Introduction

Back to: Helpers Care for Themselves

As we stated in the previous course section volunteers working in refugee aid can experience plenty of joy, satisfaction and fulfillment. But due to some typical stresses and strains of their tasks they can also come to the limits of their physical, psychological and mental capacity.We would like to show you how you as a volunteer can keep your balance and how you can cope with the challenges of your volunteer activities. At the end of the day it is essential to respect your own limits and to find strategies to preserve your well-being and your health.

leninscape, pixabay

In the previous section we already mentioned some of the widespread challenges coming along with helping in general and supporting refugees and asylum seekers in particular. You may have to face difficult tasks and quickly changing requirements. And, as you learned before, it is expected from you to demonstrate social skills such as empathy, understanding and patience. On the other hand, your voluntary engagement is not the only task you have in your life. Job, family, personal interests and multiple responsibilities have to be handled.

Therefore voluntary involvement in the field of integration in some cases can also become a source of stress, overload and exhaustion. In order to avoid negative consequences of your activities we would like to encourage you to keep an eye on your personal balance and to give you some hints how to cope with the burdens of your voluntary work.

To handle your activities in a healthy way you first have to know what stress is, how it arises and what consequences it can have. We will give you a short overview in the next lesson.