Supporting a friend through a hard time can be difficult, but true friendship is about being there for someone in both the good and bad times. Like any relationship, friendships have their highs and lows, but it\u2019s important to let them know you care no matter what.<\/p>\n
So if you’re not sure exactly what to do or say to support your friend, check out the five tips below for helping them through a rough patch.<\/p>\n
Let them know you\u2019re there to help<\/strong> Be empathetic<\/strong> Don\u2019t jump to conclusions<\/strong> Remember it\u2019s about them<\/strong> Don\u2019t judge the situation<\/strong> xx, The FabFitFun Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"Supporting a friend through a hard time can be difficult, but true friendship is about ...","author":3839847,"featured_media":144474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[260],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/07121206\/time.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/07121206\/time-386x200.jpg","formated_date":"August 7, 2019","category_name":"Life","category_icon":"https:\/\/d3vodd1ws13xud.cloudfront.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10113832\/entertainment.svg","author_name":"","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#0be55b","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3839847"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWe all need a listening ear sometimes, but very rarely do people ask for help. Rather than expressing their feelings, your friend might bottle up their emotions and shut down. This coping mechanism makes it tough to understand the other person\u2019s situation. So when this happens, just let your friend know that you\u2019re there for them. You don\u2019t need to push or pry, just simply send a text or call them to check in regularly.<\/p>\n
\nEmpathy can go a long way, so try putting yourself in their shoes to truly understand where they’re coming from. If a friend confides in you about a situation, listen, let them communicate, and try acknowledging their feelings by saying things like \u201cI\u2019m sorry you\u2019re going through this\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m here for you if you need anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhen a friend chooses to share their feelings and private issues with you, rather than offering advice and drawing conclusions of what you would do, just let them speak openly and freely. All too often we think we\u2019re helping friends and family by offering unsolicited advice, but that only frustrates the other person and can make them more closed off.<\/p>\n
\nThis isn\u2019t the time to tell your friend how to handle any situation. Whatever they\u2019re going through likely has nothing to do with you. Rather than trying to level with them by saying things like \u201cI get it,\u201d try to understand that they need only to discuss their own issues at the time.<\/p>\n
\nA lot of people have a hard time opening up for fear of judgment, and judging your friend for the way they react to any given situation is a recipe for disaster. It\u2019s important to not let judgment cloud your ability to listen and be there for your friend. Maybe your friend has done something that you don\u2019t agree with, but judging them will only complicate your relationship and make them feel even worse.<\/p>\n