Do any of you else volunteer for mental health related organizations?

[*Laurie*]

I will be volunteering for NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) soon. I'll be co-facilitating a support group.

Originally Posted by LauraBeth

I will be volunteering for NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) soon. I'll be co-facilitating a support group.

oh that sounds quite interesting. Do you anticipate this giving you any kind of sense of purpose or additional confidence?

I have been vounteering for an organization that supports veterans in crisis. A great portion of the money raised goes to helping homeless veterans or those in transition between military and civilian life. Most of these service men and women have accompanying mental health and addictions issues (I will suggest the addictions stem from trying to self-medicate). I do feel a sense of purpose helping to raise funds for this.

[*Laurie*]

Bless you, jaf306, for helping veterans. My husband of 35 years is a Vietnam vet and the veteran's organizations have helped my family so much over the years.

I definitely expect the volunteering I'll be doing to give me a sense of purpose and confidence. I attend a support group, try to give solid support to other members, and that gives me a sense of meaning...when I facilitate a group I expect I'll have an even greater sense of meaning.

[NeighborsTrigger]

I have volunteered for NAMI for about seven to eight years in my past. These experiences (support group facilitator, IOOV speaker, and Peer-to-Peer class mentor) have helped me, as well as all the other peers who attended, as much as or more than them. I was able to see myself and my problems in an entirely different, and often, a more realistic perspective than before. These experiences helped me gain confidence in myself as well as heightening my empathy for others. The only reason I stepped down about two or three years ago was my symptoms of "burn-out." So when you decide to take the step of becoming a facilitator, please pace yourself and get to know what your limits are. Also, take care of yourself in other ways. Take the time to do something you enjoy and "smell the roses" on your new path. Maybe I don't even need to mention this here, but make sure you keep all of your mental health appointments. Sometimes, you may need the support of someone when a person in a support group or an entire support group seems to get out of hand, you may not be sure if you did the best thing in some of these situations. Best of luck.
Donna