While the causes of these periods of
lowered mood are varied, from relationship breakups to redundancy or physical
illness, the outcome is generally the same. It can
cause long-lasting and severe feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of
interest in activities as well as sleep problems, appetite changes and physical
pain.
Studies have found that helping
others, in the form of volunteering has tangible benefits, both mental and
physical, from lowering your blood pressure to reducing feelings of depression. Volunteers’ Week runs from the 1st to the 7th
of June and highlights the benefits of volunteering and recognises the
contributions of volunteers in our community.
Giving to others is now one of the five recommended ‘Steps to Mental Wellbeing‘ promoted by the UK’s National Health
Service. “Acts such as volunteering at your local community centre can
improve your mental wellbeing,” claims the NHS website.
Volunteering can benefit you in a
range of ways; one of the most important of these is that it reduces social
isolation and connects you to others in your community. Often when volunteering
you spend your time in a team with other people working towards a common goal. This means that you not only get to meet new
people who have interests in common but you also get to enjoy the satisfaction
of working towards a worthy cause. Volunteering
can also strengthen your ties to the community, broadening your support
network.
While some people are naturally outgoing and meet
others easily, more of us feel shy and awkward when meeting new people. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to
meet new people without expectation, this gives you the opportunity to develop
and practise your social skills. Once you have some momentum going, this can
make it easier to go on to make more new friends and strike up conversations at
the pub.
Volunteering can also help to counteract the
effects of stress and anxiety. Working with pets and other animals
has also been shown to improve mood and reduce stress and anxiety. Further to
this, the act of giving to others can help lift our mood and we can gain
greater perspective about our troubles by working with those less fortunate.
Depression and anxiety can make people feel alone
and isolated and as though they don’t have the ability to connect with others
in a meaningful way. When you are in
this state it can be difficult to reach out to volunteer, and perhaps it might
be more important for you to connect with a therapist who can help you. Contact me today for a chat so that we can discuss how to help you experience positive changes in
your life today.
