wellbeing | davanti counselling

Volunteering boosts mental health and helps you live longer

Doing good for others is also doing good for yourself. (istockphoto.com/chrisbrignell)

Volunteering has more of a feelgood factor than initially believed: people who volunteer report lower levels of depression and higher levels of life satisfaction. They’re even more likely to live longer, too. That was a key finding in a study carried out at the University of Exeter.

The review found a “20% reduction in mortality rates” among those who volunteer compared with those who don’t. Anecdotally, volunteers have said they feel benefits to their self-esteem and wellbeing by offering a helping hand. The study backs this up with scientific evidence. However, it also warns that too much volunteering can have the opposite effect, and people can begin to feel burdened.

Dr Suzanne Richards, who led the study, said: “Our systematic review shows that volunteering is associated with improvements in mental health, but more work is needed to establish whether volunteering is actually the cause. It is still unclear whether biological and cultural factors and social resources that are often associated with better health and survival are also associated with a willingness to volunteer in the first place.”

Volunteering rates are 22.5% in Europe, 27% in the US and 36% in Australia.

Working fewer hours won’t make you happier, says study

Doing fewer hours at work doesn't improve life satisfaction. (pic: istockphoto.com/hjalmeida)

Doing fewer hours at work may not improve life satisfaction. (pic: istockphoto.com/hjalmeida)

The opportunity to work fewer hours may be on many people’s wishlists but, in reality, working less does not lead to increased life satisfaction. A 10-year study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies of workers in South Korea found that, while people were satisfied with a shorter working week ( a reduction of 10%), their levels of happiness in their lives overall did not increase.

One of the reasons for this outcome is that, even though workers put in fewer hours, their workload was not similarly reduced. In other words, they had to do the same amount of work in a tighter timeframe. However, one could conclude from the research that people’s wellbeing is not necessarily linked to the number of hours they work – and long hours may not be detrimental to some.

One particularly interesting finding from the study, however, was the different uses to which men and women put their new spare time. Men used it for leisure and hobbies. Women used it to catch up on their household duties.

Can gardening boost your mood?

Keen gardeners who enjoy spending time with their rakes, plants and mowers feel they are happier, have more purpose and are less depressed than people who are not at all green-fingered.

A survey for Gardeners’ World magazine found that 90% of gardeners say that gardening boosts their mood. Eight out of 10 people who love gardening say they are satisfied with their lives, compared with two-thirds (67%) of people who classify themselves as non-gardeners.

Gardeners’ World editor Lucy Hall said: “Our research means we can definitely say gardening makes you happy. Part of it comes from nurturing something, but it also brings a natural optimism that no matter how bad the weather, there’s always next year.”

It’s not just gardening that lifts the spirits. Anything that takes people into the outdoors seems to boost the mood. The survey of 1,500 people also found that 78% of walkers and 75% of people who go fishing are also satisfied with their lives.

Can shopping be therapeutic?

There’s a reason they call it ‘retail therapy’: going shopping for something because you want to, not because you need to, can certainly put a spring in your step. Shopping, in short, can be a short-term mood booster.

The number of people who shop to feel better is rather high. An Ebates.com survey of 1,000 Americans found that 64% of women and 40% of men indulge in retail therapy. Women generally shop for clothes and men for food. And more than a third of American women believe retail therapy improves their mood, compared with a fifth of men. A separate study by psychologists found that 62% of people had bought something to cheer themselves up – and they didn’t feel guilty afterwards.

There’s some food for thought (or should that be shoes for thought?) in this Time article Is retail therapy for real? Five ways shopping is actually good for you. It says shopping can be relaxing, creative, enlivening, confidence-inspiring and a way of connecting with people. It quotes therapist Peggy Wynne saying that shopping, in moderation, can “soothe the soul”.

The key word here is moderation. If shopping becomes a habit, or addictive, or an excuse for not getting on with your life, then it won’t be therapeutic at all. But otherwise there’s no reason why you shouldn’t allow a perfect little purchase to brighten your day.

Pick puzzles over vitamins to preserve your memory

Exercises like sudoku and crossword puzzles are more effective than herbal supplements and vitamins to keep your memory in good shape, say experts.

St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, sifted through published research to analyse the most effective ways to keep the brain active and prevent cognitive decline in healthy older adults. They found no strong evidence to show that prescribed medication or vitamins such as B6 or omega-3 fatty acids could improve memory, thought or judgement. Instead, they found that mental exercises such as crossword puzzles, and even computerised brain-training programmes, could have more effect in preventing cognitive decline.

With the number of people in the UK with Alzheimer’s expected to soar to more than a million by 2021, we can expect to see more of this type of survey advising on the best way to keep your memory in tip-top shape. Other research out recently suggests that listening to sounds while you sleep can help your memory. While smelling rosemary oil can help you recall events from your past and remember to do things in future.

Later-life crisis creates ‘silver sufferers’, says research

A later life crisis can be transformative in a positive or negative way. (pic: istockphoto.com/belory4ka)

Move over, mid-life crisis. It’s the later-life crisis that’s becoming more of a concern for the helping profession. A third of people say they’ve had a life crisis in their 60s, in research by University of Greenwich psychologist Dr Oliver Robinson. How they respond to the crisis can determine the quality of the rest of their lives.

Men and women experience life crisis equally, with 32% of male respondents and 33% of female saying they’d had a life crisis since the age of 60. Reasons for the crisis – which is defined as two or more stressful events – include bereavement, illness or injury – as well has caring for a loved one who is ill or disabled.

A life crisis can trigger an existential anxiety about frailty and death. People can either respond by living life to the full and enjoying every moment, or they can become withdrawn and increasingly isolated.

Dr Robinson says: “It seems that when loss-inducing events occur together or in close proximity in time, a person’s capacity to cope in their 60s is overwhelmed and a later life crisis is precipitated. This range of reactions suggests that later life crisis is always transformative, but this transformation can lead towards either growth or decline.”

How to make stress your cheerleader

Think of stress differently: perhaps it’s there to cheer your performance.

Stress doesn’t always have to be bad. The sweaty palms, dry mouth and butterflies in your stomach can be turned to your advantage – if you just think about stress differently.

Stress symptoms before speaking in public, for example, can be just the same as an extreme ‘fight or flight’ reaction. It can feel like something bad is about to happen. “But those feelings just mean that our body is preparing to address a demanding situation,” says Jeremy Jamieson, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. “The body is marshalling resources, pumping more blood to our major muscle groups, and delivering more oxygen to our brains.”

Jeremy researched the impact of stress by putting two groups of people – some of whom were prone to social anxiety disorder – in a stressful public-speaking situation. One group was told about the positive aspects of stress, and was asked to interpret any stress symptoms as beneficial. A second group was given no preparation about stress. Unsurprisingly, members of the first group felt they had more resources to cope with the task, even those with social anxiety disorder, and their physiological responses were less extreme than the second group.

Jeremy says: “Our experience of acute or short-term stress is shaped by how we interpret physical cues. We construct our own emotions.”

Think of stress as giving you that extra edge to your performance. The adrenalin is there to help, not hinder you.
Reframing the way you think about stress can help make it your master, not your servant.
If you feel butterflies coming on, breathe in the adrenalin from your belly through your nose. Breathe it back out through the muscles of your body, visualising that it’s touching the furthest reaches of your finger and toes.
That way, stress can become your cheerleader, not your enemy.

Don’t let everyday stresses spoil the moments of life

How you respond to the daily grind can affect your mental health. (pic: istockphoto.com/KariHoglund)

Oscar Wilde wrote in the Picture of Dorian Gray that we should “teach man to concentrate himself up on the moments of life that is itself but a moment”. But unfortunately too many of us let the beauty and fragility of the moment be spoiled by minor stresses and annoyances. And those daily stresses can add up to longer-term mental health problems, according to a psychology study by UC Irvine.

The researchers set out to discover whether “everyday irritations add up to make the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or make us stronger and ‘inoculate’ us against later tribulations”. They looked at how 711 men and women in the US reacted to daily stressors, such as being stuck in traffic or arguing with a partner. They found that negative emotional responses today can accumulate into anxiety or mood disorders 10 years later. And it was the little things, and our responses to them, that could be more damaging than major psychological upsets.

Susan Charles, UC Irvine professor of psychology & social behavior, says: “It’s important not to let everyday problems ruin your moments. We’re so focused on long-term goals that we don’t see the importance of regulating our emotions. Changing how you respond to stress and how you think about stressful situations is as important as maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine.”

Sounds like a strong argument for daily mindfulness practices – observing our feelings but not reacting to them – to stop those little things getting to us.

Have a laugh on April Fool’s Day. It’s good for you

How often do you throw your head back and laugh? (pic: istockphoto.com/sunstock)

If you’ve been on the lookout for April Fool’s Day pranks, then some of the jokes may have given you a good laugh (or you may have found them foolish and ignored them). But how many times do you really let yourself go and have a good laugh?

Admittedly you may not have much to laugh about, but there’s a movement called Laughter Yoga that aims to get you laughing hysterically and feel better in the process. The Laughter Club in Devon says that laughing is good for “improving mood, reducing pain, increasing oxygen levels, reducing blood pressure, improving self-esteem, and releasing endorphins”.

It’s sad when you think that children laugh hundreds of times a day, and yet adults could probably count on two hands the number of times they laugh. Something to ponder on a day that’s meant to be funny.

Here are a couple of my favourite quotes about laughing:

Victor Hugo: “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.”
Michael Pritchard: “You don’t stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing.”