Volunteering
An extremely important activity to undertake! This can be as little as a couple of hours a week. Look up local community organisations or companies that coordinate volunteer work with companies. GoVolunteer is an Australian website which lists volunteer opportunities. Thrift stores or op shops often welcome volunteers. By volunteering you will give back to the community and feel good about yourself at the same time.
Volunteering at support groups
Volunteering can also take the form of participating in mutual support groups such as AA, Al-Anon, GA, NA and GROW (if these are relevant of course). These groups and organisations promote a serving culture in order to fully participate in their programs. You can’t just be a passenger and be accountable. We highly recommend you connect to a mutual support group and get involved, start serving and see the results.
Intentionally do a good deed for someone else
This doesn’t come naturally for most considering the me-first culture we live in. In fact this will simply sound unorthodox and weird. Who cares. Do it. Studies have mapped the physiological and psychological effects of benevolent and caring actions, and these findings support what most major religious systems have argued for millennia: helping others helps yourself. Doing a good deed, and doing it from you heart, helps your mood and soul.
Do some work especially when you LEAST feel like it
Getting back into work actually starts at home. Train your will to work even when you don’t feel like it, so when you are back in the workforce your mood doesn’t dictate your behaviour. When you feel tired and could not be bothered doing anything, clean the house or tidy your garden, manage things that need attending to. Try and do this as often as possible and positive changes will increase with time.
We hope this article helps you realise how important work is and how it can be done irrespective of circumstance. Unemployment can hurt you physically and mentally. Make sure you ease back into work gradually, volunteer, help others and approach it at a pace right for you.
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We really hope you, or someone you care about, beats depression