Self-service vs. community service
Many of us volunteer to support local charities, organize school sporting activities, or simply help our neighbors. IB Diploma students, for example, are required to complete service activities, and most of us recognize the importance of giving back to our communities. Less often, however, do we reflect on how volunteering benefits us personally. The Financial Times article shared in this blog explores that perspective, highlighting how volunteer work can improve mental health and is particularly effective in reducing loneliness and rumination.
Our wellness culture
The original article for this month comes from the FT online, 28 December 2025, ‘Wellness’ culture is empty without service to others.
Volunteer work appears to be declining in the UK, yet author Jemima Kelly offers an interesting perspective on the connection between self-care and caring for others. She argues that our lives can feel incomplete without service to the community.
In my DP Psychology class article, I connect this idea to the topics of mental health in the Health and Well-being unit and interpersonal relationships in the Human Relationships unit. The Financial Times article, along with the guiding questions provided, offers students real-world examples that do not rely solely on research studies. Students should follow the links to the original article and to the class page, then respond to the accompanying questions. Suggested answers are provided below.
Questions
- The author contrasts “self-service” with “service to others.” Give some examples from the article of how we focus on ourselves rather than others.
Examples from the article include:
- Using automated checkouts so that we do not interact with another person while paying for our shopping.
- Visiting social media platforms instead of speaking with a friend in person.
- Turning to an AI chatbot for relationship advice rather than discussing concerns with someone we know.
2. According to the author, what are the consequences of living in a “self-service world” that emphasizes individual self-sufficiency?
Suggestions include:
- An increase in loneliness
- A rise in anxiety disorders
- A tendency to interpret everyday personal difficulties as “mental health problems”
3. The author asks, “How can we be trying so hard to improve ourselves while still finding it difficult to cope?” According to her, what is the explanation for this?
She suggests that our strong focus on personal physical and mental health, along with an increasing reliance on self-help approaches, has encouraged an inward-looking mindset. As a result, we may come to believe that every minor difficulty requires therapy, mindfulness, or some form of structured self-improvement.
4. A linked article proposes a “prevalence inflation hypothesis” to explain the apparent rise in mental health problems. What does this hypothesis suggest, and how convincing do you find this argument? Explain your evaluation.
Mental health awareness initiatives may lead some individuals to interpret and report milder forms of distress as mental health problems. This labeling can, in turn, contribute to a genuine increase in symptoms. For example, interpreting normal, low levels of anxiety as evidence of an anxiety disorder may intensify worry, which then worsens anxiety. In this way, increased awareness and rising symptoms may reinforce one another, creating a self-fulfilling cycle that contributes to higher reported prevalence rates of anxiety disorders.
This argument has some validity. Many Western countries have invested considerable effort in raising public awareness of mental health issues with the aim of reducing or preventing symptoms across the population. However, despite these initiatives, reported rates of mental health problems have increased over the same period.
A limitation of this argument is that greater awareness may also lead to improved recognition and diagnosis, which naturally increases recorded prevalence without necessarily reflecting a true rise in underlying disorders. In addition, environmental and social factors—such as unemployment, poverty, and substance misuse—are also associated with higher rates of depression and anxiety, suggesting that multiple explanations likely contribute to the observed increase.
5. Change in behaviour is a key concept in IB Diploma psychology and in psychology in general. The author advocates a change from a self-service mindset to greater service to others. Do you agree that this change would help address the problems she identifies? Provide an example to support your answer.
Students will most likely agree with the author, although they may wish to discuss potential challenges. For example, studying for the IB Diploma is demanding, and some students may feel that giving time to help others could increase stress due to time pressures.
The article includes an example from the author’s own experience volunteering for a charity that supports individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts. She reports that, rather than being depressing, this work helps her step away from self-focused concerns and concentrate on what truly matters.
Students may also wish to draw on their own personal experiences to support their responses. In addition, the Community Life Survey linked in the article found that 25% of volunteers reported volunteering in order to get out of the house and meet people, supporting the idea that volunteering can help reduce loneliness.
6. The IB Diploma curriculum includes mandatory service through the Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) component, which requires students to reflect on their experiences. Many other educational programmes also require students to participate in some form of community service. Using the psychological evidence discussed in this article, write a short paragraph explaining how participation in community service can benefit students.
Students may include the following points in their answers:
- It can reduce feelings of loneliness.
- It helps individuals feel useful, as they are contributing meaningfully to others.
- It is typically non-academic, providing opportunities to develop strengths outside the classroom.
- It encourages participation in activities that students might not otherwise try.
- It shifts focus away from self-centered activities, such as spending excessive time on social media.
References
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (4 December, 2024). Official Statistics. Community Life Survey 2023/2024: volunteering and charitable giving. Accessed 10 February, 2026 at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-life-survey-202324-annual-publication
Foulkes, L., & Andrews, J. L. (2023). Are mental health awareness efforts contributing to the rise in reported mental health problems? A call to test the prevalence inflation hypothesis. New Ideas in Psychology, 69, 1–6. Accessed 07 February 2026 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2023.101010
Kelly, Jemima (28 December, 2025). Wellness culture is empty without service to others. Volunteering has declined along with religion – it needs a revival, Financial Times online, Accessed 07 February, 2026 at https://www.ft.com/content/2e430db3-a6e6-46a9-a390-bd3cb6ceb3b6