The side-effects of compassion are plentiful, according to David Hamilton PhD: compassion causes growth on the left side of the prefrontal cortex region. The effect is we find it easier to be compassionate and kind. Compassion begets compassion by creating actual changes in the brain.
Compassion also boosts oxytocin, a key hormone responsible for heart health by reducing blood pressure and dilating our arteries. Oxytocin is a feel good hormone which, when released, fosters our emotional connection, is good for the heart and enhances relationships.
You may also like
Children, especially girls, who are still in kindergarten or even younger form cliques and withhold friendship as a weapon. New programs aim to teach empathy.Special programs are popping up in elementary schools to teach empathy as a means of stemming …
‘A scientist (Christian Keysers) creates hair-raising experimental short films to find out how empathy works in the human brain.’ More aobut Christian Keysers athttp://bit.ly/parLOsSee it on Scoop.it, via Empathy and Compassion
Are “empathy” and “duty” the same things?The two vantage points at once seem quite different. Empathy is about actually experiencing the plight of another. There is clearly an affective component. Duty somehow feels more legalis…
New research is finding that oxytocin doesn’t just bond us to mothers, lovers, and friends—it also seems to play a role in excluding others from that bond. It’s been called the cuddle hormone, the holiday hormone, themoral …