
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.

Acts of Kindness Examples
- 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.
Practise Instructions
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.
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