Improve Your Mental Health by Contributing
When mental health issues strike, it's common for some people to notice changes in themselves from who they once were, but you can improve your mental health by contributing. You may have been a social butterfly before, the life of the party, or you may have always gone out of your way to help others. One thing is for sure -- when you fall into a deep depression or find yourself anxious all the time, not only can you change as a person, but it's almost impossible to take the focus off yourself and how bad you feel. What can you do to take some of your control back? What I want to share in this video could potentially be the starting point for pulling yourself out of your anxiety and/or depression. Here I talk about contributing to help improve your mental health.
Contribute to Others And Improve Your Mental Health
How many times have you heard somebody tell you there are many people out there who are worse off than you? The problem with depression and extreme anxiety, is that even though you understand this logically, it's difficult to connect with this statement because you feel so terrible. You're struggling with your own debilitating emotions and don't have the energy to think of others.
However, one of the first steps to mental health recovery that I recommend, is to do something nice for somebody else. It might be a small thing like picking up the phone to call a friend and remind them that you're still there for him or her. Perhaps buying a small gift for someone to show him or her that you appreciate that person. Any small, kind gesture is very likely to make you feel better about yourself and take the focus off you, even temporarily (What To Do When Everything Sucks).
Contributing To Improve Your Mental Health Video
Volunteer To Improve Your Mental Health
As unmotivated as you may be feeling, I would highly recommend starting some volunteer work at whatever organization you feel most passionate about. Volunteering serves many purposes including; getting you out of the house and becoming more active, temporarily distracting you from your negative thoughts and feelings, feeling a sense of contribution which we need as humans, and it gives you a sense of purpose likely to positively affect your sense of self worth and self-esteem (Building Self-Esteem: A Self-Help Guide).
We all need a purpose in this life. Unfortunately depression and anxiety can not only rob you of your happiness, but also a sense of purpose. It's common to feel down about yourself when you're in this state. Volunteer at a charity or give to someone who needs help once or twice a week (depending on your time schedule), and notice how that makes you feel. The use any positive distraction skill is helpful and cumulative. The more you do, the more you want to do, starting a chain reaction of progressively feeling better. And as an added bonus, you always receive what you give in life.
APA Reference
Virag, K.
(2015, November 5). Improve Your Mental Health by Contributing, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, December 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/mentalhealthforthedigitalgeneration/2015/11/improve-your-mental-health-by-contributing
Author: Kristen Virag
I know I feel my best when I let myself go and listen to other people and their issues. Listening to other people and contributing your time does help you and others. Sometimes you have to let yourself go. Thanks for your article.
Indeed, this article is mindful mention for both category of people: mentally ill and mentally health ones. Helping others, we improve our global welfare, is the key of happiness, as groundwork of interpersonal understanding. Good and positive social relationship, on the other hand improves and advances mental health statement of anyone, particularly they with mental illness. By this approach we grow up supportive social network, which one contribute to be emotionally and mentally heath. It means to be active and creative on managing respective mental disorder. Surely, each person with mental disorder should be under close supervision of expert to any Mental Health-care Service. However, pro-social attitude and activity indicates important step to current psychiatric treatment of mental disorders. It is useful socio-therapeutic aspect of comprehensive and general psychiatric treatment of mental illnesses. At last, we must to implement in daily life your advisable massage: You always receive what you give in life. Beside this recommendation, the need to find out the purpose of living is great and most motivated impulse to live and work for others.
No doubt. Helping one another and real concern will lead to real peace.