Skip to main content

October- Volunteering with Crisis Textline

This month I opted to continue my work with the Crisis Textline and completed another four hours of volunteer work with this organization. As a reminder from my post from September, the Crisis Textline is an organization that works to provide aid to those that feel like they are in crisis.  This organization defines a crisis as anything that our texter feels is a crisis, this allows us to work with people going through a wide range of difficulties in life.  This month I worked with people who were going through a topic that I had yet to work with anyone on yet. The impacts of living in a pandemic. Although people across the world have felt the impacts of COVID-19 it was a different experience to try and help someone cope with a situation where isolation is a key part of remaining healthy. I was able to relate to this texter on a different level then I have with many other texters, sure I have related to those who also experience anxiety and depression, but there were always factors key to their situation which allowed me to easily maintain a sense of separation from their issue. However, this particular texter this month was experiencing similar things that I am right now, isolation in the workplace or school in my situation, isolation from family partly due to distance, and increased feelings of stress and anxiety as a result of all of these factors. During this conversation, all I really wanted to do was talk to this texter like I would someone I know personally, however, that would be inappropriate given the setting that I was working with this texter in. My volunteer experience this month served as a reminder that I should always be able to separate my personal feelings from my work so that I can effectively aid the people who are reaching out for help. If I had spoken to this texter as I would a friend then I would have been doing that texter a great disservice and would have been in a way serving myself because there is a sense of relief that can come from talking to another person about your troubles. If I took anything away from my experiences volunteering this month it was that I need to always keep the texter's interest in mind and separate my own personal feelings from the situation at hand so that I can efectively do my job. I am excited to see what my experiences with this organization will be when I continue my work with them in November.

Hours Volunteered = 4




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

March Blog Post

 Total Volunteer Hours for the Semester = 6.5 hours Completed this month= 0 hours  Over the past month, I have neglected my normal monthly volunteer opportunities in order to place a more dedicated focus on my studies since the NBME is quickly approaching. I have found that group studying has been a rather effective method of reviewing the vast amount of topics that we have covered over the last two semesters in Medical Pharmacology. Below is a picture of me and one of the people in my study group as we prep for the NBME.  I wish that I had been able to dedicate more time to studying for the NBME, but due to a list of mental health issues, I found it extremely difficult to effectively study for it. It is interesting though while we were learning about the drugs for antidepressants I was actually experiencing many of the different side effects of escitalopram as I am apparently extremely sensitive to that particular drug and gained a deeper understanding of how it feels to...
Post a Comment
Read more

April Blogpost

 Total Hours for Semester: 12 Total Hours for April: 5.5hrs After much of the stress surrounding the NBME concluded the first of April I decided to continue my work with the Crisis Textline. This month I a majority of my time was spent talking to texters was spent around coping with depression and anxiety around reentering society as many municipalities significantly lower their COVID-19 restrictions nationwide.  I feel like overall I ended my semester on a nice note, I scored one of my highest grades so far on my last Cellular Control Exam and although I second guessed myself and should have gotten a few more points by sticking to my instincts I am still pleased with my performance. It is in this moment that I can truly look back and see how I have grown over the course of this program.  Not only have I successfully completed this program while experiencing the many stressors that comes with school during a pandemic, I also struggled with increasing anxiety and depressio...
Post a Comment
Read more

September - Volunteering with the Crisis Textline

        Since beginning the Pharmacology program I have not had the ability to continue volunteering with the Crisis Textline due to the time constraints that come with being in a part of such a fast-paced program. Although the pandemic has prevented us from being able to partake in the volunteer component of this program in the traditional way where we are directly impacting the New Orleans community, it has given me the opportunity to pursue one of my favorite volunteer activities again.  The Crisis Textline is an organization a free service for those who feel like they are in a state of crisis.  This state of crisis is whatever the texter defines it as.  Common states of crisis that people are text about involve bullying, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, depression, and anxiety.  As a volunteer, I work with these texters to help create a safety plan and plan on how to cope with their current situations in life.  If applicable I am also a...
Post a Comment
Read more