Remembering to look after yourself
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When supporting a friend, it’s important that you look after yourself and remember your own priorities.
Keep up with your usual interests and hobbies, and make time for your relationships with family and friends. While maintaining the confidence of your friend, ensure you are getting support. It can be tough worrying about how someone is doing, so find a way of ensuring you are supported too. Try to find someone separated from the situation who doesn’t have a ‘gossiping interest’ so you have someone to confide in and talk through any tricky situations or conversations. Remember there will be some things that you or your friend may not feel comfortable discussing. If something comes up that you aren’t comfortable talking about, you might suggest that they talk about this specific issue with someone else, and if you ask something that your friend isn’t comfortable answering try not to put too much pressure on them. Let them know the door is open and that you are there as and when they are ready. |
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Finally, maintain boundaries. Remember, you are not supposed to help with everything. Encouraging your friend to try to solve their day-today problems can be really helpful in giving them greater confidence in their ability to cope without having to rely exclusively on the support of friends. See our resource on Looking After your Mental Wellbeing to find out more.
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"Recovery is something which requires the motivation of the individual, and this takes time. So I sincerely hope my friends put themselves first. There is a limit to what friends can do to help and compromising their own needs does not help anyone" |
