
Volunteering helps with anxiety and stress - smacktoward
https://motherboard.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/a37nvk/volunteering-is-the-best-kept-secret-for-mental-health-stressweek2017
======
exabrial
I volunteer because the line in the front of the soup kitchen is a lot longer
than the line for the volunteer entrance in the back. I may not get a huge
feeling of accomplishment, because I'm doing quite menial tasks. But it's
humbling, and its been said "never think flipping burgers is beneath you".

I also volunteer to play music for a religious service, which is a ton of fun
and enriches a lot of people's lives. It's challenging and definitely provides
an outlet.

Finally I give a charitable donation to a charity that I know is making a
local impact and they manage their finances wisely. They give free food away
to anyone no questions asked.

It's the combination of these things (giving my time away giving, using my
talents, sharing some money) that bring me a lot of satisfaction about my
life.

The people in Hacker News are in a special position because we're typically
well-off and there are many talented people on here. I'll never chastise
anyone about giving, but I wish everyone would.

------
acalderaro
The key is to find a cause to help in which you truly recognize the
blessings/fortune/privilege/opportunities you have.

I've volunteered with animal shelters, geriatric hospitals, youth sports, and
with veterans. Animal shelters were fun because I love animals, but they
didn't humble me like working with veterans and the elderly. Every time I work
with those groups, I learn more about life, and get insight into ways I could
change how I'm living to be a better influence on society. I think that's the
key - at least, that was the key for me.

~~~
matwood
My wife an I rescue dogs (and have cats from past rescues). We tend to
specialize in French bulldogs, but may get an English soon. The ones we get
are usually puppy mill throwaways, and have a lot of initial health problems.
The vet bills definitely eat into our disposable income, but nothing else I
have ever spent money on has made me happier.

If anyone gets a chance read up on puppy mills and how horrible they are. Go
to a shelter and rescue an animal today.

~~~
ivm
And stop buying purebreds, especially trendy or short-snouted ones:

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/08/02/w...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/08/02/why-
breeding-bulldogs-is-borderline-inhumane/)

~~~
matwood
Completely agree. We have always rescued animals either from the pound or
street (our 2 cats were found as kittens outside when my wife was capturing
feral cats to get them spay/neutered). Once my wife found out more about puppy
mills, and how the dogs were treated she decided to do whatever she could to
combat mills. Until the laws are changed though, there isn't that much that
can be done to stop them. The best an individual can do is get pets from the
pound or other legit rescue, and never from a pet store (some stores partner
with pounds which is fine).

------
icc97
Seeing as we're all giving anecdotal evidence, I personally didn't feel much
of a benefit. I spent two years helping a disabled sports charity. It was
enjoyable being there and I think the people organising it are wonderful.

However it didn't make me feel much better about myself or life in general. I
would occasionally simply not want to go.

So I think at the very least it's no perfect solution.

~~~
AlexCoventry
Volunteering to teach non-violent communication in a prison _increased_ my
anxiety and stress.

It was worth it, though.

------
skadamou
This is so true. One of the benefits I found most surprising about
volunteering is how much easier it is to make quality connections with people
while working on a volunteer project. I suppose the simple act of signing up
to volunteer probably biases the population towards extroverts but it seems
like people feel more comfortable opening up while being altruistic. I
thoroughly enjoy connecting with people in this way.

~~~
johnchristopher
Keep in mind it is highly likely those connections won't survive once you are
out of volunteering. Source: my experience with various volunteer activities
(sometimes as organiser, sometimes as participant) and discussions about it
with various people involved in such activities.

------
cJ0th
Volunteering is one of those things that is wonderful idealistically speaking
but not necessarily in reality.

All too often these organizations are sought by horrible people to socialize
with fellow horrible people.

My point is not that volunteering is bad (it isn't!) but that it's pretty much
like any other interpersonal activity. Something magical can result from it
but all too often (if you're not desperate to meet people) you waste your time
with a bunch of ruthlessly selfish people.

------
scosman
Does anyone have advice on how to do skills based volunteering as a software
engineer? Something where my software skills help a good cause. I'm currently
volunteering teaching kids and teens to code every few weekends and it's okay,
but looking for something higher impact if possible.

~~~
glancast
Are you volunteering with schools? I've been thinking about doing something
similar, but haven't figured out the best way to get started.

~~~
scosman
Currently an organization called "Canada Learning Code".

------
0xcde4c3db
It's a nice thought, but the mental health angle seems pretty thin on the
ground here. The article eschews any actual mention of illness, clinical
psychology, or psychiatry, and the volunteering-specific evidence it cites is
preliminary at best.

One interesting thing is the mention/citation that helping other people being
built into a job doesn't seem to have similar benefits. Another study found a
similar difference for the psychological benefits of physical activity [1]. I
imagine there's a significant cultural bias in the Protestant(ish) Anglosphere
against "leisure is good for you", though.

[1]
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21037212](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21037212)

------
jansho
Absolutely! This was my experience too. I’d like to add that it helps you to
get out more and focus less on yourself, as often we over-analyse and self-
doubt too much.

And no real commitment. No performance trackers, no material gains, just your
best shot. Children are really awesome too - it’s amazing how they’re so small
and naive, yet super curious and active. Really inspiring. If you’re
interested, I recommend checking with your local school, it’s very likely that
they’re short of hand. A few hours a week is enough!

------
rectang
Now, if only volunteering in the open source space worked this way
consistently.

Surely lots of open source voluteers have good experiences and forge lasting
connections. The more in-person events, videochats and phone calls you
participate in, the better.

However, communication through low bandwidth text-only channels tends to lack
empathy. People who are not terrible in person are terrible online. And since
a disproportionate amount of open source communication occurs online, many
volunteers have bad experiences.

------
dingbat
on a related note, i recall Peter Drucker writing about how many people,
executives in particular, often talk about volunteering or "giving back to the
community" once they retire.

but Drucker noted that in his observation, executives who did not volunteer
earlier in life were just fooling themselves, they rarely followed through
with that "promise" once they retired, they failed to contribute much of
anything after their career.

------
drakonka
I don't do much volunteering aside from helping take care of cats at a cat
shelter every two weeks, but I do find that it helps relieve stress. I started
doing it after my own cat was very sick and almost died. The fact that he's
still with us is nothing short of a miracle and it feels satisfying to be able
to help care for other cats after getting so lucky (knocking wood) with my
own.

------
drdeadringer
Several years ago I was in need of something to do, the only problem being how
to find volunteer opportunities besides mindless spaghetti-on-the-wall
searches. Luckily enough I found volunteermatch.org and within a month I was
in action and with a website I could return to for finding more.

After I started, I experienced similar results as stated in the article.

------
spicymaki
I am somewhat saddened that we have descended to a point of moral decay where
the notion of the positive results of generosity is now breaking news.

~~~
slazaro
> we have descended to a point of moral decay

Really? What is the time in the past where things were better? When you were
younger, I presume?

~~~
spicymaki
Actually I was feeling pretty good about two years ago it is much worse now.

