Volunteering and Depression:
The Healing Power of Giving

When you're struggling with depression and feeling low the last thing you want to do is get out of the house, much less be of service to others.

Yet...

One of the most overlooked and confirmed ways to uplift your spirit is to be of service.

The benefit of volunteering is somewhat distinct from the healthy consequences of time with supportive friends, intimacy, positive social groups and regular community involvement.

A time-honored tenet of life is this: To Give is To Receive.

When struggling with depression, your inclination is to dwell on yourself, sometimes incessantly. This is quite natural. You feel lousy and you can't help but get preoccupied with negative thoughts and excessive ruminating about yourself.

Usually, this excessive self-preoccupation doesn't help. And what's more, it has a definite downside. Sometimes a way out is to turn your attention to helping others.

It is important to acknowledge that seeking to uplift others is quite different than the very normal tendency to become overly involved with the affairs of others - whether family, friends or co-workers.

This preoccupation with others, sometimes described as 'trying to help them,' is very often an unconscious way to avoid your own pain within. Sometimes it is a lot easier to get worked up about another's life, habits and behaviors than to confront and work through our own difficulties.

Among the clients I work with in my Boulder counseling practice who have obviously benefited from sharing their love and presence with others, I've noticed some key things to consider.

Here are some of the most helpful tips I can offer for anyone interested in volunteering to help with depression:

1. Start with a one or two hour commitment a week, once or twice a week. Taking on too much too soon can lead to a sense of failure. As things progress, you can naturally give more of your time if you like.

2. Pick something that lights you up, perhaps something you have always felt drawn to do as a volunteer but never got started with. (I have some links with local ideas below)

3. In the context of uplifting others, avoid volunteering for political causes, petitions, and divisive activist groups. Too often, such projects are either too laden with an agitated, heavy atmosphere or they're too administrative or intellectually abstract in nature. In contrast, picture helping abandoned animals or cheering up elders in the community who may feel isolated.

4. Be sure to pick something where there is no tangible gain for you, no project that dove tails with your current endeavors or builds your resume. Try to pick something that won't directly benefit you, professionally or monetarily.

Over a decade ago, while volunteering in a service program in South America, I spent one afternoon a week with a disabled elderly man in an economically deprived neighborhood of Santiago, Chile. In the beginning I had a kind of "do-gooder" attitude; that I would be so important and uplifting to this person.

Humberto and I became fast friends, and I know he loved spending time with me. However, in all our time talking together or going for wheelchair walks through the neighborhood, it was me that was most uplifted. I attribute this to two things: One, the generous, loving spirit of Humberto and his wonderful sense of humor. And two, this principle of life, that to give is to receive, and to uplift is to be uplifted.

If you decide to give of your presence, time, and love, don't be surprised if you feel a bit more of a spring in your step or find yourself worrying less about what ails you. Such is the power of being of service.

Here is a great research review and testimony on how "volunteering helps fight depression"

Below is a list of local links of volunteer opportunities in Boulder and Denver. These are just a few ideas among many. Categories you might consider include: children, animals, homeless, mentoring, elderly care, your church community, soup kitchens etc. The sky is the limit!

Boulder's Volunteer Connections: Ideas and Contacts

Volunteering Opportunities in Denver

Return from Volunteering and Depression to Overcoming Depression

Matt Laughlin, MA

Psychotherapist

303-929-3353

My Boulder Counseling Practice is located at:

1634 Walnut Street, Suite 111C

Boulder, CO 80302

Also serving the following Colorado cities and towns:

Arvada, Alma, Aurora, Bennett, Black Hawk, Brighton, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Centennial, Central City, Cherry Hills Village, Columbine Valley, Commerce City, Dacono, Denver, Englewood, Evergreen, Federal Heights, Firestone, Fort Lupton, Frederick, Georgetown, Glendale, Golden, Greeley, Greenwood Village, Idaho Springs, Kiowa, Lafayette, Lakeside, Lakewood, Larkspur, Littleton, Lone Tree, Longmont, Louisville, Lyons, Morrison, Mountain View, Niwot, Northglenn, Parker, Sheridan, Superior, Thornton, Westminster and Wheat Ridge.