Volunteering And Social Anxiety

For as long as I can remember, conversations have left me drained and anxious, and the limitations in my ability to communicate comfortably used to inhibit my day to day life. In my mind, talking to strangers, and even those closest to me, felt like an enormous obstacle that I would never get past. Every conversation led me to believe that the people I was speaking with were judging me. The situation became even worse when I started to believe that anyone who glanced in my direction thought of me negatively, and my suspicion that if I glanced at someone, they were most certainly going to stare at me, did not help matters any. To rid myself of this outrageous anxiety, I chose to volunteer. While choosing an organization to offer my services, …show more content…
My anxiety caused my self-esteem to decline rapidly, and by the time I felt ready to make a change, I had convinced myself that I, not my mental state, was the problem. This mentality caused a conflict inside of me where on one hand I wanted to get better, but on the other hand, there were days where I believed that I could never improve myself. Researcher Mardie Townsend confirms the claim that volunteering raises confidence when she describes a study done on children where the interactions during their time volunteering widened their social circles and built up their confidence (Townsend 231). The interaction with the people coming into the soup kitchen restored my self-confidence and continued to build it up until my time at Feeding America came to an end. Everyone who came through spoke with each volunteer kindly and respectfully; I was treated like a friend. Also, they were extremely appreciative, and every thank you that I received elicited a sense of accomplishment that made me view myself in a more positive manner. Every day, I seemed to start more conversations on my own and began to look forward to speaking with the new faces in the cafeteria. Volunteering at Feeding America provided me with the boost in my confidence that I needed to feel the desire to talk to people again, and, as …show more content…
Every day, a mother and her young son visited the soup kitchen; each volunteer could recognize her by name and took pleasure in speaking with her. Her son, however, often lingered behind his mother’s legs and stayed out of the conversations, much like my past self. One day when they came in, I made an effort to speak with him. After a while, he opened himself up to me; he talked excitedly and passionately told me of his interests. This transformation of shy to overjoyed was an immense reminder of the journey I had been on, and when I recall that experience I can still feel the joyful pleasure that I felt afterwards. Seeing another person going through the same thing that I went through, reminded me of what I had overcome and encouraged me to continue helping, not only myself, but others as well. Volunteering at a Feeding America soup kitchen was the most beneficial decision I had ever made.
Over time, my communication skills have vastly improved, but I would not have been able to do it without volunteering. Volunteering entirely changed my outlook on life and myself. I went from shying away in the corner to throwing myself into conversations any chance I get. Every now and then, my mind tries to revert to fearing stranger’s words and glances but fails because when I feel this way, I recall all the lessons and encouragement I received from Feeding America. My memories of that time volunteering