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It is also providing students with mindfulness training, and those in underserved Los Angeles communities.

Mr Fessler says that it's known that bad stress - the kind where you can't do anything about a challenging situation, as opposed to the “good” stress from challenging but satisfying activities, like rock climbing - is bad for you.

“Living with people who treat you, at best, with disregard or a lack of concern, and at worst with open hostility, is bad for you. It shortens your life, quite literally,” he says.

“Conversely, both receiving kindness from others, and providing kindness, both of those things are the antithesis of this toxic stress situation. And they're good for you.”

Even seemingly trivial interactions, like a barista at a coffee shop smiling and asking how you are, can improve people's wellbeing.

“Engaging in kindness, contemplating how you can be kind to others, lowers blood pressure. It has therapeutic benefits,” he says. “There are benefits for treating depression and anxiety.”