How to Keep Your Humanity

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Social Sciences, Science

4.5 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Discover what happens to our well-being when we respond to suffering with compassion, collective action, and why choosing to care can help us hold on to our shared humanity.

Summary: In the face of widespread suffering, many of us struggle with how to respond without becoming overwhelmed or numb. Drawing on research and real-world experience, this episode of The Science of Happiness examines the psychological impact of bearing witness, acting in alignment with our values, and showing up for others—even when it’s hard. We look at how compassion, agency, and a sense of common humanity can both strengthen resilience and carry real emotional costs, and why people continue to act anyway.

Take our 5-minute survey https://tinyurl.com/happyhappysurvey. Thank you for helping us make the podcast even better!

How To Do This Practice:

Pause and name what’s happening: Take a moment to notice what you’re feeling as you witness suffering or injustice—anger, grief, numbness, confusion. Naming the emotion helps calm the stress response and keeps you from shutting down or looking away.
Reconnect with common humanity: Remind yourself: there are no “good people” and “bad people”—there are people.
Clarify your values on paper: Write down one to three values that matter most to you right now (for example: compassion, integrity, dignity, justice). Studies show that writing values down lowers stress and makes it more likely you’ll act in alignment with them.
Gently ask yourself: “What does a person like me—with these values—do in a situation like this?” Consider what access, safety, or influence you may have, and what constraints you face. Acting with integrity looks different for everyone, and this step helps you choose a response that is both values-aligned and realistic.
Choose a safe, doable action: Action doesn’t have to be loud or risky. It might be writing, speaking up in a meeting, supporting someone directly, or adding your voice to a collective effort. Even small actions strengthen agency and social connection.
Reflect and reconnect: After you act, check in with yourself. Notice any sense of alignment, relief, meaning, grief, or fear. Acting with integrity won’t erase pain, but it helps protect mental health and shapes who we become over time.

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Guests:

DR. FEROZE SIDHWA is a trauma, and critical care surgeon in California. He has also worked as a physician in Haiti, Ukraine and Palestine.

Learn more about Dr. Feroze Sidhwa here: https://www.ferozesidhwa.org/

DR. AKIVA LEBOWITZ is a physician and critical care specialist.

Learn more about Dr. Akiva Lebowitz here: https://akivaforbrookline.com/

DR. SUNITA SAH is a social scientist, author, and psychologist.

Learn more about Dr. Sunita Sah here: https://www.sunitasah.com/

Tell us about your experience with this practice. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/48wz2vru

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I now give the floor to Dr. Ferroo Situ.
0:04.0	Thank you, Mr. President, members of the Council.
0:07.0	I'm not here as a policymaker or a politician.
0:10.0	I'm a physician bearing witness to the deliberate destruction of a healthcare system,
0:15.0	the targeting of my own colleagues, and the erasure of a people.
0:19.0	I wanted someone to just tell the UN Security Council
0:21.6	to please do its job.
0:25.6	It's not that some people are good, some people are bad,
0:28.6	people are people, and you know, our oath really obligates us
0:31.6	to treat all people at all times as needed.
0:34.6	We can come with demands or requests to those who are holding onto the power, who have control
0:42.7	over the situation.
0:44.6	People who claim to represent us, who are supported by us in various different ways, from
0:50.7	taxes to popular support, and we can approach them with demands to restore these values.
0:58.0	The level of dehumanization that exists, it's really quite shocking.
1:02.0	I was shocked at how much resistance I encountered
1:08.0	when asking people to just set aside their biases and just think about the humane
1:13.9	aspect of what's going on. And I still find it hard to come into terms with.
1:22.7	Welcome to the Science of Happiness. I'm Dacher Keltener.
1:30.3	Today, we're reflecting on what it means to show up for one another, especially in moments that are hard to face.
1:37.3	Studies suggest that when we engage in collective action, it can reduce stress levels and protect our mental health by strengthening
1:45.5	social connection and moral identity. People with a strong sense of purpose around activism
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from PRX and Greater Good Science Center, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of PRX and Greater Good Science Center and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.