HELPER’S HIGH
A burgeoning field of research has pointed toward the concept of ‘helper’s high’ wherein, acts of doing good for others and helping others boosts one’s own happiness (1). Concrete acts of generosity create feelings of satisfaction and inner experiences akin to pleasure, mediated by feel-good hormones like oxytocin, which is known to be associated with prosocial behaviors (2). Further, helping others enables one to cope with stress better and makes life better and more meaningful.
Not surprising then, that the Bible summarizes loving God and loving one’s neighbor as the essence of all laws. We are designed in such a fashion that when we love God, giving Him the greatest importance in our lives and concomitantly help those we come into contact with, we achieve the highest levels of fulfilment in our lives. The timeless story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible is worth looking at to see what it means to help others.
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side…..But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ (Luke 10:30-35)
In this story, Jesus draws the contrast between a priest who ignored the need, and a Samaritan, usually considered inferior by the Jews at that time, who went above and beyond to help the man. Briefly, we see three aspects of the Good Samaritan’s actions.
He empathized: Being able to see others where they are and feel their pain and understand them is not necessarily natural in today’s self-centered, materialistic world. When the gaze is predominantly inward, the outward vision evaporates. Recognizing that there are real people around us who have feelings, struggles and challenges is what empathy is all about.
He engaged: Feelings of empathy need to give way to actions and the Good Samaritan engaged with the injured man. He nursed him, treating his wounds and took him to a safe place where he could be cared for. Engaging with others around us requires us to spend time and effort predominantly for others. Even at our workplace, there is an option to just do your job versus engaging with others as part of your job.
He expended: The Good Samaritan was willing to spend his time, deviate from his journey and spend his money to take care of the injured man. Many spend their resources expecting a return, however truly loving one’s neighbor is costly because you don’t expect to be paid back for your effort.
Helping others is at the heart of God’s command for man. That is also the reason why ‘helper’s high’ is a real thing.
1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-be-happy-by-giving-to-others/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5743651/
