Volunteering for Your Mental Health

Link to the original article here.

Mental health is something which more people and organizations are making an effort to speak about, address, and improve.  Sometimes just knowing we have taken a positive step can improve our mental health because it helps us see real-world outcomes from when we take action. 

There are many reasons people volunteer: for fun, to grow a personal or professional network, to achieve a sense of purpose, to pay a good deed forward.  Any of these motivations can help enhance our connection to others, improve our ability to recover from our own challenges, and promote a sense of belonging. 

Ways in which volunteering can help promote good mental health, by improving:

- A sense of individual connection to others

- Understanding of ourselves and our own skills and character

- Adaptability

- Socializing

- Our sense of community

So the next time you volunteer, remember that you are actively helping yourself as well!