Actively listen and create time to sit with someone. Don’t check your phone, don’t rush away. Carve out time to be with someone and let them share. Prompts such as “tell me more”, or “that must be really challenging”, or “of course you feel that way”, can help people feel safe, cared about, and validated for their experience.
2. GIVE HUGS.
We can recoil away when we are in the dark. Feeling isolated and like a burden. When someone pulls you in close (with consent: “Can I give you a hugh?”), it can remind us that we are not alone and that someone cares about us, and that our darkness is not something to be feared, but something to be nurtured.
3. GIVE THEM A HANDWRITTEN NOTE OR CARD.
In the digital age we have lost the art of small notes left on a napkins, scribbled words of appreciation on receipts of hand written thank you letters. There is something about the tactile experience of writing that communicates a unique type of care. Having notes of encouragement in your space, on the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, in your car can also interrupt negative patterning and remind you the YOU ARE LOVED.
4. HAVE A CHUCKLE.
Blessed be the memes that send us rolling on the ground laughing! Next time you find something that makes you laugh, send it off to a couple of friends. Tell a joke, have fun, play. Life can feel heavy sometimes, but that doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice our joy.
Answers & Comments
Actively listen and create time to sit with someone. Don’t check your phone, don’t rush away. Carve out time to be with someone and let them share. Prompts such as “tell me more”, or “that must be really challenging”, or “of course you feel that way”, can help people feel safe, cared about, and validated for their experience.
2. GIVE HUGS.
We can recoil away when we are in the dark. Feeling isolated and like a burden. When someone pulls you in close (with consent: “Can I give you a hugh?”), it can remind us that we are not alone and that someone cares about us, and that our darkness is not something to be feared, but something to be nurtured.
3. GIVE THEM A HANDWRITTEN NOTE OR CARD.
In the digital age we have lost the art of small notes left on a napkins, scribbled words of appreciation on receipts of hand written thank you letters. There is something about the tactile experience of writing that communicates a unique type of care. Having notes of encouragement in your space, on the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, in your car can also interrupt negative patterning and remind you the YOU ARE LOVED.
4. HAVE A CHUCKLE.
Blessed be the memes that send us rolling on the ground laughing! Next time you find something that makes you laugh, send it off to a couple of friends. Tell a joke, have fun, play. Life can feel heavy sometimes, but that doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice our joy.