What Are the Mental Health Benefits of Volunteering?

Altruism, which focuses on acting out of concern for others’ happiness and well-being even if it’s at a cost, might be one reason people volunteer. Driven by empathy, humans put themselves in the shoes of others facing hardships and often want to help.

Behaviors that help others are often called pro-social behaviors by psychologists. Helping a great cause is a pro-social behavior that can elevate your mood. It can also affect your health in myriad ways.

Giving really does make you feel good. Your body releases endorphins which Harvard Health calls the “brain’s natural pain reliever” when you volunteer or do something you enjoy. Endorphins create a sense of well-being. Sometimes people call what you’re feeling a “helper’s high.”

Enjoyable and meaningful activities like helping others can increase your happiness. In a study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, researchers found that people who volunteer are happier than those who do not.

The researchers found that people who volunteered at least once a month reported better mental health than those who volunteered rarely or not at all.

Ways to Volunteer

Volunteering by dropping off dinner for a sick friend is also valuable. Performing acts of kindness, like cleaning the house for your mom who worked a double shift at the hospital the night before matters, too. You don’t necessarily have to volunteer in a consistent manner.

If you do want to volunteer regularly, which has many benefits as discussed previously, there are deserving organizations that would welcome your help. In fact, some organizations, like non-profits, count on volunteers to carry out some duties due to limited funding.

Here are possible ways you can volunteer in your community:

• Deliver food

• Tutor students in reading, English or math

• Visit or play games at a senior center

• Sing or dance in performances that raise money for your favorite charity

• Coach at a local middle school

• Participate in beach cleanup days

• Drive neighbors to doctor appointments

• Mow the lawn of elderly community members

• Restock shelves of books at your local library

• Work on behalf of human rights organizations

• Play music for those in hospice

• Host a neighborhood block party

• Fundraise on disaster relief efforts

• Help with park clean-up events

• Serve food at a soup kitchen

• Offer apples and oranges whenever you see the homeless

• Help promote an animal rescue center

• Sit on the board of your condo association

• Facilitate activities like Bingo games at a nursing home

• Help with a community center’s building maintenance projects

Remember that if you can’t volunteer in these ways, you might make use of a special talent or skill instead. For example, if have great tech skills, you can volunteer to be the “go to” person for an organization’s computers and printers once a week.

If you’re good at and love taking pictures, you might volunteer to submit photos for an institution’s brochure or update a charity’s website over the summer. Don’t forget that if you can’t volunteer with your time, you can also donate financially.

Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-the-mental-health-benefits-of-volunteering-5248549

How importnat do you think volunteering is on both a personal and a social level and why?

#Volunteering #Psychology #Altruism