It sounds pretty simple. You do good things for others and as a result get to feel good yourself. Everyone is a winner. End of column.

Well, not so fast. Let’s test this hypothesis with a bit of Australian Bureau of Statistics census data.

The census records four things that we do for other people without receiving payment for our efforts:

The latest census also asked about chronic health conditions. We can use the absence or presence of people claiming to have a chronic mental health condition as a proxy to see whether or not the four things we do for other people makes us happy. The methodology is far from perfect but good enough for a quick analysis.

When you act as an unpaid carer for a person with a disability, health condition, or old age, your mental health appears to suffer.

Unpaid carers in their 20s are roughly twice as likely as non-carers to experience poor mental health. This makes perfect sense considering that this care comes at the cost of other activities (work, dating, sports, time outdoors, leisure). Financial pressures might be associated with providing care, too.

This chart alone gives us a sense of how important respite is. Just a weekend away can help to soften the relentless nature of providing unpaid assistance. Carers need to plan regular time off to avoid burn out.

In older age,........

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