Finding Safety in Service: How Helping Others Regulates Our Own Minds

In keeping with SAMHIN’s mission of greater dialogue on mental health in South Asians and to highlight the important work of others in this area, we invited Ananya Dhoundiyal, LMSW, a psychotherapist and animal lover to share her thoughts about how helping others helps us.

We often talk about volunteering as giving, but it’s just as much about receiving. As a therapist, I see it as a powerful tool for nervous system regulation. Whether we’re supporting a community cause or caring for a rescue animal, these acts ground us and help us stay in the present.

There is research evidence to show that volunteering has mental health benefits. Through the lens of Polyvagal Theory, it is known that our nervous systems are always scanning for safety. When it gets overwhelmed, we slip into fight, flight, or shutdown state. But in the “ventral vagal state” or the non-overwhelmed state in which our nervous system feels safe and calm, our social engagement system comes alive. Helping humans and animals naturally guide us into this state of safety.

I experienced this shift with two service-dog puppies I fostered for two years through the NGO Heeling House. They were my tiny teachers in presence, reminding me that connection doesn’t need words. The weight of a dog leaning against us or steady eye contact pulls us out of mental spirals. These physical cues tell our body it’s safe to let our guard down. Fostering through Operation Paws for Homes (OPH), an organization that works with rescue animals, was a different learning experience as these dogs have traumatic histories. Helping traumatized dogs learn to trust requires patience and mirroring their calm. We have to learn to regulate our own emotions to become their safe place. As they feel secure, we are filled with love and safety too.

Volunteering with community organizations like SAMHIN also offers mental health benefits. Being part of a team driven by genuine care for fellow human beings creates a container of safety. When we focus on helping others, our own anxieties quiet down. Compassion anchors us in the present. It pulls us out of the future by interrupting the “what-if” thoughts and the past’s “should-haves.”

Whether it’s a puppy’s wet nose or a meaningful conversation with a colleague, these moments of service interrupt our internal noise. They demand our full attention and presence. In a world that often feels disengaged, volunteering helps us reconnect not just with the world, but with the calm, regulated versions of ourselves.

If you’ve felt the pull to get involved, follow your heart. You don’t need perfect skills. You just need to show up. You might go in hoping to change a life, but you’ll likely find that the person or animal you’re helping is the very one helping you!

By Ananya Dhoundiyal, LMSW, psychotherapist in private practice in Virginia, dedicated SAMHIN volunteer, and volunteer with animal rescue organizations.