Giving back doesn't just warm the soul, it also may improve mental and physical well-being, according to various studies. One from Sweden, published in PLOS One in 2017, found that older people who volunteered regularly had lower levels of self-reported cognitive complaints and a lower risk for dementia than older people who did not volunteer or who volunteered only occasionally.
In a review of studies related to volunteering and cognitive health in aging, published in The Journals of Gerontology Series B in 2017, the authors wrote that “it is at least plausible that volunteering can positively impact older adults’ cognitive functioning through increased physical, social, and cognitive activity and consequent improvements in mental and neurologic health.”
More recently, researchers analyzed data from a large national sample called the Health and Retirement Study to look for a relationship between volunteering and seven cardiovascular disease biomarkers. People who volunteered more than 200 hours a year (just under four hours a week) were at lower risk for high blood pressure than non-volunteers. The study, published in June in Innovation in Aging, also found some benefits over time with a more modest amount of volunteering.
“Frequent volunteering lowers the likelihood of high blood pressure,” says study co-author Seoyoun Kim, PhD, a visiting scholar at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, who noted that a similar pattern was reported in a 2013 study of high school volunteers. She says it is not clear what the underlying mechanism may be, though some prior research has suggested that volunteering may have a positive effect on the body's stress response. “When we give to others, it's nourishing to ourselves,” says Dr. Kim.
“Volunteering often extends our social networks as we meet people and potentially form new friendships,” says Ann-Marie Creaven, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of Limerick in Ireland. “It also provides a sense of purpose or meaning and might increase a feeling of competence and make us better able to cope with stress. Depending on the type of volunteering, it also might increase physical activity.”
While evidence suggests that volunteering could improve health, the research does not necessarily prove cause and effect. It might be that volunteering is a break from stressful routines, a chance to socialize, or time spent off the couch, all of which can be mentally and physically beneficial. “Many studies don't consider that volunteering is just one part of how we are connected to others in our communities,” says Dr. Creaven.
Much remains to be learned about the connection between volunteering and health. “We know that people who volunteer are usually already well integrated into their communities, tend to be in good health, and have a good standard of living,” says Dr. Creaven, who adds that it's not clear whether volunteering can benefit people who have scant resources or may be overwhelmed with daily life.
For those with neurologic conditions, Dr. Creaven says, volunteering may give them a sense of identity beyond their illness. Here, four such people discuss their experiences.
Diane Fox
Leading a Support Group
Diane Fox, 67, of Philadelphia was at her neurologist's office when a flyer caught her eye. It was an advertisement for a fundraising run sponsored by an organization called Miles for Migraine. She wasn't a runner, but she decided to go and check out the race. “I was floored that my disease has people—and lots of them,” says Fox, who had always felt isolated by the migraines that began when she was 16.
The spirit of the race was inspiring. “It was exciting to see so many people and not feel alone anymore with this disease,” she says. The experience spurred her to volunteer at other Miles for Migraine activities, starting with an education day at a local hospital, where attendees listened to headache experts and socialized over lunch and an arts and crafts session. Before long, Fox was training to lead a support group, lobbying in Washington, D.C., for research funding, helping at other Miles for Migraine events, and even taking the microphone to kick off a race in Queens, NY. “When I realized that all those things were out there, I was hooked immediately and bonded with the other volunteers,” she says.
Leading a support group has been “an incredible experience,” says Fox, who is retired from a job in pharmaceutical research. After a weeklong training session using course materials from the U.S. Pain Federation, she learned how to introduce topics, get everyone involved so one person doesn't dominate the conversation, and what to do if someone appears to be in a crisis. Through the group, Fox really came to understand migraine, even though she had been wrestling with attacks for decades. “It's an incurable neurologic disease,” she says, but she has learned how to be proactive about managing it.
When her headaches began, Fox's mother took her to dozens of specialists, who said they were tension headaches. “Looking back, I realize I was having migraine attacks,” she recalls. In her late forties, around menopause, her headaches became almost daily and debilitating. She eventually had to go on disability from work.
“I have been on everything you can imagine,” says Fox. “I get pain and severe fatigue. It starts in my head, but I feel it in my whole body.” She felt useless after she stopped working and was depressed and isolated.
“I finally found a new purpose,” says Fox, who has been volunteering for about six years. “I want to see those who come after me get the support and education they need,” something she didn't have for a long time. Fox says she feels as if she has a new outlook on life since getting involved, and even her grown son notices the change. Before she started volunteering, she was more passive about her disease. “I thought it was the doctor's job to help me and I didn't have to do anything,” she says. Now she comes to her doctor's appointments prepared, with specifics on how she has fared since the last visit. She asks more questions about her disease and the pros and cons of the various medications. “I am an equal part of the decision-making process,” she says. “I learned I had to do the work myself. Mentally and emotionally,” says Fox, who now eats more healthfully, meditates, and exercises. “Those changes have made all the difference.” Her migraine attacks have gone from sometimes once a day to about 10 a month.
John Bemben
Mentoring Vets
John Bemben, 81, a veteran who lives in San Antonio, has had multiple sclerosis (MS) for 41 years. In 1990, while on a motorized scooter he used because of his MS, he sustained a spinal cord injury when the scooter flipped him on his head, resulting in a broken neck and quadriplegia. He regained limited use of his arms but is unable to walk.
In his early twenties, Bemben served in the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery and later had a career as a CPA. After the spinal cord injury, he did some accounting and financial work for a rehabilitation facility and his church, but that only went so far in filling his time. “I sat at home and watched TV a lot and said, ‘This is difficult. I must do something. There has to be something else.’”
He found what he was looking for at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Medical Center, where he gets his care. He first volunteered at a day center for octogenarians and then became a mentor for other vets with spinal cord injuries, helping them adjust to life after their injury. Having been through it himself, he understands the challenges and setbacks. He's also a good listener and sounding board. “If I can get one person to get out of bed and move around, I have done my job,” Bemben says. “I don't want to be the guy who went through all that. I want to be the guy who helps someone else get through that.”
He has lived the many ups and downs that come with recovering from a life-altering injury. His depression got so bad that he spent time in a psychiatric hospital. Today he lives with his care provider in a one-story house, where he has a workshop for building model wooden ships. The activity keeps his thinking sharp, and he enjoys seeing his creations take shape. One of his models, of the USS Syren, is on display at the spinal cord unit where he volunteers.
Bemben says his mentoring work is both tiring and energizing, and he loves doing something that's “not about me, it's about them. It's a 50-50 deal, but many days I get more than I give,” he says. “I get great satisfaction if someone gets out of bed.”
Carole Bender
Advocating for People with MS
Carole Bender, 78, of Santa Monica, CA, describes herself as an “MS activist,” but it took some time for her to embrace that role. When she was diagnosed with MS almost 20 years ago, she told only a few close friends. Word got around, however, and soon other friends were offering condolences and asking how she was doing.
“It was the experience of being outed. I was feeling as though I had MS written all over me,” Bender says. But deep down she also recognized the folly of being so secretive and knew there was no shame in having a medical condition. As a clinical social worker at UCLA, she had repeatedly witnessed how clients benefited when they were forthcoming and sought out support.
She realized it was time to stop hiding and began telling more friends and colleagues. “My coming-out party at work was leading and developing a training session on MS for physicians. After that, it was so freeing because I didn't have to worry about who knew and who didn't,” Bender says. Her symptoms have remained mild, and she still plays tennis at least once a week.
Bender's advocacy work has included establishing a telephone counseling program for people with mental health concerns, writing to state lawmakers, participating in a focus group, and leading other training programs. As a volunteer, she's discovered that she doesn't have to know everything, but it helps to know how to find additional support or resources.
“In my career as a clinical social worker, I've always helped people solve problems, so I thought this would be something that would be important for me to do in the MS world,” she says. Over the years, she's often consulted with her neurologist about other ways she can contribute. “Anytime she suggests something, I say yes.”
Outside of her MS projects, Bender carves out time for mentoring students online at her alma mater, Columbia University School of Social Work, where she earned a master's degree while on a full-tuition scholarship. “Mentoring is another way of giving back,” Bender says.
Bennie Sullivan-Nazario
Making Gaming Accessible
Bennie Sullivan-Nazario, 45, had traveled the world with the U.S. Air Force, but his service ended on a beach in Hawaii, where he was trying out for the Air Force national volleyball team when he was 22. He was running along the shore when the force of a receding wave caused him to lose his footing and flip hard onto the top of his head. The resulting spinal cord injury left him unable to walk, with minimal use of his arms and hands.
“I was a single parent at the time and was worried about how I would take care of my son,” says Sullivan-Nazario, who grew up in Hawaii and lives in San Antonio. “I was confused and very scared. What was I going to do if I couldn't use my extremities?”
Sullivan-Nazario remembers the first time another person with a spinal cord injury came to his bedside at the VA in San Antonio. The man said, “I've been through this,” and urged Sullivan-Nazario to think of his injury as “another beginning.” He said, “You will have to learn new things. Just keep on going.”
That kind of support during the early days stuck with Sullivan-Nazario, and he wanted to find ways to pay it back. Because he was good with computers, some of the vets he met at the VA started asking him to troubleshoot their computer problems. After a while, “I said, ‘Why don't you bring your computer to the spinal cord unit, and we can sit there and work on it together?’” Soon Sullivan-Nazario was hosting weekly or semiweekly computer repair and tutorial sessions at the unit.
Another opportunity grew out of his passion for video games. Because of the paralysis in his arms and hands, he couldn't work the game controller after his injury, so he set about creating adaptive controllers and rigged one he could operate with both of his arms and his mouth. He took his video gear and started running gaming sessions at the spinal cord unit. They were a hit. “What may seem trivial to nondisabled people—using a game controller—can wipe these guys out after 10 minutes because they're using muscles they weren't used to,” says Sullivan-Nazario.
COVID-19 restrictions and a health problem have kept him away from the spinal cord unit for a long while, and Sullivan-Nazario is eager to get back to gaming with his friends there.
A message he tries to impart through volunteering is “If you want something bad enough, you'd be surprised how you can adapt to be able to get it done.”
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