Pauliann Long, LCSW-C

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Link Found Between Generosity and Happiness

Good afternoon!

Today we are sharing an article published on a study done by Nature Communications on the link between generosity and happiness. The study found that there is a neural link between the two and when people do more generous tasks for others, they often feel more self satisfaction and happiness. If you are looking to establish a plan to help get your life back on track to find your own happiness, contact us today! www.innerpassagestherapy.com  

If you want to learn more about the scientific specifics of this neat study click on the link below:
“Generous behaviour is known to increase happiness, which could thereby motivate generosity. In this study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging and a public pledge for future generosity to investigate the brain mechanisms that link generous behaviour with increases in happiness. Participants promised to spend money over the next 4 weeks either on others (experimental group) or on themselves (control group). Here, we report that, compared to controls, participants in the experimental group make more generous choices in an independent decision-making task and show stronger increases in self-reported happiness. Generous decisions engage the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in the experimental more than in the control group and differentially modulate the connectivity between TPJ and ventral striatum. Importantly, striatal activity during generous decisions is directly related to changes in happiness. These results demonstrate that top–down control of striatal activity plays a fundamental role in linking commitment-induced generosity with happiness.” Source:  https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15964

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