Kelli Harding began her career as a physician working in an emergency room, helping patients navigate both physical and mental health issues.
“As a young doctor, I was really interested in why it was that some patients defy disease,” she says. In her search to understand it, she came across a 1980 study called “Social Environment as a Factor in Diet-Induced Atherosclerosis,” which found that affection helped many of the adverse effects of an unhealthy diet in rabbits disappear.
That led Harding to the world of public health, and the realization “that so much of our health is determined from outside the hospital,” she says. Specifically, she found that compassion, kindness and human connection were critical. She ultimately released her book, “The Rabbit Effect,” in 2019.
Harding defines kindness as an act of generosity expecting nothing in return. When it comes to our communities and the people in our lives, “it’s kind of up to each of us to contribute to that on a daily basis,” she says. Here’s how.
In terms of how you can enact kindness yourself, it can be as simple as being present with the people in your life, whether that’s family, roommates, friends or a significant other.
