Benefits of becoming a volunteer mentor

Q. I am thinking about applying to become a volunteer mentor. What are the benefits of serving as someone's mentor?

A: Thank you for your excellent question. As you may already realize, mentoring is about building a relationship between mentor and mentee that enhances the self-worth of both and promotes the sharing of ideas, support and successes. Mentors are trusted sources or guides who can help their mentees learn how to deal more effectively with the process of eating disorder recovery - and at the same time, experience themselves growing stronger in recovery through helping someone else overcome a similar challenge. And while your experience of mentoring will be as unique as you are, there are some common benefits that many of our volunteer mentors enjoy:

1) You get to learn more about yourself Oftentimes, it has been my experience that helping others deal with a challenging situation can open up a whole world of self-discovery about who you are as a person and especially how strong you really are. Helping others can be a challenging thing as you have to face the issues right along with them. You grow strong because of it.

2) You feel good for helping other people It's been talked about in many different teachings, religious or otherwise, about the true happiness that occurs by helping someone else. There is an immense pleasure that can come with getting outside yourself and your own problems to help someone solve theirs.

3) You gain valuable experience and skillsthat can help you in other areas of your life Mentoring will teach you many life skills not least: effective listening, empathy, respect and especially self-confidence. The ability to work with others proactively to address their issues can be a very empowering feeling that will benefits in other areas of your life including work and social life.