My first car, a green two door Volvo with nearly three hundred thousand miles, went out literally with a bang in the middle of the I-5 freeway.I was on my way to return my friend’s toddler daughter after a day of baby sitting.My car engine was engulfed with flames which quickly spread to the freeway medium.I had no clue in what to do.I was in a panic.I pulled myself and the toddler out of the burning car.Imagine how it would look: a teenager with a young child standing on the freeway with a car burning.How long do you purpose it took for help to arrive? Forty-nine minutes before a stranger pulled over to offer assistance.My initial shock dissolved into panic while waiting for help.A Sikh man who spoke limited amount of English came to my rescue.He allowed me to use his cell phone to call for assistance and waited with me for the fire department.The man provided reassurance and comfort by explaining how his family was on their way to the Sikh Temple. Today I am truly grateful for the stranger’s altruistic act of kindness.Why did that man push aside the obvious risk assist while others did not?A look into altruism may shed some light on my experience. The word altruism was created by scientists of the 19th century to replace religion or superstition with empirical reason in the study of positivism, according to Mastain (2006). Kottler (2000, p. 9) defines altruism as “particular kind of help without anticipation of any reward or reciprocal reward.” He goes on to state that the helping individual must experience sacrifice (Kottler, 2000).Mastain (2006) departs from Kottler (2000) by defining altruism more openly.Mastain (2006) recognizes altruism does not limit personal reward.Altruism according to Mastain (2006) is a “motivational state with the ultimate goal of increasing another’s welfare (Batson, 1991).” Altruism has classically been rooted in universal compassion, and love.Kottler (2000) recognizes that helpers see value belonging to all humans: “among the people I interviewed and studied. . . there is a clear understanding that goodness resides in every human being, no matter how difficult it may be to see (Brehony, 1999, p. 43).”Love along with spirituality, creativity, and fit mental health is a core theme behind altruists according to Mastain (2006).Altruists (Mastain, 2006, p 43-44) “identified and empathy with the individual in need; compel emotional desire to alleviate the other’s suffering; a sense of satisfaction (even meaning) as a result of easing the other’s suffering.” “Love with teeth—the kind of love that is not passive but actively acts to remedy suffering”, one respondent of Vieten, Amorok and Schlitz (2006, p. 921) study poignantly defines.Altruism requires not just emotional response but action. Internalization of values through personal action is requirement of altruistic action (Vieten et al., 2006).Both Mastain (2006) and Vieten et al. (2006) research findings connect altruistic actions with faith. A transformative experience and practices, according to Vieten et al. (2006), influence the development of altruism and compassion.Vieten et al. (2006) studied interviews from various religious leaders in both Western and Eastern thought.Vieten et al. (2006, p. 917) goes on to quote Post: “It may be that the most exemplary altruism is often associated with the agent’s personal experience of the utter enormity of the Transcendent, including a sense of overwhelming awe.Overawed, the deeply humbled self is transformed through something like an ego-death to a new self of profound humility, empathy, and regard for all human and other life.This phenomenon can be studied across cultures and time (Posty, 2002, p 63).” Could it be possible that the Sikh man come to my rescue due to his transformative experience? Maybe the Sikh stranger was acting altruistically because it felt good.Various scholars propose that altruism is a result of evolution or biochemistry (Vedantam, 2007).Brain scans show when individuals put “interests of others before their own” (Vaedantam, 2007, p. 1) it stimulates the place of the brain associated with sex or food.Thus researchers conclude that altruism is a result of basic brain activity, unconscious and hard-wired.Kottler (2000) shows evidence of a “helpers’ high” in which an individual endocrine system releases pleasure in doing a helping act. Understanding altruism is essential in the human service profession.The primary reasoning for working in this field should be a need to help others.The human service field can be emotionally challenging at times.The population you are working with may not want or comply with your service recommendations.The helping system may not be healthy and may resist healthy change.There may not be an instant gratification from my hard work.I may no longer feel that “helpers’ high” after working in a specific field. Professional burn-out may be prevented with understanding the complexities of altruism.I strive to act altruistic in my actions.Perfection is not a realistic standard.There may be come a time where I have great distain for a specific client or work environment.I may possibly place my well being over the clients. Many services agencies may cut helpful programs in a recession economy.Mistakes will most likely be made in the beginning of my career.Awareness of the limitations of helping others will make me into a better helper. In my opinion, selfless behaviors can be encouraged and developed in an individual.I am in agreement with Vieten et al. that transformation experiences increases altruism.Spiritual development is important in self care for human service worker.I know this to be true in my life.Meditation, prayer and reading inspirational stories increase empathy and compassion.Those practices allow me to handle the stress of witnessing human suffering routinely while working in the field. Kottler (2000) uses examples of how professional helpers use their career to meet an emotional need beyond altruistic reasons.One counselor admitted to Kottler (2000) how they enjoy eavesdropping into other people’s lives.I have known students who studied fields like psychology or chemical dependency to gain healing from their personal traumas.An extreme example of this is when professionals like the sense of control and power they have on others (Kottler, 2000). Those emotional needs are most likely unknown to the individual.Self exploration and continued discovery may highlight those traits. I am fully aware that my career as a Chemical Dependency Professional is not solely for altruistic reasons.My personal values dictate that I live a life of service to others.Helping other suffering addicts through “service work” (volunteerism) is major component to my recovery program.I often speak at treatment centers and provide assistance to people who are in the process of detoxification. It is a well known concept in twelve-step programs that helping others is a core principle in recovery from addictions.I was taught by my Sponsor that you cannot remain sober without helping others.Providing counseling services is not the same as “service work”; although, many CDP are in the recovery community.Working with chemical dependent individuals meets my spiritual need to help others. Kottler (2000, p. 53) states that there is a danger for helpers in “being a know-it-all”.I truly resemble that comment at times.My personal experiences as being chemically dependent coupled with my education as a Chemical Dependency Counselor has given me a unique perspective.I truly feel like I am “privy to the secrets that are rarely spoken aloud” (Kottler, 2000, p. 53).I understand the complex pharmacology behind addiction, and the process to get someone clean.“Being a know-it-all” may feed my personal need for self confidence or a boost to my ego. A dose of humility, according to Kottler (2000) is the antidote for having a big head.I will strive to remain open to new ideas and information. Altruistic is not a common behavior in humans including those that work in the helping profession.Would I risk my safety to help a stranger on the side of the freeway knowing that my communication ability is very limited?I most likely would not honesty do what he did.It does not matter if my rescuer acted on highly developed morality or biochemistry reaction.I am grateful that goodness does exist in strangers.
References
Kottler, J. A. (2000). Doing good: Passion and commitment for helping others. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner-Routledge.
Mastain, L. (2006). The lived experience of spontaneous altruism: a phenomenological study. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology , 37(1), 25-52. doi:10.1163/156916206778150439.
Vieten, C., Amorok, T., & Schlitz, M. (2006). I to we: the role of consciousness transformation in compassion and altruisms. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science, 41(4), 915-932. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.2006.00788.x.