Easing A Friend's Anxiety: How You Can Help
Amanda Rosati
By Amanda Rosati
Buzzfeed, a website with content that covers just about everything, is a well-known supporter of destigmatizing mental health disorders and bringing people all over the world to understand that mental health is just as important as physical health. A recent article by Buzzfeed staff member Chelsey Pippin details thirty-six ways in which different people have made efforts to help their friends struggling with anxiety. As a person who struggles with anxiety disorders myself, I liked reading through the list because it made me feel good to know that there are so many people making attempts to relieve their loved ones’ pain--and the list even gave me some great ideas for my own situation!
I particularly liked the blurbs about making plans and keeping them because routines are very important and helpful to me, as any unexpected change could set me down a very stressed-out path. Aside from me making my own personal plans for my day, I feel much more relaxed when my friends keep their plans with me because it makes me feel valued, which is something that I need. One person in the article echoes my sentiment:
“I have social anxiety, and the toughest part about keeping friends is the fact that it is so hard for me to initiate plans. Sometimes it is even hard to accept plans, because I always feel like I should give them an out in case they were only including me to be polite.”
In addition to all of the great tips, I enjoyed seeing an important overarching theme from the article being reflected in each and every blurb: everyone deals with their anxiety in their own way. The speakers reflect on how no mental health disorder can be treated uniformly for every individual because each person is unique and should have help tailored to his or her specific needs. Some people’s tips, for example, say that they or their anxious friends enjoy having plans made for them so that the stress of decision-making is removed and they can relax, while others say that they prefer making the plans themselves because it allows them to take control and defuse their own anxiety. Others say that they prefer to work cooperatively with their friends to make a plan together.
“But really, it all melts down to ask, and actually listen.”
References
Pippin, C. (2016, March 10). 36 People Share How They've Helped Friends Through Their Anxiety. retrieved from http://www.buzzfeed.com/chelseypippin/little-things-you-can-do-for-a-loved-one-with-anxiety