Volunteer’s Week 2023: Why I volunteer
This Volunteer’s Week we celebrate those volunteering for Anxiety UK. Read Ian’s story about why he volunteers with us here:
I am asked many times why I volunteer for Anxiety UK. I can understand why this is as it is often pointed out that I have a busy Clinical Hypnotherapy practice, a trainer for two diplomas in hypnotherapy, a supervisor for practicing therapists and a volunteer supervisor for Bereavement Counsellors. I originally volunteered during covid and answered the helpline three mornings a week. This reduced to a weekly session when the demand fell slightly.
The answer to why I volunteer may lie in the fact before qualifying in counselling and hypnotherapy, I spent my career in Facilities Management. I always regarded my role as an ‘aunt sally’ service. I was only needed when there was a problem. My real achievement was to manage everything in a way that was efficient and possibly unnoticed until something went wrong.
Answering the helpline gives an opportunity for the caller to talk with someone who will never judge them and offer initial advice and then signpost where practical help is available. Sometime it can be as simple as explaining what anxiety is and how to manage it. The response when you outline the services that are available and how to access them can get a very satisfying response. Although the service is on a one to one basis, there is always support from Head Office and relevant information always online and available.
I often end a call with Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous quote “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present. That’s why we call it a gift”. Sometimes a caller will end the conversation by thanking me for listening and helping them and really that all the thanks you need.
If you are interested in volunteering with Anxiety UK, there are numerous ways in which you could get involved. One of which is for volunteers to help support people contacting our helpline. You can find out more information here: https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer-with-us/
. Alternatively, we also have a participation group that you could join. This is a group that we contact for certain ways that they can help us out e.g. product reviews and other small tasks. Sign up here: https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-involved/anxiety-uk-participation-group/. Or if you have the right requirements you could become and Anxiety UK Approved Therapist volunteer, you can find out more about that here: https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-involved/become-an-anxiety-uk-approved-therapist/
