When a person talks openly their mental health, they are already <a href="https://www.prettymummasays.com/motherhood-self-doubt-when-you-dont-think-good-enough/">filled with self-doubt and self-judgement</a>. In such a scenario, the least you can do is listen with an open mind and an open heart.

1. Listen with empathy

Create a sense of reassurance, care and trust. Listen more, ask questions and avoid making any statements or shallow comments.

2. Create a connection

Instead of making assumptions, try asking direct questions like "how can I support you?" or "what would be most helpful for you right now?" This will give direction to the conversation and make the person feel heard and cared for.

3. Ask how you can help

Mental health needs to be normalised and if the person feels heard and seen, they will never hesitate in coming to you with their problems.

4. Validate their feelings

A person has chosen and trusted you for sharing a piece of their lives with you, but it’s not who they are and it's not their identity. They have a few extra struggles that they’re finally being open about but they are the same person you knew before.

5. Treat them normally

The most effective way of to support someone who opens up about their mental health is by normalising the conversations without stigma.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

How to Support Someone Who Opens Up About Their Mental Health

<ul><li>Creating a lifestyle that supports wellness (physical and mental) requires knowledge about your best options, what can work best for you, what can be the best approach, etc.</li><li>When you learn more and know the facts, it’s a lot easier to design a self-care plan and find the help or resources you need.</li></ul>

Educate yourself

Keeping a daily journal, doing yoga, or simply changing a mundane chore into a fast meditation are all examples of wellness practises.

Include small wellness practices in daily life

Stigmas can stand in the way of your ability to value and care for yourself.They can leave you with feelings of shame, sadness, self-doubt and other self-sabotaging emotions.The world is filled with stigmas around mental health, and choosing to reject them is an important component of self-advocacy.

Live a life free from fear of stigmas

The first step towards becoming an advocate for your mental health you have to believe in yourself. Be patient and kind to yourself.

How to Become an Advocate for Your Mental Health

As parents, it's our first and foremost duty to make our children capable and self-sufficient. Our children are always watching us and constantly learning by observing us.Our perceptions, beliefs, responses and reactions decide how they grow in their formative years and eventually, what kind of people they turn out to be in their adulthood. Their observations become the learnings that they carry in their adulthood.

Confident parents raise confident kids

Display confidence even if you're not in that mindset! Seeing you approach new tasks and projects with enthusiasm and plenty of planning offers an excellent example for children.

Model confidence

Be mindful when you react and respond to your or someone else's mistakes. Toward yourself and others, try to be less judgemental and more empathetic when you are trying to analyse the situations. Encourage your children to understand that everyone makes mistakes and the essential thing is to learn from them rather than dwell on them.

Don’t let the mistakes upset you

By recognising and appreciating yours' and others' efforts you'll make your kids understand that it's nice to appreciate and praise people for their achievements. They will also learn that it's equally important to let others know that you recognise their efforts regardless of the results.

Recognise and celebrate your efforts

Teach your children setting goals, big or small, and help them achieve those goals.<ol><li>Encourage your child to write a list of things she wants to accomplish to help her turn her wishes and dreams into concrete objectives.</li><li>Practise breaking down longer-term goals into manageable milestones.</li></ol>

Goal setting and accomplishing

It’s natural to want to protect your child from failure, but kids learn from trial and error - and so do we. How you react to your failures plays a very important role. Show your kids that you are dusting yourself and getting back up each time. They will learn not to give up, to keep trying and giving their best shot each time.

Learning from failures

Show your love and support not only for your kids but also for other family members as well. Make them feel secure and loved. Your children will know that you will always love them and have their back, no matter what.

Show your support and love

Confident parents raise confident kids. As a parent, you have to overcome your doubts, fears, hesitations and anxieties and become more self-confident to raise a confident kid.

How to Support Someone Who Opens Up About Their Mental Health

How to Become an Advocate for Your Mental Health

Lead by Example - Confident Parents Raise Confident Kids

Surbhi Mahobia