{"id":9607,"date":"2017-09-27T06:00:02","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T10:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=9607"},"modified":"2017-09-21T07:10:19","modified_gmt":"2017-09-21T11:10:19","slug":"giving-good-physical-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/09\/giving-good-physical-mental-health.html","title":{"rendered":"Giving is Good for Your Physical and Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"heart-1908901_1920\"Giving opportunities exist on a daily basis in America. Someone goes through an illness and needs help with medical expenses, a family is homeless, or the church is\u00a0sending an offering to an orphanage over seas.\u00a0And lately, we have\u00a0seen our\u00a0share of natural disasters and hardships.<\/p>\n

However, it is\u00a0always so encouraging to see the\u00a0way people give sacrificially in order to help their neighbors in distress. Whether it is a giving of \u00a0time, resources, money or talent, when we step into a need or help a weaker person, we\u00a0are\u00a0showing the best side of ourselves.<\/p>\n

But did you know that giving provides both physical and mental health benefits to the giver. When we give , the “happiness hormones” in our body are activated. Those hormones and molecules responsible for mood, feeling reward and compassion all come on-line when the act of giving occurs. The warm glow we feel in giving is from this brain activation. The resulting \u00a0feeling is stronger than a great night on the town or buying a new outfit! Giving blesses others but also makes the giver feel good.<\/p>\n

Several studies support the fact that giving lowers blood pressure\u00a0and reduces\u00a0stress levels. According to a University of California Berkley study, if you are 55 or older and give\u00a0of your time as a volunteer, you lessen your chances of dying over a five year period! And those who give social support to others do better when recovering from coronary-related events. There is power in giving. The physical body responds.<\/p>\n

God designed us to give. \u00a0Acts 20:35 says that it is more blessed to give than receive. As you can see, science certainly bears this\u00a0out. As we get the focus off ourselves, see the needs around us and give unselfishly to others, we experience joy and contentment. Think of it–giving is a win-win. You help others and in term, your physical and mental health is helped. So give, and give generously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Giving opportunities exist on a daily basis in America. Someone goes through an illness and needs help with medical expenses, a family is homeless, or the church is\u00a0sending an offering to an orphanage over seas.\u00a0And lately, we have\u00a0seen our\u00a0share of natural disasters and hardships. However, it is\u00a0always so encouraging to see the\u00a0way people give sacrificially…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[925],"tags":[643,2379,13,4067],"class_list":["post-9607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mintle-mentions","tag-giving","tag-helping-others","tag-mental-health","tag-physical-benefits-of-giving"],"yoast_head":"\nGiving is Good for Your Physical and Mental Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/09\/giving-good-physical-mental-health.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Giving is Good for Your Physical and Mental Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Giving opportunities exist on a daily basis in America. Someone goes through an illness and needs help with medical expenses, a family is homeless, or the church is\u00a0sending an offering to an orphanage over seas.\u00a0And lately, we have\u00a0seen our\u00a0share of natural disasters and hardships. However, it is\u00a0always so encouraging to see the\u00a0way people give sacrificially…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/09\/giving-good-physical-mental-health.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-27T10:00:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-09-21T11:10:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2017\/09\/heart-1908901_1920-300x222.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Giving is Good for Your Physical and Mental Health","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/09\/giving-good-physical-mental-health.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Giving is Good for Your Physical and Mental Health","og_description":"Giving opportunities exist on a daily basis in America. Someone goes through an illness and needs help with medical expenses, a family is homeless, or the church is\u00a0sending an offering to an orphanage over seas.\u00a0And lately, we have\u00a0seen our\u00a0share of natural disasters and hardships. 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