Our Guide To: Asking for help
We had an awesome chat with our very own @Janine-RO about chatting to parents about your mental health. It was a practical convo and you can go through it here if you wanna hear from a parent. We are also chatting here about when the help isn't really helping.
It can be hard to actually find the words to ask for help + work out who the best person to tell is. So here is practical tips on how to make the first step!
- Work out who to tell first. Think about the people in your life, whether it’s a mate, family member or friend of the family. Even a cool teacher/coach that you get on with!
- What do you want to say? You don’t have to say EVERYTHING if you don’t want to. It’s your story and it’s okay to pick and choose what you feel comfy to talk about.
- How do you say it? I think this one is tricky for lots of people. Coming up with the words to match what your feeling can be super weird, especially if you don’t know exactly what you are feeling.
- What if you still can't find the words? Sometimes just spending time with your fave people is enough to lift your mood, you might speak about it in bits and pieces - or not at all. It's okay if having company is your first step to opening up about.
I’m going to put a few one liners to help people open up a conversation - these are in my words but please feel free to add to the thread with how to open up the conversation in the comments. We can all learn from each other 🙂
“Hey mate let me know when you have some time to chat. I’m feeling really shit today and just need to vent.’’
‘’ *insert a meme about struggling with life/mental health etc* This is me today lol. Can we catch up soon?’’
‘’ Can we catch up soon, just you and me?’’
Comments
I've learnt to never be afraid to ask for help and ask if others if they need help. People that you can trust will appreciate when you're being open and honest with them. It is easy to become wrapped up in our own personal issues and busy life schedules that we forget to check on others when they seem fine and we forget to seek help for ourselves.
A simple but effective way to provide support to those asking for help is talking about self-care! Suggesting ideas and having a discussion on self-care tips can have a long-term positive impact on people!
I think it is also important to remember that if you don't feel like you are equipped enough to provide support to someone who is asking for help, thank them for trusting you and don't shut them off completely. Refer them on to someone who can help because a big obstacle to seeking help is being rejected, ignored and feeling judged. It can be professional help or a friend/ family member with more experience that may be able to help and if the person gives you permission to seek help from another person.
It is all about getting the conversation started and making sure no one gets left behind!
