Fotografía de autor

Peggy Payne

Autor de Sister India

7+ Obras 177 Miembros 3 Reseñas 1 Preferidas

Obras de Peggy Payne

Obras relacionadas

New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, 1987 (1987) — Contribuidor — 14 copias
27 Views of Raleigh: The City of Oaks in Prose & Poetry (2013) — Contribuidor — 7 copias

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Conocimiento común

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female

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This is an important book which informs us about ”helper’s high”, the phenomenon experienced when one gives personal help on a regular basis. Phase one is an immediate physical feel-good sensation, phase two brings a sense of calmness and feelings of increased self-worth.

Those experiencing the healthy helping syndrome have better perceived health, and the health benefit returns whenever the helping act is remembered. The greater the frequency of volunteering , the greater the health benefits.

Personal contact with those being helped is important, and helper’s high results most from helping those unknown to us.

We are given personal accounts of people who have benefited from volunteering. A full 95% of those report a physical “feel-good” reaction. Many of these volunteers have themselves suffered from depression or poor health, and their lives have been transformed by helping.

Helping others strengthens the immune system, decreases the intensity and awareness of physical pain, activates emotions essential for maintaining good health, reduces the incidence of negative attitudes that harm the body and, finally, provides multiple benefits to the body through stress relief.

When helping others we must first and foremost be considerate to ourselves. We should carefully choose the form of helping that attracts us the most and make sure to get plenty of support and encouragement for ourselves.

We shouldn’t try to rescue the whole world or have total responsibility even for one person. We should feel free to give up on a particular effort that doesn’t seem right for us. We should not quit helping because of one rejection or bad experience.

In the final chapter the author discusses the violence in modern-day US society and suggests that at least two hours a week of volunteering be made mandatory in US schools. After the young people have experienced the benefits of volunteering they will continue of their own free will, Students feel empathy with the underprivileged people they help, and even one gang member was transformed when experiencing the gratitude of an old lady he helped. Also prison inmates who volunteer are less likely to get into trouble after they are released.

The author feels that regular volunteering, if introduced to the US school system, will reduce violence and transform the country.

There is a valuable appendix on volunteer health opportunities in the US at the end of the book.

The author has himself vast experience in helping others, so he knows what he’s talking about. But it has been shown that the helper’s high he experienced is common to everyone. Helper’s high gives a sharp reduction in stress and releases the body’s natural painkillers, the endorphins.

The book is impeccably written, inspiring and encouraging. But the most important thing about the book is its basic message – that helping others helps oneself. I highly recommend that you read this important book.
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IonaS | otra reseña | Jan 31, 2014 |
Dreamy, hypnotic, magical, the story flowed so easily that I had a hard time putting it down. There is the main character's 1st-person narrative of what she sees, hears, thinks, feels and remembers set against the troubles of several guests in her boarding house (their parts are in your typical 3rd-person omniscient narrative). While I almost always dislike 1st-person narrative, I was captivated by this one right from the start. You are gradually exposed to the "mystery" behind the main character and at times what is past and what is present wavers back and forth in her mind with no clear-cut distinction between them. This is where the dreamy-hypnotic feeling really shines. It feels natural, like a stream of consciousness, just how my mind works. The descriptions of daily life along the shore of the Ganges River in the holy city of Benares are incredibly rich but none are extraneous. There are no lengthy descriptions of clouds, mountains, clothing, etc. that are unnecessary, such as bog down so many other novels (IMO). The images conjured up will stay with me a long time. The conclusion to the story is fitting given the style of writing, the topics presented, and the mystery behind the main character. It doesn't conclude like your average formulaic story does, but rather it simply flows on past you, the reader, as if you are standing on the shore of the river, watching the boats go by. I found myself getting teary-eyed by the beauty and promise of that. If you've liked Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" or enjoyed the hypnotic flashback style of the cinematic version of "The English Patient," I think you'll like this one too.… (más)
 
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seongeona | Jun 28, 2012 |
About the authors: quoting from the book's dust jacket, "Allan Luks is the former Executive Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Health and currently the Executive Director of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of New York City. He has initiated health promotion laws that have become national models. . . [He has been in demand on national television shows and has authored and edited other works.]" Peggy Payne is a writer whose articles appear in the 'The New York Times,' 'The Washington Post, 'Science Digest,' 'Family Circle,' 'McCall's,' and many others." About the book, Herbert Benson, M. D. and author of 'Relaxation Response' said of this work, "Regularly helping others on a close, personal basis, as described in this important book, resembles the experiences brought on through relaxation-type exercises, with their important stress reduction and health benefits. I can 'prescribe' volunteering to patients as a way to control stress."… (más)
Esta reseña ha sido denunciada por varios usuarios como una infracción de las condiciones del servicio y no se mostrará más (mostrar).
 
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uufnn | otra reseña | Jul 2, 2016 |

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Obras
7
También por
3
Miembros
177
Popularidad
#121,427
Valoración
3.0
Reseñas
3
ISBNs
12
Idiomas
1
Favorito
1

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