This Is Why Volunteering Is The Best Thing You Can Do For Good Mental Health

Dec 26, 2018

Volunteering is one of the best ways for anyone to boost their mental health. By giving our time and resources to others, we can benefit our own mental health.

By volunteering, we are acting at our most selfless, meaning we never expect anything in return. While this may be a strange concept to some, it is one of the best ways to reconnect with what really matters most in the world.

Most of us know how good it is to feel the joy that comes from performing acts of kindness. These small acts will help to improve our overall happiness. When we volunteer on a regular basis, this feeling is even more powerful.

By regularly scheduling a time to give ourselves to others, we can enjoy regular doses of positivity that comes from volunteering.

Certain studies even show that helping others lights up certain reward centres in our brains. These reward centres are associated with certain things like food and intimacy. This allows the brain to receive a natural high when we give assistance to others.

The one caveat to gaining happiness from giving service is that working in a job that requires one to provide assistance won't have the same sort of pleasure associated with them. This is due to the fact that volunteering isn't something that is required.

Interested in boosting your happiness by helping others? It's best to volunteer!

It's best to put one's effort into something that they find meaningful and important. This will ensure that the good feelings associated with volunteering happen as a result.

Avid volunteers reportedly have higher levels of oxytocin. This spike in oxytocin occurs because of the following:

• Oxytocin is responsible for regulating social interaction
• Volunteering helps to improve social interaction in others as it helps to ease social anxiety.
• Volunteering has positive effects for individuals dealing with social anxiety.

Oxytocin is known to abate our stress levels, which explains why volunteering can produce such a high.

While stress should be dealt with properly, it can be helpful to step back from whatever is stressing us out. Volunteering allows us to do this. Through volunteering, we can push our worries aside and do something that benefits others.

Whatever it is that we're volunteering for, it does wonders for our stress to see someone else made happy from our actions. By building these connections with other individuals, our stresses will melt away.

Some studies even suggest that volunteering helps to lower our blood pressure. So, in addition to improving our mental health, volunteering is good for our physical health as well!

It is easy to live life without a sense of purpose. While we get used to our daily routines, it can seem like we aren't living for anything that really matters.

While individually we are all just one person, together we're much more, and volunteering teaches us this.

• Volunteering shows us the magic we feel when we help one another.
• It teaches us the impact that just one person can have on others.
• Volunteering shows that making others happy also makes us happy.
• This will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of our purpose and meaning.
• Purpose is what keeps us motivated. It drives us to keep pursuing other passions in life.

Feeling depressed? Think about volunteering. While volunteering does serve as a distraction, we can also combat certain destructive patterns and habits by volunteering on a regular basis.

This applies mainly to anyone that tends to have negative thoughts or someone that is being overly self-critical. When we help others, we are able to see that we are capable of anything. Thus, we find the motivation needed to keep going in our own lives.

Additionally, volunteering can put us into contact with other people lacking inspiration and motivation. Being able to give our time to them will allow us to feel better in return.

Similarly, seeing the things that others go through will help put our own situations and problems into perspective. This will allow us to feel less alone.

Through volunteering, we will find that our brains begin to work better. As volunteering improves our mental health, it can also help to improve our brain function overall, especially in older adults. With a healthy brain, we will be able to better produce the hormones needed for mood regulation.

The good thing for us is that we can take part in the benefits of volunteering by being altruistic in general. These acts will lead to us having a greater feeling of wellbeing.

These altruistic acts are generally any act done out of kindness.

• Make tea or coffee for a family member, friend, or colleague.
• Give up your seat on the bus, subway, or at a crowded event
• Mentor somebody that needs assistance.
• Be there for someone in need.
• Donate items or money to organizations that you believe in.

Altruism is easy and completely free. It makes us feel good and we can do it anywhere and everywhere. Just by being compassionate, we are able to completely transform how we feel.

What did you think about the truth about volunteering and altruism? Leave your thoughts and make sure to pass this along to encourage others to help others, as well!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!