This is how kindness can help you combat anxiety, according to science
There are various ways that people deal with mental illness. And because mental illness can manifest in different forms, different people cope with it in different ways. Anxiety, in particular, has diverse effects on the individuals affected by it. And two Canadian psychologists are looking to equip people with the tools to combat it, as they research how random acts of kindness can help people beat anxiety.
So how exactly are these psychologists looking to make a difference in how patients deal with social anxiety? With kindness.
In a study that has been published in the academic journal, Motivation and Emotion,they researched to see if kindness could be a factor in helping people with anxiety, and it turns out that there is a correlation.
According to the study, your kindness levels indicate how likely you are to have social anxiety.
So basically, the nicer that you are, the less social anxiety you have.
This finding came from looking at three groups of people, and researches assigned each group a different method to cope with their anxiety.
Though all three groups engaged with social interactions of some kind, the group that performed random acts of kindness reported to have the lowest levels of anxiety.
So next time you feel that your anxiety levels are rising, try doing something nice for others. That’ll help you to get out of your head, and possibly help you to find some new ways to cope.