The Benefits Of Giving In The Balance Of Giving And Receiving
I claim, that only a balance of giving and receiving leads to maximized total happiness in a couple bonded by caring love. Today I read about scientific research about the emotional benefits of giving:
I claim, that only a balance of giving and receiving leads to maximized total happiness in a couple bonded by caring love. Today I read about scientific research about the emotional benefits of giving:
'Tis Better to Give Than to Receive? Life Scientists Find That Giving Support Offers Health Benefits -- To the Giver
'"When people talk about the ways in which social support is good for our health, they typically assume that the benefits of social support come from the support we receive from others, but it now seems likely that some of the health benefits of social support actually come from the support we provide to others," said Naomi Eisenberger'
"The life scientists found that when women gave support to their boyfriends in pain, the women showed increased activity in reward-related regions of the brain,"
"In addition to being a pleasure center, this region plays a role in threat- or stress-reduction by inhibiting other regions of the brain that process threats, such as the amygdala. Researchers found that the women who showed greater activity in the septal area also showed less activity in the amygdala."
But of course this does not imply, that people, who only give, while receiving nothing, would be the most happy. The subjective benefits of giving are not indiscriminate of whom they are bestowed upon. Giving is most beneficial when based upon experienced and expected reciprocity. The conscious evaluation of the partner as someone worthy, benign, decent and trustworthy is crucial to the experience of the own giving behavior as subjectively beneficial.
When one partner is selfish and only takes all benefits obtainable from the other, while giving nothing or too little, this has consequences. The giving partner experiences this as being used and exploited, as being disrespected, depreciated, devalued. This causes pain, that outweighs the benefits from giving.
Happiness in long-term commitment is only possible, when giving and receiving are balanced.
