Recovery from drug or alcohol abuse can be an exciting time filled with hope and dreams for a bright future, but the road isn’t always smooth sailing. Sometimes, you will encounter rough spots where you need a little help. Experiencing anxiety or feeling uncomfortable in social situations can be one of those rough spots. You may be surprised to learn that one of the easiest ways to lift yourself up and reduce those negative feelings during recovery is by performing random acts of kindness.
How Do Random Acts of Kindness Help You?
Research has shown that showing kindness to others has several emotional and physical benefits. Consider these key research results that illustrate how kind acts can improve your health and well-being.
- Increased happiness: Happiness researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky, from the University of California, Riverside, has found that performing kind or positive acts raises your level of happiness. She also notes that varying the acts appears to bring about a more positive state of mind. Repeatedly performing the same good deeds every day or every week may lose its happiness-boosting effects.
- Reduced anxiety: A four-week study conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia revealed that when people with high levels of anxiety perform good deeds for others, they exhibit less social avoidance behaviors, experience more relationship satisfaction and experience more positive moods.
- Lowered blood pressure: In his book “Why Kindness is Good for You,” David R. Hamilton Ph.D., explains that kind acts cause an increase in the hormone oxytocin, which in turn causes a release of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure.
How Do You Perform Random Acts of Kindness?
The whole idea behind random acts of kindness is to perform good deeds for others when they are not expecting it, the acts do not need to be life-changing to be effective. While you could invest money in your attempts to perform kind acts, it isn’t necessary. Consider these ideas for good deeds you can perform for others:
- Pay for the person behind you when going to a movie, standing in a line at a store or even when filling up the gas tank at the pumps.
- Give someone an inspirational book for no reason. Tuck in a special bookmark to make it more meaningful.
- Pick a bouquet of wildflowers for an elderly person or shut-in.
- Bake cookies for the neighbors.
- Shovel the steps for a neighbor after a snow storm.
Don’t limit your acts of kindness to specific gestures. Get in the habit of noticing what others need or enjoy and tailor your acts of kindness to them. For more ideas for simple gifts, check out My 12 Step Store.