Acts of Kindness

A strategy shown to increase wellness is performing acts of kindness. Think back and remember a time when you performed an act of kindness (e.g., helped someone out in some way). Did you feel really good afterwards? If you did, you probably experienced a ‘helper’s high,’ which is a feeling of euphoria that leads to a feeling of calmness. This is because when you give something to another person and it is gladly accepted, this selflessness results in a feeling of connectedness. This reassures you that in your own small way, you are contributing to a secure and peaceful place to live.

Acts of kindness also remind you that you as an individual have a sense of purpose. These feelings increase wellness by reducing anxiety levels and stress hormones (cortisol) in your body, increasing positive affect and self-satisfaction, strengthening your immune system and decreasing negative attitudes and beliefs.

• give someone a flower,
• make a new friend,
• say ‘hello’,
• call or video-chat a lonely person,
• open a door for someone,
• help someone carry something,
• eat lunch with someone new,
• listen to others with your heart,
• thank someone,
• give someone a genuine compliment,
• offer your seat to someone,
• offer someone a lift,
• respect others,
• do someone a favour,
• forgive mistakes,
• walk someone’s dog,
• leave a thank-you note,
• share a smile,
• bake a cake for others,
• read to a child,
• cheer up a friend,
• give an unexpected gift.

If you choose to do this strategy, please try to:

• Make a list of the acts of kindness activities that you would like to do and then perform an act of kindness at least once a day. Some examples were presented directly above.
• At the end of the day, record your experiences using the acts of kindness self-monitoring form (pdf version found in ‘Downloads’ box below). Here you can write down what you did and how it made you feel afterwards.
• Then after you have performed 7 or more, look over all of your acts of kindness and write a little about the one you enjoyed the most and why.