{"id":3889,"date":"2022-12-04T10:49:16","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T10:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/?p=3889"},"modified":"2022-12-04T10:52:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T10:52:59","slug":"a-prescription-of-kindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/","title":{"rendered":"A prescription of kindness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-src=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Hand hold little heart meaning feel love with green nature bokeh background.\" class=\"wp-image-3890 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/683;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Hand hold little heart meaning feel love with green nature bokeh background.\" class=\"wp-image-3890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">image: iStock \/ Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I noticed over the past year that kindness and compassion can matter just as much as a prescription or medical treatment given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My Dad passed away recently following a brain tumour. I enjoyed many times with him, but I will always remember the times I went with him when he received his treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Afterwards, he would be feeling positive and upbeat all through the 45-minute drive home. His mood wasn\u2019t due to the satisfaction of having received his treatment, though, and the hope it offered him, but due to the empathy, compassion and kindness shown by the doctors and nurses who treated him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It gave him a well-needed emotional boost that facing a difficult prognosis often deprives one of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I will of course always remember many of the other moments I spent with Dad; going for a walk along some of his favourite routes (he usually walked around 30-40 miles a week), laughter with family when he told funny stories, and many more, but his hospital treatment sticks in my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s because although I\u2019ve written about and spoken about kindness in different ways for years, it just never occurred to me that a person could sometimes get more \u2013 emotionally \u2013 from kindness shown by carers than from the physical treatment itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, this is not to minimise medical treatments. They matter hugely. Some treatments save lives. I don\u2019t mean it in the direct comparison sense in terms of pathology. The point I wish to get across is that the boost we get from empathy, compassion, and kindness treats the mental and emotional wounds that very often accompany physical ones. Medical treatment tends to focus on the physical elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now I think about it, it makes so much sense. I remember one of my nephews as a young child hurting his finger when he jammed it in a door. My Mum, his Gran, put a plaster on his finger (even though there was no blood), and it took most of his pain away. He felt comforted. It was partly the seeming treatment, but more the care shown by his Gran as she tended him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us seek emotional comfort when we\u2019re hurt, even when the wounds are physical. A doctor friend once told me that many patients just want to talk and that letting them speak can sometimes be a treatment in itself that has a positive knock-on effect on whichever physical symptom they\u2019re carrying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s human nature. We\u2019re wired for connection. When we have it, when someone shows love, kindness, empathy, compassion, we feel a deep satisfaction. Like the world has been put right. In turn, nature rewards us so that our internal systems work more optimally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why studies have revealed that that when doctors show empathy for their patients, the patients recover faster or have better outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/21300514\/\">when patients who had visited their doctor\u2019s surgery for symptoms of the cold <\/a>had been asked to rate their doctors\u2019 empathy level, those who rated their doctor as 10\/10 recovered faster, had lower cold severity, and higher neutrophil count (immune system) than those who gave their doctor a lower score.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6063254\/\">in a study of 175 prostate cancer patients<\/a>, those who were treated with high-empathy doctors had higher levels of NK (natural killer) cells in their blood and these increased significantly over a three-month period compared with those who were treated with lower-empathy doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In reviewing the <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23336477\/\">published studies on the role of empathy and patient satisfaction<\/a>, researchers at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands stated that, \u2018empathy in the patient-physician communication in general practice is of unquestionable importance\u2019. They also wrote that empathy lowers anxiety and distress levels in patients and that it delivers \u2018significantly better clinical outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Love, empathy, compassion, kindness. They\u2019re similar, part of the same family. They nourish the needs of the emotional heart. Giving, receiving, or even witnessing them feed us in this way and, in turn, our physical systems receive a boost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When volunteers were once asked to watch a video of Mother Theresa caring for homeless people on the streets of Calcutta (Kolkata), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/08870448808400343\">levels of an important immune system antibody (sIgA) increased by around 50%<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in a study of couples that compared how much warm emotional contact they had, which is a measure of kindness in some ways, those who enjoyed most warm emotional contact had lowest blood pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of this reminds me of something I once read, that a doctor of 30 years practicing medicine once told a patient, that the best medicine for what ails the human creature is love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat if it doesn\u2019t work?\u201d asked the patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThen double the dose\u201d replied the doctor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I noticed over the past year that kindness and compassion can matter just as much as a prescription or medical treatment given. My Dad passed away recently following a brain tumour. I enjoyed many times with him, but I will always remember the times I went with him when he received his treatment. Afterwards, he&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[379,34],"tags":[19,26,33,82,433],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A prescription of kindness - David R Hamilton PHD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"image: iStock \/ Getty I noticed over the past year that kindness and compassion can matter just as much as a prescription or medical treatment given. My\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A prescription of kindness - David R Hamilton PHD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"image: iStock \/ Getty I noticed over the past year that kindness and compassion can matter just as much as a prescription or medical treatment given. My\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David R Hamilton PHD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-04T10:49:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-04T10:52:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Hamilton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Hamilton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/\",\"name\":\"A prescription of kindness - David R Hamilton PHD\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-04T10:49:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-04T10:52:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e586fb83860db4f70db4bc10ec3cc7d3\"},\"description\":\"image: iStock \/ Getty I noticed over the past year that kindness and compassion can matter just as much as a prescription or medical treatment given. My\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"image: iStock \/ Getty\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A prescription of kindness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/\",\"name\":\"David R Hamilton PHD\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e586fb83860db4f70db4bc10ec3cc7d3\",\"name\":\"David Hamilton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff0a530fa841cbddbbf18c04d859ea0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff0a530fa841cbddbbf18c04d859ea0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Hamilton\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/author\/david\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A prescription of kindness - David R Hamilton PHD","description":"image: iStock \/ Getty I noticed over the past year that kindness and compassion can matter just as much as a prescription or medical treatment given. My","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A prescription of kindness - David R Hamilton PHD","og_description":"image: iStock \/ Getty I noticed over the past year that kindness and compassion can matter just as much as a prescription or medical treatment given. My","og_url":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/","og_site_name":"David R Hamilton PHD","article_published_time":"2022-12-04T10:49:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-04T10:52:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"David Hamilton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Hamilton","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/","url":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/","name":"A prescription of kindness - David R Hamilton PHD","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-04T10:49:16+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-04T10:52:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e586fb83860db4f70db4bc10ec3cc7d3"},"description":"image: iStock \/ Getty I noticed over the past year that kindness and compassion can matter just as much as a prescription or medical treatment given. My","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/redHeart_blurredBackground_iStock-1250370007-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"image: iStock \/ Getty"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/a-prescription-of-kindness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A prescription of kindness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/","name":"David R Hamilton PHD","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e586fb83860db4f70db4bc10ec3cc7d3","name":"David Hamilton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff0a530fa841cbddbbf18c04d859ea0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff0a530fa841cbddbbf18c04d859ea0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Hamilton"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/author\/david\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3889"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3894,"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3889\/revisions\/3894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drdavidhamilton.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}