If you think students spend all their spare time avoiding studying, going out with their mates and having a good time then you'd be right. Well our student bloggers do anyway. While they assure us they don't slack on the study, they've got a lot to answer for when it comes to enjoying themselves while volunteering.

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Sunday Dec 06, 2009

Mental Health and Volunteering

Despite affecting a quarter of the population at some point in their lives, just the words ‘mental health’ can still conjure up pretty hefty stigmas.

But when we talk about wanting to be physically healthy, our thoughts do not always stray towards disease and disability; instead we talk about things which provide for positive health like eating well, and exercising regularly.

If we are going to subscribe to this dichotomy of physical/mental health, then surely we should do the same with the latter – so what provides for good mental health?

Philosophers have struggled with this for centuries, and to continue the comparison with physical health, it would be impossible to offer one cure for every problem. However without going too deep: having enough money, a home and a feeling of usefulness would seem like three good candidates for any such list.

This may explain why unemployment is often linked to depression and other mental health problems. However, while volunteering cannot provide money or a place to call home, I think it can and does help with other things. There has been some interesting research into its positive affects on those with mental health problems (who have one of the highest rates of unemployment amongst any disabled group), and going back to my first point there is no need to think that just because you have not been diagnosed with a specific mental health condition that you could not benefit from finding the right opportunity in your area.

Even the government has recognised these benefits, managing to allow for more volunteering to be undertaken whilst receiving Job Seekers Allowance by moving the notice period required for a volunteer to be able to take up work from 48 hours to one week. Shocking!

The Institute for Volunteering Research - IVR

Tackling the stigmas of mental health - http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/

On a ‘cycle of unemployment, depression and unstable housing’, Jane Canning in the Guardian.

Posted by Harry ( 12:26 AM )
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