A clinical psychologist in Sarasota will tell you one of the best ways to help people live longer and healthier lives is to show them love and support.
However, you can also benefit from this practice in many ways, so much so that you’ll feel as though you’re living longer because you get more out of life by caring for others.
Supportive relationships are one of the essential components of living a long and healthy life. In addition, this kind of relationship can help people avoid diseases that would otherwise lead to an early death.
Dr. Charles Davenport, a clinical psychologist in Sarasota, highlights how giving love and support (supportive relationship) can help you live a healthier and longer life.
Giving love and support to others can help you be healthier
A pretty good argument shows that giving others love and support can also make you healthier. It has been proven in multiple studies, especially regarding our immune system. We have adaptive immunity, which means we get sick quickly when we’re under stress.
The primary way we get stressed? Stress could come into play when we feel insecure about our relationships or worried about other people not liking us.
Scientists call this phenomenon tend-and-befriend. In times of insecurity, women are more likely to focus on close relationships with other women (who help protect them). At the same time, men tend towards work or protective behaviors like building shelter for their families.
Remember that giving love isn’t just about helping others or doing nice things for them. It also means ensuring you take care of yourself first; otherwise, you can’t be there for anyone else.
People who help others (and they don’t have to be family members, so even something as simple as lending an ear to a struggling stranger goes a long way) are generally healthier than those who focus on themselves.
It protects against depression
A study found that older adults who provided significant caregiving or other support for someone else were 43 percent less likely to develop depression than those who didn’t. In addition, feeling needed and helping others were associated with lower stress levels.
The message: there are many benefits of caring for another person, physical health included. So if you can make it work in your life, consider taking on more responsibility—even a little will do.
Do what works for you; don’t go overboard by taking on more than you can handle but aim to give as much love and support as possible.
Increases self-esteem
Research from Harvard University has found that individuals who feel a sense of purpose are more likely to live longer. In other words, how you choose to spend your time matters.
If you need an ego boost, getting involved with a charity or cause close to your heart can do wonders for your body and mind. A 2012 study found that people who self-reported higher levels of altruism were 12 percent less likely to die during the study period.
The researchers also determined that individuals with high levels of empathy had a 15 percent lower risk of death. Other studies have found similar links between altruism and longevity.
The positive effects of kindness last forever
Kindness isn’t just a virtue; it’s a secret weapon for longevity. For example, a study found that volunteers who were instructed to spend just three minutes a day on selfless tasks such as writing thank-you notes or helping others saw lower blood pressure than those who took part in healthful activities like exercising or meditating.
The bonus is that kindness isn’t costly; it can help us keep our existing friends and make new ones.
Try to volunteer for a cause you care about now and then, whether it’s raising money for a local non-profit, distributing supply during a disaster, or mentoring at your children’s school.
Conclusion
Let’s face it, we all like doing things for other people. When someone does something for us, it feels good – but when we do something for others, it makes us feel even better.
Research suggests that giving others love and support can help you live longer. So, you benefit when you support others other than yourself.
Are you struggling with depression, anxiety, or PSTD? Our clinical psychologist in Sarasota and Venice can help you get back your life together.
Perhaps you want to fix your marriage; Dr. Charles Davenport, a licensed marriage counselor in Sarasota, will be happy to help your relationship
Thanks for joining us today on our post. We hope it was helpful, and if you have anything to share with us, feel free to leave them in the comment below.