Guide To Knowing How To Provide Emotional First Aid
There are frequent situations in which people around us are having a bad time and it is difficult for us to know how to react to give them support
In these cases there are moments of uncertainty, in part, because we do not know if the initiatives we are undertaking to help these people are working or if, on the contrary, they represent an additional burden for those who are experiencing a bad time.
Guide to knowing how to provide emotional first aid
Below you can read some fundamental ideas that will help you guide your emotional support initiatives in the best way possible.
1. Ask what they want from you
When faced with a sad person, one of the first questions you should ask is: What can I do for you? It is at that moment when the real emotional support begins, more than in finding out what has happened to him. Prioritize his well-being over your curiosity to find out what could have happened to him.
2. Listen to what is said to you
Providing support is, among other things, knowing how to listen and make it easier for the other person to vent release tensions. That is why you should not take such an active role as to clearly lead the relationship that you and the sad person have. Supporting is just that: be willing to help the other person, pay attention to her needs, and do not overwhelm her with advice or imposed activities. Therefore, the most important thing you can do is practice active listening that is, speaking less than the other person and doing so so that they, if they want, can express themselves.
You don’t have to feel uncomfortable if the time you spend giving the other person company is filled with silences: its normal. By physically accompanying this person you can already be helping them, and words are secondary almost always. Also try to make the other person notice that for you there is no problem in remaining for long periods without saying anything. This way you won’t have to act out of commitment.
4. Crying is not bad
It seems absurd to have to say it, but it is never bad to remember this. Nowadays crying is frowned upon, especially in the case of men, and yet it is a mechanism present in all cultures that serves to release tension, exhaust the body and, in a certain way, relieve oneself. It is also a good time to strengthen ties through hugs since this physical contact can make the person who is sad from that moment on feel more supported and freer to express the thoughts and feelings that afflict them.
You can complement this point by reading the following article: “How to give bad news? 12 emotional keys”
5. Respect their privacy
Provide emotional support to someone It does not mean that we are sealing a pact with that person according to which you offer company in exchange for him revealing to you all the reasons for his sadness. One side of this feeling of affliction can be verbalized, but there is another that inevitably remains private and subjective, or the person prefers not to reveal it. It’s important to respect that.
Someone who is going through a bad time is capable of spending a lot of time ruminating about what is happening to them or focusing on their emotions and, therefore, is capable of forgetting important things from his daily life If you can, try to be there to see if this person is overlooking important things both in his day-to-day planning and in the small gestures and movements that he may make.
7. Respect their desire for solitude
There are many people who they prefer to be alone when they are sad. Therefore, do not insist on being by their side no matter what they say and do what they do. By leaving them space, you can help them recover and, in any case, you can always clarify that they can count on your company at any time if they feel like it at any time.
