Kindness as a Stress Reduction–Health Promotion Intervention: A Review of the Psychobiology of Caring

Abstract

Chronic stress is a ubiquitous problem shouldered by many people worldwide. Although the stressors are myriad (eg, loneliness, finances, health, discrimination), the corporal response to them either causes or exacerbates mental and physical illness, including depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease. Identifying efficient ways to help people buffer their response and promote resilience and wellness is critical to improving overall health. Positive interpersonal connection is a proven way to promote resilience and happiness. It is associated with decreased mortality and markers of better health. Kindness and caring are prosocial behaviors that build positive interpersonal connections and can uplift both the giver and receiver. Simply seeing kindness and caring activates the neuropsychology of kindness, elevating the viewer and promoting generosity, interpersonal connection, and inclusion. That augmenting positive emotions, enhancing interpersonal connection, and inducing prosocial behavior change are possible through seeing kindness opens the opportunity to bolster resilience in higher stress settings like health care. In a recent study, watching kindness media in a health care setting rapidly increased self-reported feelings of happiness, calm, gratitude, and being inspired. Viewers were significantly more generous. Providing staff and patients with a nonjudgmental lift to enhance caring interactions through kindnesses media can be an important, low-cost adjunct to improving the healthcare environment.

Dementia care partners’ reported outcomes after adaptive riding: a theoretical thematic analysis

“…For instance, witnessing another care partner’s positive experience, particularly the kindness shown among humans and horses during grooming, may have fostered connection by feeling part of their experience. Watching acts of kindness can decrease stress and release “feel good” hormones (Fryburg, 2021) and may reduce inflammatory responses (Eisenberger, 2017). While witnessing kindness has not been explored by interventions incorporating animals for persons living with dementia, interacting with animals is thought to stimulate oxytocin, which can reduce stress and anxiety and increase social interactions with humans and animals (Beetz, 2017).…”

What's Playing in Your Waiting Room? Patient and Provider Stress and the Impact of Waiting Room Media

“…Connection is a known path to buffer stress and increase resilience and caring in multiple studies, just as the disconnection of loneliness and ostracism increase stress and mortality. Thus, the potential of kindness media to induce connection on a widespread and passive basis has significant implications for stress reduction and the promotion of community (90).…”

Bee Well: a positive psychological impact of a pro-environmental intervention on beekeepers’ and their families’ wellbeing

“…The participants’ high valuation of their unique produce accentuated the significance of the positive impact derived from their acts of kindness. Drawing on a systematic review indicating positive wellbeing outcomes for the giver ( Curry et al, 2018 ) and stress reduction associated with acts of kindness ( Fryburg, 2021 ), it is plausible that participants’ lower stress levels in beekeeping are linked to the positive effects of sharing honey.…”