HOW TO TALK TO YOUR BESTIES ABOUT THEIR MENTAL HEALTH

May 15, 2018

The month of May has been declared as the Mental Health Awareness Month (also referred to as “Mental Health Month”).

Mental Health Awareness Month strives to reduce the stigma (negative attitudes and misconceptions) that surrounds mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia & bipolar disorder.

Mental health issues are common and treatable; however, you may have to try a few different things to find the right type of treatment or combination of strategies that work best.

We all have that friend that we refer to as ‘strong’, the one we claim nothing gets to but what you might not know is that your ‘strong friend’ is dealing with something bigger than him or herself.

You friend could be going through something situational, which can improve with time to process feelings (for example, grief after the death of a loved one or a tough break-up) or adjustments to a new environment, or your friend could have a more long-term mental health issue.

Mental health is more important than any test, lunch, interview, meeting, date, family gathering or religious program. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, you should take a step back and relax for your own sanity.

Having a mental disorder is not easy and it becomes harder when you assume that your friend can just ‘get over it’.

Here a few steps culled from the Mental Health America organization on how to communicate effectively with your bestie suffering from mental health disorder.

Listen. Let them finish their sentences and complete thoughts without interrupting. After they have finished you can respond.
Let them know if you understand. If someone has just spilled their guts and you’ve gone through something similar—tell them. It helps a lot for someone to know they aren’t alone. Make sure you don’t switch the topic of conversation to your struggles though; focus on their needs.
Avoid being judgmental. Don’t tell them they are being weird or crazy; it’s not helpful at all.
Take them seriously. Try not to respond with statements that minimize how they are feeling or what they are going through, such as, “You’re just having a bad week,” or “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Make yourself available to talk again if needed. While it can be a big relief for someone to share something they have been keeping secret, mental health struggles usually aren’t solved with one conversation. Let the person who has spoken with you know that they can reach out to you again if they are having a tough time.
Don’t turn what you’ve been told into gossip. If someone is talking to you about their mental health, it was probably tough for them to work up the nerve to say something in the first place and you shouldn’t share what they tell you with other friends or colleagues. Let them share on their own terms.
If you don’t understand, do some research and learn about what you’ve been told. Make sure that your information is coming from reliable sources like government agencies and health organizations.
Tell a family member if you have to. It’s important to have friends that trust you, but if a friend indicates they have thoughts or plans of hurting themselves or another person, have been hearing voices or seeing things that no one else can hear or see, or have any other signs and symptoms that shouldn’t be ignored then you need to tell a family member what is going on. That doesn’t make you a bad friend; it just means that the problem requires more help than you can give.

So to anyone dealing with mental health issues, do not give up, try not to bottle it up,do not doubt yourself and most importantly do not forget that broken crayons still color! You are important and loved.