Supporting a Loved One Dealing With a Health Crisis

If you have a friend or family member that gets ill, has been in a pretty dramatic accident, or has been diagnosed with a scary health issue, then it is not something that is easy. It can be really hard for you, let alone them. But the chances are that it is something that will happen at some point in your life, if not a few times in your life. You can feel quite shocked, scared, and even a little awkward as you don’t know what to say to them sometimes. But however you feel is totally okay. Any health problems or crisis can cause some large changes in your life, especially if it is someone who is really close to you. It can feel frightening. You just need to focus on how to cope with it all.

There is no set formula for how to deal with something, but there are some really key points that are important to keep in mind, when you are looking to provide some support to a loved one. So here are some tips and advice on how to make life a little easier, for yourself and your loved one, when something quite stressful and scary comes along.

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Say Something
One of the things that you might feel a little sad or awkward about is the fact that you don’t know what to say to them. If a friend or a sister has had a miscarriage, for example, you know that there won’t be anything that you can say to make them feel better. But that doesn’t matter; you just need to say something. Reach out, send a text, drop round with a bunch of flowers. Tell them that you’re not sure what to say, but that you’re there for them whenever they need you. A health crisis or a scary diagnosis can feel like a bit of a lonely place, so they don’t want people closest to them to go quiet.

Give Encouragement
It can be easy to just keep asking how someone is doing, but often that can be a negative reminder, especially if they are trying to be positive and get on with life as normal as can be. That can lead to holding back tears in some instances. Instead, give words of encouragement by telling them just how amazing they are, and you could ask what the latest is with treatments and so on. Plus, although you won’t be a medical expert, it can be a nice way to get involved by offering advice for things that could help, as you can learn more about things that could help them, depending on what the health issue is.

Don’t Make It About Yourself
It is pretty normal human behavior to want to focus on yourself. But try to suppress any feeling of doing so, especially when you are with a friend or family member that is dealing with something way worse than you. Start to take yourself out of the equation, and look for ways that you can give the other person the chance to talk about themselves and how they feel, without being too overpowering. You could say something like how you’ve found it hard to even think about how they must be feeling, so does the person want to tell you about it. Don’t try to compare things either, as that can be very frustrating for the person in pain.

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