How Being Kind Helps Your Immune System, Reduces Stress and Changes Lives with Dr David Hamilton #104

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Health & Fitness, Medicine, Alternative Health, Mental Health

4.8 • 10.9K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2020

⏱️ 110 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The world is changing and people are feeling scared. What we regard as normal has been completely flipped on its head. What we need now more than ever is kindness. When you’re kind to someone, it’s not just that person who benefits. Kindness makes you happier. It’s good for your heart. It helps support your immune system. It slows ageing. It improves relationships. And it’s contagious – any small act of kindness you might perform is proven to have a ripple effect that reaches over 100 more people and I can’t think of a better message to put out there in these unique and uncertain times. My guest this week is David Hamilton, a pharmacist-turned-author with a special interest in how the mind affects the body, and vice versa. We chat about his fascination with the placebo effect and the many studies that demonstrate how the brain actually changes – and the body heals – in response to certain information. We talk at length about oxytocin, which David calls ‘the kindness hormone’, and how it’s the main contributor to heart health outside exercise. And he explains why kindness is the opposite of – and antidote to – stress. If you’re feeling powerless, or that any efforts you make at the moment are insignificant, I really hope that listening to this podcast will help. It was recorded back in February, before the scale of this pandemic could be known. And yet it feels timely to release it now, as a reminder of what is within our control, when so many other factors aren’t. Show notes available at drchatterjee.com/104 Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee/ Follow me on facebook.com/DrChatterjee/ Follow me on twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Transcript

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0:00.0	There was a study on doctor visits over 700 patients with symptoms of the cold or flu, and they
0:07.1	participated in, it was called a care study, consultation and relational empathy. And they
0:12.6	secretly had to give the doctor a score between zero and 10 on the empathy that they showed during
0:19.4	that visit. And those who scored the doctor a perfect 10 out of 10,
0:24.2	their immune response to the same condition was 50% higher than everyone else.
0:29.7	And it just came down to empathy, how it made them feel.
0:33.3	And what you're seeing is how you feel then is physically affecting the function of the immune system.
0:39.3	Hi, my name is Rangan Chatschi, GP, television presenter and author of the bestselling books,
0:45.9	The Stress Solution and the Four Pillar Plan. I believe that all of us have the ability to feel
0:51.1	better than we currently do, but getting healthy has become far too
0:55.0	complicated. With this podcast, I aim to simplify it. I'm going to be having conversations with
1:01.1	some of the most interesting and exciting people, both within as well as outside the health
1:05.7	space, to hopefully inspire you, as well as empower you with simple tips that you can put into practice
1:11.7	immediately to transform the way that you feel. I believe that when we are healthier, we are
1:17.1	happier because when we feel better, we live more. Hello and welcome back to episode 104 of
1:26.6	my Feel Better Live More podcast. My name is Rongan Chatterjee and I am your host.
1:33.4	I hope you caught the bonus episode that I released this past week on how to manage anxiety in the face of a global pandemic.
1:41.9	The feedback to this bonus episode has been phenomenal and many of you are
1:46.1	finding the practical tips on that podcast super helpful in managing your anxiety and stress levels
1:51.6	at the moment. So if you've not heard it yet, please do try and have a listen later this week.
1:56.2	And of course, do share it with other people in your network who you feel may benefit from the information.
2:03.1	So this week's conversation is all about the incredible benefits of kindness.
	...

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