How to Improve Your Mental Health
Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there. You feel down and alone. Something happened in your life that you’re struggling to recover from, or maybe nothing has happened, yet you feel embarrassed to admit that you’re finding life difficult anyway. There’s nothing wrong with you—you’re just human. Out of every five people in your class, one will have trouble with their mental health.
So, if you’re in a bad place, what do you do? Most people want to be left alone. You might look to drugs, alcohol, food, or anything that brings comfort to numb the thoughts in your head. Retreating from the world is a natural reaction, but it doesn’t solve the problem.
Acknowledge Your Feelings
Acknowledging how you feel and giving yourself a break is important. Only then will you feel ready to talk. It may seem simple, but talking and reaching out to others can change your life. After all, talking as a way of healing has been around since the 1800s.
Luckily, there’s more awareness and people to talk to than ever. Organizations like the Samaritans and Mind UK provide valuable resources and support. Young Minds focuses on ensuring every young person has the support they need to achieve greater mental health and well-being.
Volunteering as a Path to Recovery
Once you’ve reached out and found support, volunteering is the perfect way to re-energize and reconnect with your surroundings. Engaging with issues that affect other people doesn’t just help you gain a greater perspective of your own life; it makes you feel a part of your community. One study found that volunteers had a 15% higher sense of community involvement after participating.
Research highlighted in our one-page guide on confidence and mental health shows that volunteering lowers anxiety, improves self-esteem, and enhances life satisfaction. So if you’re feeling low, why not give volunteering a go? There are over 20,000 opportunities to reconnect with your community on the vInspired Exchange.
This summer, we’ve made three mini-guides to show you how volunteering improves mental health, brings together communities, and leads to work.
For more ways to improve your mental health, check out our article on How to improve your mental health and learn How I improved my mental health. Discover 4 ways volunteering can make you happy when you’re sad and see how Volunteering conquered Naomi’s panic attacks.