Helping Others & Giving Back: The Mind-Body & Mental Health Benefits of Serving Others During the Holidays & Every Day by Jaya Jaya Myra

It can be easy to get overwhelmed during the holidays. While you may look to holiday movie binges or an overload of yummy goodies, try doing something that improves the life of someone else.

We think of service as an act of helping others, but it’s also an act of helping yourself. Helping others succeed is built into the fabric of what it means to be human. It helps boost your mood, confidence, willpower and can even give you more energy during your day. Make sure to take time this holiday season to help make someone's day better and see how much it benefits you, too! Here are my three favorite mind-body benefits of service during the holiday season:

1. Boosts your mood. Any act of service is going to elevate your mood and alter brain chemistry in a positive way. We are built to help others, and any act of service, as such, will make you feel better about yourself and your own capabilities.
2. Deepens your spiritual connection. We are all interconnected, and when you do something good for someone else, it reminds you of this in a powerful and experiential way. Serving others is a great reminder to be humble, that success never comes by doing everything yourself and that help can come from the most magical and unexpected of places, when you’re open to it.
3. Elevates your capacity for gratitude. An attitude of gratitude can do wonders for not only your mental health, but also your physical health. Helping others is a powerful reminder that even small acts of kindness go a very long way to make a difference. It’s all too easy to lose perspective in life, but gratitude will help you regain a clear and positive perspective about what you and others are capable of.

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