International Friendship Day is just around the corner, coming up on July 30th! This day was set by the UN because of the importance that friends play in our lives, the differences they make to our overall health and largely because international friendships can bring peace to the world. We can use this day as an opportunity to check in and spend quality time with our friends. Friends play an important part in our support systems. We may be the shoulder they lean on, while at other times, we may turn to them for advice or a listening ear.
Sometimes your friend might open up about their mental health and look to you for support. It’s okay not to know where to start or how to best support them. If you need guidance and resources, you can explore our page called How Can I Help My Friend. There, you’ll find information on identifying if your friend is in crisis, mental health resources to share with them, and tips for ensuring their safety.
While you’re supporting your friend, its also important to know how to take care of yourself. Our website has a lot of information about self-care, but you can find specific information on Self Care While Helping a Friend. It’s easy to get caught up in helping others and set aside our well-being, but when we take care of ourselves, we make sure we can best support the people we care about. So, remember to rest, do things that bring you joy, and reach out for support when you need it.
Remember that supporting your friend shouldn’t impact your well-being and if you start to feel responsible for your friend’s safety, it may be time to include other people or mental health professionals in the situation.
This quote from the book Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown wonderfully describes friendships: “Good friends aren’t afraid of your light. They never blow out your flame and you don’t blow out theirs—even when it’s really bright and it makes you worry about your own flame. When something good happens to you, they celebrate your flame. When something good happens to them, you celebrate their flame. To illustrate, we’d have our kids hold their hands out, palms flat and open, and say, ‘If this is your flame and the wind picks up, good friends cup their hands around your flame to prevent it from going out. And you do the same for them’.”
Discover 6 tips for developing a healthy relationship using our Healthy Relationship tool.
mindyourmind has been around for almost two decades, and we have pretty neat stuff in our history. The idea of Throwback Thursdays (#TBT) started because we want to share this past content and some memorable moments too. When it comes to the mental health landscape, some things have stayed the same, while others continue to evolve.
Stay tuned for our next #TBT!