We live in a strange time and place. The world and the people in it need as much love as possible. The current situation might not be so challenging for some people, but some could find it difficult. Without or with issues we are facing nowadays, there will always be some of our loved ones that are struggling.
We need to have in mind that those people need our help and support. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what to do to help them. We might feel like we need to make big sacrifices or go out of our own way to make sure that those people are feeling better. In fact, there are so many simple things that we can do and I wanted to emphasize these 4.
4 SIMPLE WAYS TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING
#1 LISTEN
While we all like to be those who share our stories and talk, listening is a virtue not a lot of people have. Being an active listener is what will help you understand and help others but also yourself. Those who are struggling probably have a difficult time opening up and actually putting in words their worries. When they finally decide to open up to you and talk, all you need to do is carefully listening. Most people feel like they need to give an immediate response or ask questions while the other person is talking.
Those are all good things but only after the person is done saying what they had on their mind. Don't interrupt or say that you know how they feel. In fact, you don't know and will never know how they feel because you are not them. All you can do is empathize. Sometimes we also tend to try to think about what the right response should be and then we just stop paying attention to what the person is saying. When that happens, be sure to quickly get back to actively listening.
#2 PROVIDE COMFORT
Listening works only if the person is willing to talk. Some people have a hard time opening up even to close ones. Sometimes words aren't even necessary. Based on our social skills and spending a long time with people, most of us can tell when someone is acting differently than usual. It is shown in the way they talk, walk, and any other simple gesture. If the person who is struggling is your bed friend or close family member then you probably know what makes them happy and the way you can cheer them up without being too pushy.
They might feel better if you only spend quality time together. The majority of the time when we hear about "quality time" we think about doing some fun and educational activity. We forget that quality time can also be just being in the same space doing nothing but actually being there for each other. Providing comfort can be done in many different ways. You surely know the best way you can do for a loved one that is struggling. Just be attentive and let them show you from their gestures what they need the most right now.
#3 CHECK-IN ON THEM
If we take the current situation then there are a lot of things that could make people feel negative emotions. Some may know someone affected with coronavirus, others make have a hard time being in self-isolation and social distancing. These are all the situations that no one thought would need to face. With the restrictions, we can't physically see some of the important people in our lives. Thankfully with social media, we can easily get in touch with them and we should. There are a lot of different apps that are making that possible.
There are a lot of people struggling with mental health on daily basis even without everything that is going on in the world these couple of months. Checking in on them is very important. Just a simple text message or a call could mean the world to them. It shows that you think about them and that you care. Talking with them will take their mind off the negativity at least for some time. If you have more time then facetime them. This is the closest way of speaking in person. Face to face to communication is what we all as human beings need.
#4 BE AVAILABLE
Make sure that they know that you are there for them and that they can contact you whenever they want. Normally, sometimes you might not feel like comforting anybody as you are the one who needs comfort. But when someone who is struggling decided to reach out to you that means that you are a very important person in their life. You don't need to go out of your way. Just be kind to them. Hear them out and then they will probably ask you about how you are doing when you can share your thoughts and worries. We are there to help each other. No one should take advantage of someone else's kindness.
Most of the time when we feel when we are being used as someone's therapist and not as a friend we tend to get cold to that person. The key to being available is that once you turn the person you care bout down, you might lose their trust. Those who struggle probably won't even reach out until they are completely ready and feel safe talking with you. That is something we shouldn't take for granted. Something I personally like to is to try and imagine how would I feel if I felt like I was a burden to those who I cherish. That's why just a simple act of kindness is enough to make other people at least a little bit happier.
I know that we could be the ones who are struggling as well. All of these ways to help someone else can be applied to ourselves. You need to listen to your body and mind. Reflect on yourself and your emotions. Find things that make you happy and comfort you. Call someone who you love and trust and have a deep talk. If you don't like to open up then try writing your thoughts down.
Do you know someone who is struggling right now?
Are you an active listener?
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