Volunteering to help others with arthritis can help you feel better too.

Living with arthritis may be difficult, as anyone who has the condition knows. However, there are organizations working to make it easier - whether through increasing access to health care or simply providing support that makes people with arthritis feel less isolated. These are great resources to reach out to if and when you need them, but have you ever considered volunteering with organizations like this?

Why volunteer?

Volunteering can help you feel better about yourself at the same time it helps create a better world for others. Volunteering can build a sense of purpose into your day, especially if your ability to work is unsteady or you're reduced to very short hours and a type of job you didn't have before. This isn't to say volunteering will get you out of the house in the middle of your worst flares, but it can certainly help you feel that you are using your time in a way that benefits others. For many arthritis patients, this feeling can do amazing things like improve mood and even make arthritis pain easier to tolerate.

If you choose to volunteer in a capacity where you're helping newly diagnosed arthritis patients come to terms with and understand their disease, you're also serving as an expert. Sharing the experience and knowledge you have gained through trial and error can make you feel like your knowledge is important - and that the challenges you went through to get it were in some way worth it. This could be a great boost to your mood and outlook on your condition - and you may also make some new friends.

How can you help?

Depending on your talents and interests, you can volunteer for arthritis-related organizations in a variety of ways. You might volunteer with one of the national arthritis organizations, but you could also choose to work with one that’s based closer to home. Perhaps your local hospital or other medical facility has support groups for people living with arthritis that could use volunteers to act as peer facilitators. You could also get the word out or even bring a few healthy treats to meetings.

It's best to begin by considering what you're good at and what you really like to do. Some workplace talents, like marketing, business writing and working with figures of political authority, can be very useful to arthritis organizations. Many groups that work to improve the lives of people with arthritis do so through political organizing and advocacy, so your writing, speaking and even Internet networking skills can be useful for the cause you would like to support.

Of course, advocacy isn't the only way you can help give back to the community or to other arthritis patients. If you are interested in doing so, you may wish to become a peer mentor, for example, or to help on a one-time basis with setup and takedown for a conference or fun run and walk. Even using Arthritis Connect’s discussion board and giving encouragement to others is a way to help make someone else's journey with the condition more bearable.

For more on support for arthritis:

Arthritis: Pick Your Support System Carefully
5 Things You Need to Know about Support for Arthritis
Communicating Concern and Support for Loved Ones in Pain