Just a spoonful of kindness makes the medicine go down….

Kindness is as much a thought as it is an action. It becomes more than just a physical response but rather a state of mind that can ultimately make us healthier. In fact, across many studies we see that expressions of respect, acceptance, warmth, and open sharing of information contribute to less pain from conditions such as arthritis, as well as better health for those with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or asthma.

So does kindness heal?

While it is true is that sometimes actions speak louder than words, our thoughts transcends all physical boundaries. So the fact remains that while it is always important to do the act of random kindness, the thought before it still has the power packing punch.

For example, a study that subjected volunteers to the common cold virus on purpose as part of an experiment found that when those volunteers rated the doctor who interacted with them as very kind, they were less likely to develop a full-blown cold, their symptoms were less severe, and the illness cleared up faster. 

While I sit here reading this study, I can’t help but feel that even science is opening a window into the many ways that we are connected and showing us that how we portray our thoughts to others really can affect our physiology. Granted, we may not immediately recognize the effects immediately, but our actions towards others who are going through a rough time have real consequences.

Thus we need to reset our minds to think “Kind” so that everyone in our environment may benefit, especially us.

So the best way to show care is for us to share and the more we share this healing spoonful of kindness may result in us living a longer–and happier–life.