stress-relief expert Susie Mantell
*Those among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.* -Dr. Albert Schweitzer
Anonymous Parable:
While walking down the beach, a man saw someone in the distance lean down, pick something up and throw it into the ocean. Coming closer, he saw thousands of starfish the tide had stranded on the beach. A young boy was picking the starfish up one by one, tossing each back into the ocean. After watching this seemingly futile effort, the man said, "There must be a thousand starfish on this beach. You can't possibly save enough to make a difference." The young boy smiled as he picked up another starfish and tossed it back into the ocean. "Sure made a difference to that one!"
"Giving is a very good criterion of a person's mental health. Generous people are rarely mentally ill people." -Karl A. Menninger, M. D.
Try this Pop Quiz:
1. One friend of mine who is experiencing stress is_____
2. I can see that its short-term impact is______
3. I think its long-term impact could be_____
4. One way I could help would be to _____
5. How does my own mood change when I perform even a small kindness for another? _____
6. How might that enhance my own quality of life?___
Good News: Toddlers & Innate Altruism?
A scientist dropped his clothespin. A wobbly toddler races to eagerly hand it back. The capacity for altruism emerges as early as 18 months.
http://www.wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1166570
Altruism & Depression:
Research suggests those who help others often report less depression, less pain and fewer doctor visits. .
www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/44/72.cfm
Feeling stressed? Try extending a hand to someone else!
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Award-winning stress-relief expert Susie Mantell is the author of the deeply soothing relaxation CD, "Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace,” clinically approved for symptoms associated with stress and sleeplessness, depression and grief, anxiety, P.T.S.D., Fibromyalgia, caregiver stress, cancer, pain, divorce and addiction recovery. Featured in The Los Angeles Times, NBC, ABC, CBS-TV, Town & Country, The American Pain Society, Hazelden and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, listeners include The Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, The Betty Ford Center, V.A. Hospitals,and Canyon Ranch (#1 Spa.) Customizing stress-reduction for Fortune 500 companies, distinguished hospitals and spas, Mantell has facilitated thousands in relieving health-related, work-related, chronic or traumatic stress. Her multi-sensory, mind-body techniques appear in national media, medical and corporate publications. Susie Mantell's Stress-Relief & Wellness Tips are intended as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, professional health care. Order “Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace” and find more of Mantell’s stress-relief tips at www.relaxintuit.com