Give
Research into happiness and well-being has found that acts of altruism are one of the top actions to help you feel better. Whether you give to a worthy cause like the boxing day Tsunami in 2004 or the earthquake in Nepal currently happening in 2015.
Individuals who report a greater interest in helping others are more likely to rate themselves as happy. Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in well-being.
The hypnotherapist Milton Erickson once was asked to see an elderly lady who was suffering with depression. When he arrived at her house all the curtains were drawn. However Milton noticed as he followed the lady through her house that in her conservatory she had pots of African Violets. He asked her to propagate these beautiful plants and to give them to members of her church when people were getting married or when there was a baptism or when someone was ill. She soon came out of her depression and went on to live a full and happy life for many years after. When she passed away there were so many people at her funeral who were grateful for her present.
This demonstrates that when we give, we also give meaning to our existence, which is why those with religious beliefs often have happier and healthier lives than those who do not. This can be difficult for those with a scientific background that acknowledge our existence being the result of evolution not by divine intervention, so altruism and humanism, is a way of realising the same interaction as religious groups.