Love and compassion may be innate to humans. In a study at the University of Wisconsin, psychologist Jack Nitschke found that new mothers, when looking at pictures of their babies, demonstrated unique activity in a part of their brains associated with positive emotions, suggesting that this region of the brain may be attuned to the most primal objects of our love and compassion—our children. Other studies support the notion that love and compassion may be biologically innate to humans.
Meditating on compassion can change the brain. A University of Wisconsin-Madison research study directed by Richard Davidson, Ph.D., and published in 2008, demonstrated that "cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make a person more empathetic to other peoples' mental states."
Parents can teach compassion. In a study on altruism during the Nazi Holocaust, Samuel and Pearl Oliner found that among the strongest predictors of heroic behavior displayed by Germans who assisted Jews, were memories of growing up in a family that prioritized compassion and altruism.
Altruism beats out pleasure for greater happiness. In a study by Martin Seligman, Ph.D., at the University of Pennsylvania, students who were asked to engage in either a pleasurable or altruistic act reported that the altruistic act caused them to feel happier longer than the pleasurable one did.
Pay it forward, naturally. In studies conducted by Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., at the University of California at Berkeley, he found that "when people perform behaviors associated with compassionate love—warm smiles, friendly gestures, affirmative forward leans—their bodies produce more oxytocin (a hormone involved in social recognition and bonding). This suggests that compassion may be self-perpetuating."
Forgiveness.
Forgiveness contributes to well being.Forgiveness has been shown to reduce grief, depression, anxiety, and anger and increase self-esteem, hope, and a positive attitude.
Learning to forgive works. In a study conducted at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, Ph.D. and her colleagues found that people can quickly implement suggestions for how to approach forgiveness. Acting on these suggestions produces immediate effects, including greater positive emotion; more joy, empathy, and forgiveness; greater perceived control, and less physiological stress (such as blood pressure, heart rate, and sweat). Unforgiving, on the other hand, produced more negative emotions and greater stress.
Empathy makes forgiveness easier. If you can put yourself in the "offender’s" position and see the situation from their perspective, it may help you see them as a whole, complex, and flawed human being—not a monster. According to research by Julie Juola Exline, Ph.D. at Case Western University, being able to empathize with the person who hurt you can make forgiveness easier.
Journaling can help. Also according to Exline’s research, writing about what you learned or how you grew from a situation without becoming consumed with anger, negativity, or revenge, can help you find meaning from a painful situation. In fact, studies by James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D., his colleagues, and others have shown that "writing about difficult, even traumatic, experiences appears to be good for health on several levels—raising immunity and other health measures and improving life functioning."
Forgiving personalities contribute to better mental and physical health. People with more forgiving personalities experience less anxiety and lower blood pressure. Those who are unforgiving were found to be more depressed and anxious and have lower self-esteem. Even more striking is that those who are unforgiving of themselves have even worse depression, anxiety, and self-esteem.
Getting help with forgiveness does help! Individual counseling increased clients’ forgiveness level 95% and their emotional health 92% over control groups. Those who joined groups focused on forgiveness experienced greater improvement in their mental health than those in control groups. (Baskin & Enright, Meta-analysis, 2004) Spending four to six or more hours in these groups helped members empathize with offenders, commit to forgiving, and overcome unforgiveness. (Wade, Worthington, and Meyer, Meta-analysis, 2005)
More to come… Researchers continue to explore the nature and power of love and forgiveness. A research team headed by Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is studying people who have developed a greater capacity for forgiveness and compassion to determine whether a quality like love can be neurologically measured in the brain.
Parents can teach compassion. In a study on altruism during the Nazi Holocaust, 