You may have friends that talk to no end about how much they do not like themselves. You want to help, but you do not know if it is your place to do so. By being sympathetic with your friends and making them feel loved, you can be saving someone’s mental health.
Address it Directly
It is okay to be concerned about people you care about. We may be afraid of being too deep or personal with our friends, but this behavior shows we are thinking of our friends. Let your friend know that you’ve noticed them talking sadly about themselves and are wondering if anything happened to trigger that. Ask if there is anything they need to talk about. If you feel like someone’s negative self-talk is impacting your own mental health, set boundaries with your friend. Let them know how this self-talk affects you.
Gently Challenge Them
Each time you see your friend, you can gently challenge your friends to see through their negative self-talk. Have your friend say some words of gratitude about themselves every day. You can also encourage your friend to be social with others, like making small talk with strangers while standing in line. If your friends are not in the right headspace to be social or go out, respect that. This may need to be done in baby steps.
Check the Facts
It is essential to challenge your friends by helping them snap back into reality. You can do this by being the outside voice to set them straight. For example, your friend could be on their way to a job interview, and they tell you that they won’t get it because they’re not good enough. Let them know that they are good enough and list their strengths to boost their confidence. Remind them that just because they failed at other jobs in the past does not make them a failure. While we are taking care of our friend’s mental health, we need to keep our own mental health in check as well. Make sure that we think positively of ourselves to inspire others.
At Alta Loma Transformational Living, you will meet knowledgeable, compassionate professionals that understand addiction in all its forms. Alta Loma uses an integrative and holistic approach to treat addiction and mental health issues. No treatment is one-size-fits-all, where you will have a team of experts prepared to create your customized treatment plan. We offer care for your mind, body, and spirit, so that you can heal from the inside out and look forward to a lifetime of sobriety and wellness. If you are ready to take the first step in your recovery, please call us at 866-457-3843.