Small Donations a Day may Keep Depression Away

“I grew up seeing my father engaging wholeheartedly in small acts of kindness every day. He will keep a pot of water and glasses outside his home for passersby, will donate something to a street beggar before entering the restaurant, buy food for a needy passerby looking at us eating food, give away a few coins to street beggars, give extra coins to a balloon seller, sponsor a child at school, and much more. These acts of small donations and helping others seemed to help him.”

                                                                                                                                                                                Dr Verma

"During stressful times such as moving countries and caring for children, I noticed that donating improved my mood, possibly because of a ‘warm glow’ positive emotion effect. This continues to be one of my coping mechanisms during stress, which has a strong positive impact."

                                                                                                                Dr Verma further adds

Understanding the Warm Glow Effect

The warm glow effect delineates the positive emotional response elicited in individuals through acts of kindness. It is a sensation of satisfaction and fulfillment that is not merely anecdotal; it has been comprehensively examined and documented across disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, and sociology.

Researchers have found that giving behavior is associated with increased feelings of happiness and satisfaction, and overall well-being. Psychological research in this field has found that being generous might help people manage their emotional regulation and improve their depressive condition. In the experiment, people who donated small amounts of money online daily for 2 months improved their mood. The findings are published in Psychological Science.  

Helping others triggers physiological changes, releasing neurotransmitters like dopamine and oxytocin, known as 'happiness hormones.” These chemicals regulate mood, foster social bonds, and reduce stress.

A pioneering study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity in people involved in charitable giving. The findings demonstrated that giving activates the brain’s reward centers, inducing feelings of pleasure similar to those from receiving monetary rewards. Another research article in the Journal of Social Science & Medicine investigated how volunteering relates to physical health. Results indicated that volunteers tend to have lower mortality rates, a decreased risk of chronic illnesses, and better cardiovascular health than non-volunteers.

Further, the Shenzhen University research highlighted that incorporating small acts of kindness into daily life can have a profound impact on mental health,” said coauthor Jinting Liu of Shenzhen University. In their experiment the researchers found that people who donated daily, even as little as one cent a day, felt significantly more positive overall in comparison to people on the waitlist. This, in turn, seemed to explain why their symptoms of depression also decreased each week and over the whole length of the donation period.

“The ripple effect of these minor benevolent actions can be immeasurably powerful.”

This means that even people with low means can make use of this simple activity.

“Just doing something nice for others is great,” says Liu. “The amount of money isn’t the key part; it’s really about the kindness behind it.” Liu states that helping others not only benefits the world but can also be good for you: "One Chinese cent is something almost everyone can afford, meaning everyone has the potential to help others and find personal fulfillment.”

“An easy, effective, and powerful tool to have in one’s mental health tool box kit”, summarized by Dr Verma.