Member-only story
This New Study Discovers The Most Effective Cure For Depression
If you’re depressed and unhappy, the last thing on your mind is going out to help someone else.
Depression is insidious.
It affects your mood, sucks your energy, and impacts your ability to feel, think, and function.
The thoughts of your troubles consume your mind. This blunts sensations of pleasure, closes off connectedness, stifles creativity, shuts down hope, and makes you feel like things can never be right again.
However, a new study published in The Journal of Positive Psychology on January 10, 2023, has shown that performing acts of kindness can be one of the most effective ways to treat depression.
How Doing Good Deeds Heals Depression
The study was carried out by two researchers from Ohio State University, David Cregg and Jennifer Cheavens. It involved 122 participants who were diagnosed with moderate to severe symptoms of depression.
The participants were divided into three groups: Group 1 was labeled the social activities group, while Group 2 was called the cognitive reappraisal (CR) group.
Social activities and cognitive reappraisal are two methods often used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression.