There is a consistent body of research demonstrating that being involved with others is associated with emotional health, and the impact upon personal mental health is even greater when that involvement includes helping others.
Involvement in helping others is not only a form of increased socialization, but there are reciprocal benefits. When you do good things for others, it tends to set up a cascade of events whereby you are perceived as a likable person who is sought-after socially. The establishment of a helping persona also leads others to be in your corner if you should need their help in the future.
Often times, people learn of skills or other positive attributes with which they had not been in touch until they became part of a helping relationship.
When you add to this the fact that the person or organization that you are helping derives great benefits from your help, it becomes a win-win situation.
As humans, we are all social animals to a greater or lesser extent. While some have a healthy preference for functioning alone much of the time, we all need some degree of the stimulation that comes with healthy social involvement.
One of the three areas for growth and change that is part of The Mental Health Gym’s concept of the Proactive Positive Explosion is the social area (health/fitness and intellectual growth make up the other two areas). In working with patients, I’ve often found that one of the most powerful change-producing interventions I can make is to get them involved in helping others.
This can be done on a more formal basis by volunteering time with an organization that will bring you in contact with others who can benefit from your assistance. But it can also be done on an informal basis by reaching out to a neighbor who has been uncomfortable to ask for help in dealing with issues that may seem to be temporarily overwhelming.
Assistance may be in the form of a service – such as driving or babysitting, but often times all that may be needed is for you to reach out and offer comfort and conversation to someone who is new to the neighborhood or has experienced a loss or is even adjusting to an objectively positive situation – such as a child going off to college or moving to a new city for a career opportunity.
If your not used to it, social involvement with others may be hard at first, but it will be worth it!