Volunteering Helps Depression

Volunteering helps depression, even though that may seem counterintuitive at first. You may feel overwhelmed at the thought of helping others when you can barely help yourself. However, volunteering can be a good and helpful way to cope with your own depression. Turning your focus outward brings a new perspective into your life, and this perspective of volunteering can help your depression.

How to Volunteer to Help Depression

First of all, volunteering doesn't have to be a big undertaking. You can start (and even stay) small. One option is to make online donations to organizations whose causes you are passionate about. Facebook allows you to choose an organization for which to raise funds by asking your friends to donate. I'm currently doing one for my birthday this month. This is a really simple way to volunteer financially, as most of us are on Facebook regularly anyway. Another way we can volunteer is by donating items we no longer use or need. This offers an easy option for participation in a volunteer opportunity, especially when our depression makes it difficult to interact with people.

If you are able, I highly suggest volunteering your time. This type of volunteering has helped my depression the most. I've had the opportunity to get out of my head and into the lives of other people. Some great places to volunteer are food pantries, retirement homes, homeless shelters, libraries, homes for adults or children with disabilities, hospitals, and animal shelters. Think about areas of particular interest to you and look for volunteer opportunities that fit that area.

Finally, help your depression by volunteering to organize a group. This could be a local, in-person group. It might be a Facebook group or some other form of online group. You could choose to make it a depression support group, but it doesn't have to be focused on that. For example, I lead a local special needs support group. I started this group because I have a daughter with special needs and I  need support and encouragement. Many others do as well. Volunteering to start and lead this group has helped me cope with my depression because I have the joy of knowing I help others and the gratitude of knowing other members are there for my family and me.  

Try Volunteering to Help Your Depression Today

So, try volunteering. Get started today. See how volunteering helps your depression improve. You'll be glad you did.

I'm going to be participating in a 5K this weekend. In this video, I explain how doing this is helping me cope with my depression and is also giving me strength and courage.