A big hello to anyone who felt the title of this article might be worth a read! It's been a while since I blogged, but this topic is something that is important to me and I wanted to share a few things that may inspire you to be a better advocate, supporter, or listener for somebody experiencing poor mental health.
1 in 4 people in the UK experience a mental health problem ever year with anxiety and depression being the most commonly diagnosed (Mind, 2017). The chances of you currently experiencing, or being close to someone with poor mental health, are extremely high. It comes as a no brainer (to me anyway) that there should be more information available on how to support someone experiencing symptoms of these illnesses. Particularly when funding is so scare for adequate professional support.
Mental illness can be socially isolating, difficult to manage, and present further challenges in coping with every day life to those who experience it.
I always see people sharing and writing posts letting their friends and followers know that if they are ever in need of a helping hand, that they are there for them. And I think it's absolutely amazing.
But how do you support someone with a mental health problem if you haven't experienced it yourself, you don't have professional training, or you wouldn't know how? Listening to somebody can make all the difference.
Give them a safe space
Allow the person time and emotional space to vent, and articulate how they are feeling. It can be difficult to verbalise these feelings in the English language and this can be really frustrating for the person.
Don't talk over them
This sort of goes hand in hand with the above, allowing space. It comes so naturally to want to give advice to someone, especially if you see that they are struggling to cope. But sometimes, this can come across that you aren't taking in what they are saying. Listen to understand, don't listen to respond.
Understand that this might be a first
This could be the first and/or only time they will tell somebody how they have been feeling. Recognise the courage they are showing by opening up. Understand that they are placing a lot of trust in you by sharing their emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Appreciate the conversation. They are trying their best, and have taken a big step in telling you what's been going on.
Don't make assumptions
With the above points in mind, don't try and tell the person how they might be feeling, dismiss them by saying that they may be overreacting, or tell them why you think they might be feeling this way. If it is someone close to you, you may think it seems obvious that certain stressors have lead them to experience this. However the person may not be aware of the cause, or thinking about the triggers might make them feel worse.
Believe them
Fundamentally, believe fully that what they are experiencing is real and scary to them. It can be isolating and frightening to experience dark thoughts, and poor communication can only make this worse.
You might be thinking "If I can't offer advice, how can I help?"..
But in truth, just being present with the person can support them.
