Volunteering and Its Numerous Benefits for the Elderly Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

After retirement, the lives of many people change rapidly and dramatically. Most people begin to feel useless, lonely, and socially isolated. Many older people strive for opportunities to show their unrealized abilities, and trying to help other people might be a great way to do that. Volunteering may become their incentive to continue self-development and overcome age restrictions. It can be an essential component of their socialization and improvement of the self-esteem for older people, for the strengthening of their physical and mental health and stress-resistance. Volunteering is one of the best ways to combat the loss of social value, as it makes the elderly people feel needed, helps with maintaining social skills and improves their psychological health.

Volunteering is the best way to break the stereotype of older people’s perception as a burden for society. When retirement changes the social environment of a person, there is a break in many social ties. In my opinion, this is a significant problem because the loss of social activity often results in loneliness and depression. According to Brown and Okun, a person does not feel that they belong to a community of citizens who benefit society (171). The elderly themselves often do not know how to use their potential for public and personal benefit. Therefore, for them, participation in volunteering becomes something more than just leisure time spending.

From the perspective of a comprehensive approach to the re-socialization of the elderly, volunteering is an ideal option. Researchers note that it combines the realization of unclaimed knowledge and skills of a person and the desire for a socially active life. It also fulfills their needs for communication, education, restoration of lost social ties, and the acquisition of new ones (Brown and Okun 173). Based on my personal experience of participating in volunteer projects, I can say that volunteers, while doing the necessary work, can at the same time meet their own social needs. For an older adult, communication with clients of a volunteer organization is an opportunity to lead an exciting social life.

Volunteering improves mental health and can have a positive impact on a person. Incredibly, helping others can improve the mood more than if they did something for themselves. The biological mechanisms by which altruism can enhance psychological health have been identified. Performing actions aimed at helping others encourages the body to release dopamine, which provides a good mood. In some cases, volunteering can help reduce the symptoms of depression. According to Brown and Okun, helping others can ease the impact of daily stress (Brown and Okun 170). Volunteers also begin to adapt more quickly to different life situations. It was helpful to learn that selfless help to others increases stress resistance and improves a person’s mental and emotional state.

Volunteering is a way for older citizens not to reduce their social activity after retirement, realize and apply their knowledge, skills, and experience to live for others’ benefit. Even such severe reasons as limited mobility, disability, and old age are not an obstacle to active participation in society’s charitable life. People who start to help others find that it helps them psychologically – it allows them to feel their importance. For some, this type of activity restores their self-confidence. Therefore, for a lonely older person, volunteer work is ideal moral support and an excellent way to make up for the lack of communication.

Work Cited

Brown, Stephanie, and Morris Okun. “The Resilience Handbook: Approaches to Stress and

Trauma.” Using the Caregiver System Model to Explain the Resilience-Related Benefits Older Adults Derive from Volunteering, edited by Martha Kent et al., Arizona State University, 2014, pp. 169 – 182.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, September 28). Volunteering and Its Numerous Benefits for the Elderly. https://ivypanda.com/essays/volunteering-and-its-numerous-benefits-for-the-elderly/

Work Cited

"Volunteering and Its Numerous Benefits for the Elderly." IvyPanda, 28 Sept. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/volunteering-and-its-numerous-benefits-for-the-elderly/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'Volunteering and Its Numerous Benefits for the Elderly'. 28 September.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "Volunteering and Its Numerous Benefits for the Elderly." September 28, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/volunteering-and-its-numerous-benefits-for-the-elderly/.

1. IvyPanda. "Volunteering and Its Numerous Benefits for the Elderly." September 28, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/volunteering-and-its-numerous-benefits-for-the-elderly/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Volunteering and Its Numerous Benefits for the Elderly." September 28, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/volunteering-and-its-numerous-benefits-for-the-elderly/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1