Volunteering is a humanitarian practice that societies have known since ancient times because it arises from the humanity of the human being, regardless of his position, professional level or financial condition.
And the teachings of Islam encourage to do voluntary and charitable works, Almighty God says: So whoever volunteers, is good for him, and that you fast is better for you, if you know. The world gets a moral return, as volunteering is an important means of getting happiness and psychological comfort.
Effects of volunteering on mental health
1- Satisfaction of some psychological needs
- Satisfaction of the religious and spiritual side: Voluntary work in Islam has the characteristic of falling under the aspect of happiness in the afterlife and obtaining the pleasure of Almighty God, and in it it opens a door to get used to calculating the reward of Almighty God.
- Satisfy the need for success, achievement and achievement of goals: The individual feels a psychological impulse that pushes him to volunteer to carry out a job that gets for himself a deep sense of accomplishment and achievement of objectives, through the services he performs for those who need this service.
Only those who have tried and practiced volunteering experience success and success, and despite the problems the volunteer faces and the efforts they make, the feeling of reducing the burden on others’ shoulders and fulfilling what they need and to look at them in their best sense of success is not accompanied by another feeling.
The issue is not limited only to the category of young people, but increases the need as a person advances in his age, especially in the retirement phase, here volunteering gives them an important value and balances their life.
- Satisfy the need for love, respect and self-confidence: The respect and appreciation of people for him, and for what he does, makes him more proud of himself and his abilities, and therefore the person knows his skills and abilities well and works to put them into practice, and through it others learn his skills and abilities and increase their adherence to him, love and respect for him.
Only those who have tried and practiced volunteering experience success and success, despite the difficulties and efforts the volunteer faces.
2- Download energy and occupy free time
The void is considered the killer of creativity and work among young people, and it is the killer of all ambition, and how can it not be possible when we see some of our young people scattered on the streets, and on social networks, they take advantage of it of their time in a way that doesn’t benefit them and their society.
One of the solutions to kill boredom and emptiness is for young people to engage in volunteering, so that they can fill the emptiness that many of them suffer from, to participate in this volunteering according to their specialization and their inclinations.
3- Exchange of experiences and acquisition of life skills and abilities
The volunteer gains a lot of experience from other volunteers, as each exchanges their life experiences through friction between them and builds their own personality.
He also acquires some skills such as: self-confidence and responsibility, ability to deal with sudden problems, ability to organize, dialogue and negotiate.
4- Treatment of some acute mental illnesses
This is demonstrated by the study conducted by Colette Vikan and Sarah Cook, who explain how some people with serious mental illnesses have benefited from the experience of volunteering and service to others in the same health centers where they are treated, generating a positive sense of self-esteem and have contributed to their speedy recovery, as well as allowing them to gain positive insights for themselves.
5- Feeling satisfied and serene
This was shown by a survey of 1,000 volunteers in a volunteer organization in Malaysia, conducted by Catherine Virasami Murali and Samba Sivan, who showed that life satisfaction is influenced by the period of volunteering and the nature of contact with beneficiaries, as well as the feeling of peace and tranquility by repeating the times of volunteering.
And last but not least, I hope that we will start launching a campaign with the hashtag “#EnrichVolunteering”, in which everyone from all over the world participates, telling us about the impact of volunteering in his life.
Finally, we participate as much as possible in charitable and voluntary works, in every possible form and in every form of participation.
