You’ve tried it all. From deep breathing, to taking a nap, to venting to your friends, and yet you still feel stressed. Why not try a little kindness? Stress seems to be an epidemic these days. And if we’re not careful, today’s stress can become tomorrow’s anxiety, depression, or worse. But as we seek ways to help ourselves, perhaps the solution actually lies in helping others. It turns out that when we put our own troubles aside and focus our energy on being kind and helping others, our stress levels decrease. Kindness positively impacts hormonal levels in our bodies, leading to both mental and physical health benefits. For example, those who strive to be kind have 23 percent less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population. Kindness also stimulates the production of serotonin (the feel-good hormone), helping calm the mind and elevate mood. Not only do …