Volunteer To Help Others To Fight Stress And Depression

This article should in no way be construed as a substitute for medical advice. If you are suffering from a prolonged or severe bout of depression, or have suicidal thoughts, please seek qualified medical help immediately.

Depression causes us to focus on ourselves - our fears, our troubles and our problems. That's not to say that being depressed marks us as selfish; rather, part of the symptoms is that we have trouble seeing beyond our own difficulties. By focusing outside of ourselves, we can reduce the effects that depression has on our lives.

This doesn't mean that our own problems aren't difficult or severe at times. Many people are fighting horrible battles against disease, old age or other problems. And regardless of how severe our problem may or may not be, we are always more aware of our own pain. Sometimes, though, there isn't much we can do to alleviate the source of our problems, so all we can do is change the way we deal with them.

One problem we often have as humans is to fear the worst, or imagine just how bad things can get. But the reality is that our worst fears generally don't come to pass. It is seldom as bad in reality as it is in our own minds. So one key, then, is to get out of our own minds by involving ourselves with helping others.

Another difficulty for many of us is that when we are under stress or when we start to feel down, we will want to withdraw, to isolate ourselves. Because of our problems, or the way we perceive our problems, we may feel like no one else understands. As long as we are trapped alone with our own thoughts, that may be true. By staying connected with others, or by making new connections, we can get out of the downward spiral going on in our own minds.

Many of us have heard, "It is better to give than to receive." However, when we are stressed or depressed, we generally tend to focus on what we are lacking. By turning our focus outward, by looking to help other people, we can help take our mind's focus off of ourselves.

Another famous saying is, "I was depressed that I had no shoes, until I met the man with no feet." Many people have it much worse than us. And even if our problems are of the greatest sort - death of a loved one, a terminal illness - interacting with and helping others can help put our problems into perspective. Even if we are facing something as horrible as a terminal illness, if we have the opportunity to help others, isn't that a much better way to spend our time than being completely consumed by our own problems?

Of course, this all needs to be done within our limitations, with balance. Neither would it be healthy to throw ourselves so completely into some cause that we make our own lives worse. Reasonableness and moderation are key in all areas of life.

But the joy and satisfaction of helping another can help to counteract the stress or depression caused by the problems in our own lives. Maybe we can't immediately change the causes of our own stress, but we can mitigate their effects by our own actions. And what we often find is that we feel more helped and enriched than the people we are helping. Giving of ourselves is like that.

Think about others who may be in isolation. Visit a nursing home, volunteer at a hospital, work at a food bank, help out at your local animal shelter. While all of these are places where we find people who are suffering, we also find that sometimes our kind presence can make a difference in their lives. And that will have a positive effect on our outlook, too.

So if you are feeling stressed and depressed, give volunteering a try. Give of yourself, and see just how much you receive in return.