One of the biggest struggles for those who are are dealing with anxiety or depression is whether or not they will be able to open up to you about their needs or even their feelings. A lot of this depends on how you act and react. We all know too well how frustrating it can be when someone in our life is experiencing acute or chronic depression or debilitating anxiety. No one likes seeing their loved ones suffering and more often than not, you really do want to help, but perhaps you just don’t know how. These five tips should help assure you and your loved one that you really do care so they will open up more to you and hopefully others as well in order to heal.
Tip number one: Don’t allow your negative emotions to take over. Yes, you might feel anger, pity, sadness or even hopelessness when trying to help but it’s best not to show these emotions when you are with your friend or loved one. For instance, don’t sigh or roll your eyes when your loved one responds in a way you don’t like them to. Keep in mind, if they could act healthier they probably would and if you show a negative reaction to your loved one, they are much more likely to close down completely.
On to tip two: Find ways to show them that you still care. This one may seem obvious but often anxiety and depression make a person feel broken or that they are always letting you down. Your loved ones should be reminded that you care greatly about them. Small gestures can go a long way to helping them conquer the things they face. Something as simple as a long hug may be enough. Without this reinsurance, they may feel even more helpless, and hopeless.
Tip three: And this one is an important one. Don’t tell them that “it could always be worse.” Yes, in the grand scheme of things, this could very well be true, but it certainly wouldn’t be helpful. In fact, this is extremely unhelpful for anyone going through a hard time, let alone someone with mental health struggles. Firstly, all that matters to your loved one right now is that they feel so incredibly bad so bringing up others doesn’t really factor into making them feel better. Secondly, this reminder may cause guilt within your loved one. They may feel guilty for talking about their anxiety or depression or even worse feel guilty for being this way at all. This means that your loved one is less likely to open up about to you or to anyone else in the future.
Tip 4: Don’t try to relate how they feel to your own experiences. It can be tempting to try and relate how they feel to things you’ve been through. But telling someone who has bipolar that you understand because you have mood swings sometimes or your friend with anxiety that you understand because you get anxious before exams usually aren’t helpful. Mental illnesses such as clinical depression or anxiety are more extreme than other behavior or feelings and it can often feel invalidating to the person to hear these things. Also, doing this tends to focus the conversation back on you when it is the other person who needs support, so it’s best to listen rather than try to offer up your own stories.
And finally, tip 5: Do try and research their diagnosis and their symptoms. You can research symptoms, helpful tips, and read others experiences. This all means that you can support your loved one in the best way possible. Something good to research is particular warning signs and how best to deal with them. Knowing for example, that someone’s first sign of depression or anxiety can be them feeling hot or cold, or shaky is good for spotting when a possible anxiety attack is about to rear its head.
That’s it for our 5 tips. Of course, there are many many more. But we hope that you now feel better equipped to help support someone with anxiety or depression. Remember it’s always good for someone with mental illness to seek professional help as needed.
Source: www.patreon.com/psych2gomagazine
To Your Best Health!
Holistic Health Warrior
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