We Need to Talk

 Today I am going to try being serious. 

I want to address something that might be on the mind of a lot of people. 

Okay. Let's see how this goes. 

First off, I want to say, off the back of my last blog post, I am trying to be more accepting of people being publicly positive. If it motivates you then all power to you. Different strokes and all that. 

However... 

I want to be clear straight off here. I don’t have any right answers and I’m not experienced in how best to support others with mental health issues. I just have opinions, based on my own issues 

 

Motivation at its best

So here we go  

Being a positive influence, encouraging and supporting friends can sometimes stray into pushing too hard. Putting too much pressure on someone and turning them off or worse, turning them inside themselves so that they shut off or shut people out. For me, you need to be careful. What may start out with good intentions can easily become shaming. I don't entirely know how to word this without accusing well meaning strangers of being an arsehole. I think it is something that needs to be considered when supporting someone with mental health issues. It's not about kid gloves, or tiptoeing around situations. But equally it can't be about pushing, cajoling and affirmative action. 

I don't know what I am even talking about. 

What I think I am saying is don't push. Be a support to any friends or family that struggle but try to go at their pace. Does that make sense? 

Sometimes all I want to do is offload feelings and vent. That doesn't have to warrant a plan to fix it. Listen to what they are saying and consider if that is all you need to do. Fixing it doesn't need to be your responsibility or burden. Just be there.