A View on Kindness and Well-being

by Denise Nicole Tuale

Volunteer

      Heartwarming stories about kindness and good deeds never fail to give us a glimpse of hope and joy, especially during these difficult times when things can often seem gloomy. There is even a celebration made to acknowledge those acts and encourage everyone to spread kindness to others called the Random Act of Kindness Day, which is during the 17th day of February.

Its founder, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, stated that such acts, no matter how simple, can make a tremendous impact on a person's life and help in making things more manageable. Therefore, with this vision in mind, the foundation continues to uphold this tradition annually.

​The phenomena of kindness is not something foreign in the field of psychological research. It’s one of the emerging trends for research, alongside positive psychology and well-being. Furthermore, studies have shown correlations between kindness and well-being, including other health benefits such as better prosocial behavior, reduced anxiety levels, an increased immune response against colds, and improved heart health.​

​        Based on my personal experience, however,  it is the opposite. Back when I needed to have my follow-up checkup, I did not manage to board our shuttle service because I was not aware of the new passenger policy. I panicked because it is an urgent matter, and I don't know any other way to get to the hospital without that shuttle service. Then, a street sweeper stopped by and asked where I was going. After telling her about my appointment, she pointed out a route that I can take, which has more lenient passenger policies and the number of credits that I should pay.

        As I prepared myself to walk towards the tricycle terminal, she stopped sweeping and offered me a free ride. Everything went smoothly after following her directions to the hospital. I feel grateful and embarrassed during that day. After all, I am thankful that I was able to attend my appointment and learned a new route, and guilty because my lack of awareness in directions disrupted her from doing her job. But what moved me the most is that she never hesitated to help me without asking anything in return despite that I caused a minor disturbance at her job. I am forever grateful to her because it is rare to find someone like that nowadays.
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     In my conclusion, it doesn’t matter if kindness has a significant relationship with well-being in terms of research evidence since it is something innate among us. It should be done out of one's volition, instead of its health and social benefits. As mentioned previously, a simple act of kindness can impact someone's life, which no amount of research could quantify. We do not need to feel discouraged to do great things for others because it did not show significance to its related variables. Instead, we can think of kindness as a small and contagious gift that can be seen on a wide scale if we take the initiative. Because at the end of the day, it is the only thing that can help our society be a better place to live in.

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Denise Nicole A. Tuale, RPm, is a graduate of BS Psychology from Manila Tytana Colleges. She also passed the Board Licensure Exam for Psychologists and Psychometricians last 2019. She joined the In-Touch services as a volunteer last year. She is currently applying for medical school for the upcoming academic year.

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References:
Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. (n.d.). Random acts of kindness day 2021. Random Acts of Kindness. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/rak-day
Rowland, L. (2018). Kindness: Society's golden chain. The Psychologist, 31, 30-35.