Kindness defeats pain (Yoga in Hounslow)

02 Jan Kindness defeats pain (Yoga in Hounslow)

Altruism is often defined as a disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.

The International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences defines psychological altruism as “a motivational state with the goal of increasing another’s welfare.”

A recent study conducted by Chinese scientists has shed light on how altruistic behaviour can reduce pain.

The article on the study can be found here: https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/12/26/1911861117

The article begins by explaining the significance of the study;

“For centuries, scientists have pondered why people would incur personal costs to help others and the implications for the performers themselves.

While most previous studies have suggested that those who perform altruistic actions receive direct or indirect benefits that could compensate for their cost in the future, we offer another take on how this could be understood.

We examine how altruistic behaviours may influence the performers’ instant sensation in unpleasant situations, such as physical pain. We find consistent behavioural and neural evidence that in physically threatening situations acting altruistically can relieve painful feelings in human performers.

These findings shed light on the psychological and biological mechanisms underlying human prosocial behaviour and provide practical insights into pain management.”

They then summarise the finding of their study:

“Engaging in altruistic behaviours is costly, but it contributes to the health and well-being of the performer of such behaviours. The present research offers a take on how this paradox can be understood.

Across 2 pilot studies and 3 experiments, we showed a pain-relieving effect of performing altruistic behaviors. Acting altruistically relieved not only acutely induced physical pain among healthy adults but also chronic pain among cancer patients.

Using functional MRI, we found that after individuals performed altruistic actions brain activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula in response to a painful shock was significantly reduced. This reduced pain-induced activation in the right insula was mediated by the neural activity in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), while the activation of the VMPFC was positively correlated with the performer’s experienced meaningfulness from his or her altruistic behaviour.

Our findings suggest that incurring personal costs to help others may buffer the performers from unpleasant conditions.”

I find studies such as this one fascinating. For me they serve as a major source of motivation for when I feel like giving up on people and focusing purely on my own needs to the exclusion of all others.

Through our practice of Yoga we can build stronger connections, not just between our mind and body, but also with those around us and even experience a feeling of oneness with all of nature.

It is easier for us to be altruistic when we don’t feel separated from those around us. The closer we feel the more inclined we are to help others which in turn helps us because in the end we are all connected.