You may need to lean on others for comfort when life hands you a tough situation.
Sometimes you are the one that is providing the shoulder to cry on.
This is not always an easy thing to do, staying strong for another individual.
How you go about this process will of course depend on the individual you are trying to comfort and the situation they are in.
That being said, there are a few universal ideas that you can use when consoling a person.
If you need to provide comfort here are some time-honored strategies: 1.
Uplifting- Remember when someone comes to you in pain, they are probably not looking for any helpful advice! At this moment in time, they are looking for someone to provide emotional comfort.
You will want to resist the temptation to try and solve the problem, unless of course you are asked to.
In a situation like that feel free, to offer any helpful advice you may have.
2.
Listening is important- Developing your listening skills is always a good idea.
In order to be a good listener you have to really try to understand what the other person is trying to communicate.
Just lending an open ear can provide a degree of comfort.
3.
Unconditional Attention- Just sharing pain and troubles with another individual can be very comforting.
Let the other person know they can count on you, that you will be there to listen anytime they need a concerned ear.
4.
Physical Hugs- Hugging is something that will vary depending on the relationship you have with the person and their own comfort zone.
Some people are just not comfortable with physical touch, but most of the time a good hug just makes you feel better.
5.
Understanding- Even if you have never been through a similar situation you can still comfort another person, all it takes is a little bit of understanding.
Try to see where they are coming from, at least to the best of your ability.
Grief When you are in a situation where someone is dealing with loss, you will also be dealing with his or her grief.
This is a natural reaction to losing someone close to you, especially a traumatic loss.
Learning about the stages of grief will leave you better prepared to help others suffering this type of situation.
Grief Stages Grief has several different stages and some people will spend more time on one stage than another will, in fact, the stages do not always occur in the same order depending on the individual.
Generally grief is expressed first as shock, followed often times by denial.
Next many people suffer pain and anger, and this can set in for quite some time.
At times depression will rear its head before a person can finally migrate into acceptance.
You will not want to force someone too quickly through a stage, but you do want to help him or her achieve acceptance as soon as possible.
During the angry phase, all you can do is provide an open ear and reassurance.
Try to help them view the issue from a different perspective altogether.
Probably the hardest stage of grief is depression; a depressed individual will have lost interest in the world at large.
Nevertheless you can provide them a shoulder to cry on which should make a difference.
Encourage them to keep going and not give up, because the world has not given up on them.
Eventually acceptance will win the day, though it may take your support and the assistance of a professional counselor.
If someone you know and care about is going through a tough time, these tips can serve as your guide to consolation.
You may be the one that helps them through the dark days ahead to a brighter life on the other side.