Yes, of course, volunteering is about giving back. But volunteering also makes the volunteer feel good. And not just temporarily. Research shows that engaging in volunteer activities can reduce stress, improve mood, and even improve brain health.
Lowers Stress and Anxiety A study published in BMC Public Health found that volunteering is linked to lower stress levels and improved emotional resilience. Acts of kindness trigger the release of oxytocin and endorphins, which promote relaxation and positive emotions.
Enhances Mood and Reduces Depression Research in The Journal of Happiness Studies indicates that volunteers experience higher life satisfaction and lower depression rates. Regular volunteering fosters a sense of purpose, which is particularly beneficial for individuals struggling with mental health challenges.
Strengthens Social Connections Loneliness is a major contributor to poor mental health. According to a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study, volunteers are more likely to build stronger social networks, reducing feelings of isolation and increasing emotional support.
Increases Self-Esteem and Sense of Purpose Helping others fosters a sense of achievement and belonging. A study in Psychosomatic Medicine found that people who engage in meaningful volunteer work experience greater self-worth and life satisfaction.
Promotes Brain Health and Longevity Volunteering has even been linked to cognitive health benefits. Research from The American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that older adults who volunteer regularly have a lower risk of dementia and cognitive decline.
Here’s the Atlantic on the impact of our solitary and/or siloed lives–The Anti-Social Century. Gist: We’re increasingly at home and/on screens and it’s not helping anyone’s mental health.
If two of the 20th century’s iconic technologies, the automobile and the television, initiated the rise of American aloneness, the 21st century’s most notorious piece of hardware has continued to fuel, and has indeed accelerated, our national anti-social streak. Countless books, articles, and cable-news segments have warned Americans that smartphones can negatively affect mental health and may be especially harmful to adolescents. But the fretful coverage is, if anything, restrained given how greatly these devices have changed our conscious experience. The typical person is awake for about 900 minutes a day. American kids and teenagers spend, on average, about 270 minutes on weekdays and 380 minutes on weekends gazing into their screens, according to the Digital Parenthood Initiative. By this account, screens occupy more than 30 percent of their waking life.
Decades of research have proven that connection is as essential as food and water, but this knowledge hasn’t yet made its way into the mainstream understanding of health – and without it, we’re suffering..
Today, many people show signs of social health in decline. Over the past 30 years, the percentage of Americans with 10 or more close friends dropped by 20%. Over the past 20 years, the amount of time people spent alone increased by an average of 24 hours a month. Over the past 10 years, participation in communities, such as book clubs, sports leagues and neighborhood associations, fell by nearly 20%. And according to a national survey in 2019, about half of adults in the US felt as if no one knew them well.
Old article, good idea–volunteering in order to feel better.
It’s generally understood that helping out others makes a person feel nice, but that experience goes beyond just the feel-good glow of altruism. Studies have found that helping others has tangible benefits, both mental and physical, from lowering your blood pressure to reducing feelings of depression. And research hasn’t found any significant difference in the types of volunteering—any kind of helpful act can create benefits.
Here are a couple of lists (also not brand new) of places to volunteer. Just as easy: think of what’s bothering you in the wider world and find an organization dedicated to fixing it. Someone’s started one, for sure.
For two solid days, I basked in 19th-century leisure, feeling my nerves softening and my attention span stretching back out. I read books. I did the crossword puzzle. I lit a fire and looked at the stars. I felt like Thoreau, if Thoreau periodically wondered what was happening on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Instagram story.
Psychologist-slash-neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett challenges the idea that emotions are innate and universal.
Instead, she has shown that emotion is constructed in the moment, by core systems that interact across the whole brain, aided by a lifetime of learning…This new theory means that you play a much greater role in your emotional life than you ever thought.
So, maybe some help in taking a step back from thoughts and feelings. Read her book for the full explanation. Or just dip in a toe via the TED talk below or articles on her site.
When our brains are not otherwise occupied, a network of neural regions called the default mode network automatically comes online. It enables us to turn our attention inward and daydream, but it also helps us to project out and put ourselves in other people’s shoes.
“One of the main reasons—or adaptive potentials—to take breaks, even short breaks throughout our day-to-day life, is to help us retain information longer and transfer it into long-term memory,” Andrews-Hanna notes. “The Meyer study is the first to extend these findings to social information and our memory of other people.”
A couple of reports on earlier daydreaming research:
Another day, another stressful election. And they’ll keep on coming. Here’s an NYT roundup of therapist advice about just how exactly to cope.
[T]herapists report that many of their patients are even more upset as they struggle to make sense of the direction in which the country is heading. And many can’t tear themselves away from the news…
“Use your anxiety to motivate you,” [Dr. Stephen Hayes] said. “Think about what you value most and take action.” Taking action can help to instill the sense that you have some control over your environment — what psychologists call perceived self-efficacy — and leave you feeling less stressed.
Controlled breathing…has been shown to reduce stress, increase alertness and boost your immune system. For centuries yogis have used breath control, or pranayama, to promote concentration and improve vitality. Buddha advocated breath-meditation as a way to reach enlightenment.
Science is just beginning to provide evidence that the benefits of this ancient practice are real. Studies have found, for example, that breathing practices can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and attention deficit disorder.
“Psychology is generally focused on how to relieve depression, anger and worry,” he said…“What makes life worth living,” he said, “is much more than the absence of the negative.”
To Dr. Seligman, the most effective long-term strategy for happiness is to actively cultivate well-being.
In his 2012 book, “Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being,” he explored how well-being consists not merely of feeling happy (an emotion that can be fleeting) but of experiencing a sense of contentment in the knowledge that your life is flourishing and has meaning beyond your own pleasure.
Another day, another stressful election. And they’ll keep on coming. Here’s an NYT roundup of therapist advice about just how exactly to cope.