Volunteering
It can be very easy to be extra special self-absorbed this time of year. All of the consumerism,
parties, planning of trips, which outfit to wear to the 4th cocktail party this week and obsessing
over what to buy our boss for Christmas and if we even need to get the guy with a huge house in
the Hamptons a gift at all!
A way to get over ourselves instantly is to serve others without expecting anything in return.
That is right, give to others through volunteering. It can be in a formal way of service like at a
FoodBank or the Salvation Army, or a one-off like being the person who returns all of the carts at
the grocery store.
Volunteering can connect us with other people we would never meet. If it is social cause such as
ending hunger, we can find a way to make new friends and strengthen existing relationships by
committing to a shared activity together
Giving to others helps counteract the effects of stress, anger, and anxiety. The social contact
aspect of helping and working with others can have a profound effect on your overall
psychological well-being. Nothing relieves stress better than a meaningful connection to another
person. Working with pets and other animals have also been shown to improve mood and reduce
stress and anxiety.
Volunteering makes you happy. By measuring hormones and brain activity, researchers have
discovered that being helpful to others delivers immense pleasure. Human beings are hard-wired
to give to others. The more we give, the happier we feel.
xo,
Erin
Erin Wathen
As a Holistic Health Coach, it is Erin’s big hairy audacious goal is to change the dialogue around how we look at weight loss. It is not a matter of being it Ketosis or Food Swaps but the feelings we have that we are avoiding by overeating. Why are so many of us not tackling the real issues we have? It is easier and safer to obsess over the latest diet fad. Whether it be with our job, or our Mom, boyfriend, politics… until we address how we manage our feelings in the world, we are not going to.
