Kindness and oxytocin: a mystery memory box of treasured memories

This is a story of kindness and warm and fuzzy feelings all around. There is plenty of oxytocin-boosting happening here!

On Tuesday around 6:30pm I received excited emails from Anxiety Summit fans in San Diego about a story that had just aired on the CBS8 show: Return to Sender The Mystery Memory Box.

Here is one of them:

I just watched my local San Diego Ch. 8 KFMB news and saw old pics of you from the 80’s.  A lady in this area has evidently kept a couple of “mystery boxes” that appear to be yours for 17 yrs.  She moved from South Africa years ago and mistakenly received these boxes.  She’s wanted to return them, the name she found among the items… Trudy Hatfield!

Contact Jeff Zevely, reporter at the KFMB station, cbs8.com.  I’m sure you’ve received lots of emails and calls about this.  YIPPEE!

one of your many Anxiety Summit fans

You’ll see the video she’s referring to at the link below – enjoy the mystery, and a glimpse of my laughing, smiling adventurous youth!
Part 1: Return to Sender The Mystery Memory Box

Ninety minutes hours after the story is aired the mystery is solved – the box DOES belong to me! I find out via the emails from my fans (like the one above) and Barbara (the anchor) connects with Crombie (my brother).

What a trip down memory lane to see all those photos! There are many from my trip to Europe when I was in my 20s, plus postcards I sent to my family.  There are also special family photos, the the last one of me hugging my baby sister Wendy.  How very special!

I connect with Jeff at CBS8 and they arrange the follow-up video/story the next day. Here is the Wednesday video where I “meet” Jeanette via skype and get to give her a virtual hug and thank her for her kindness!

You can read the full story of part 2 here: Return to Sender: Mystery Memory Box Owner Found

It’s such fun to see pictures of my bother Crombie and hear how it all came together – his tennis connection to Barbara and my fans reaching out to me.

If you’ve been reading some of my recent blogs you’ll see I’m fascinated by oxytocin and it’s connection to social anxiety, postpartum depression, and autism.

I feel so good right now and am on such an oxytocin-high that I’d like to share how this act of giving and kindness is connected to oxytocin.

Paul J. Zak is the author of a book called “The Moral Molecule.” It’s all about oxytocin and here is what he says about this molecule:

It is a “feel good” hormone that increases when we do simple, feel good things like giving or receiving a hug, or when we give generously

The act of giving stimulates this hormone resulting in the recipient desiring to trust the giver

[It] accounts for why some people give freely of themselves

The above snippets come from a Wall Street Journal article: The Trust Molecule. It is a fascinating read.

Wow wow wow! So we all win, we all get to feel good, and we all get all get an oxytocin boost!

• Jeanette Smith for keeping that box safe for 17 years and trying to locate me over the years! How do you repay kindness like this? I just hope she finds her missing box too
• CBS8 reporter Jeff Zevely for running with the story, CBS8 anchor Barbara Lee-Edwards for immediately thinking of her tennis coach Crombie Hatfield (my brother!), and the power of TV and the internet
• My Anxiety Summit fans who recognized me in the video and emailed right away. How thoughtful and kind!
• Me for being at the center of this AND getting my box of precious memories back! You hear of this type of thing happening to others and never imagine it could happen to you!!
• Everyone who watches the videos and loves the heart-warming story. My Facebook friends are blown away and are saying how this restores their faith in humanity. I could not agree more!

A BIG thank you to everyone involved!

We need more feel-good stories like this don’t we?Have you had a complete stranger be kind to you? Or shown kindness to a stranger. Please share in the comments.

For now, smile and enjoy the feel-good oxytocin boost! And then go and spread the kindness!

And please share the story so we can help Jeanette find her missing box too!