Listen

If someone opens up to you about their mental health, don't feel like you have to have all the answers. Simply listening can be enough.

— YoungMinds (@YoungMindsUK) June 14, 2021

 

Listen, simply listen. It is the best thing we can do. Attentive, non-judgmental, active listening is an act of love where we feel that we matter because that person is giving his whole undivided attention and time. Just be with that person in his time of sorrow. There's nothing to fix, just let things be. There's no need for advice because what if the person won't accept the advice? 

I am speaking from a type of psychotherapy devised by American psychologist Carl Rogers which is focused on what he called Person-Centered Therapy. This therapy typically shows that the client alone has the authority to figure things out and in what direction he is going in life. The therapist is only there as a guide in searching for the answers.

A part of his therapy dwells on how we treat others. Unconditional Positive Regard is, in essence, an attitude where we accept, appreciate and love the person as he is. We are merely validating his existence and his experience as a human being. There are no conditions here. There are no debates here. It is an ultimate attitude of caring. Listening is an essential skill which is part of unconditional positive regard. 

If only every person is aware of this, I promise you the great possibility that the world can be a much better place. I am not being idealistic here, I am just being humanistic. Treat every person as they are, a human being, not as an object or something that needs fixing. They will love you for it, that I can tell you.