Well Sh*t. It really is that simple - Episode 95 - What to do when they’re not OK Series: How to check in when you know they’re not ok is now LIVE!
Full Show notes: https://bit.ly/WellShitEpisodeGuide
The question “are you ok?” is the culturally accepted question to show concern. However, what do you do when you know that the other person is dealing with stuff and is not ok? In this episode we go through helpful tools on how to check in with someone who is clearly struggling or going through some issues in a way that is both acknowledging and supportive.
In this episode, we cover…
How asking ‘are you ok?’ to someone who you know is not ok can cause some challengesHow asking if someone is ok when we know they’re not can impact the other person’s acknowledgement needHow society expects the answer to ‘are you ok?’ should be ‘yes, I’m fine’ and how this puts pressure on the person to conform to social ‘norms’How sometimes people don’t actually want to know how we are or interact with us but are asking out of courtesyHow you can ask other questions to greet someone if you don’t have the capacity or interest to know how people actually areHow to reply to someone who answers the question honestly when you don’t have the capacity or time to support them at that momentHow acknowledging where the person is at is being supportive without trying to fix the situationWhy it’s important to recognise what support looks like without taking on the situation on ourselves as this can impact both party’s needs negativelyWe offer different approaches to asking how a person is that are mindful of your own capacity at the timeWhy it’s important to be mindful of the reasons why you are enquiring about how the other person feels. Is it for our benefit or the benefit of the other person?Why it is important to offer support only if you have the capacity to do soHow an option to support the other person is to offer choices of how they would like to be supportedHow different people may want to be acknowledged in different waysHow it’s important to be mindful that some people find it difficult to ask for space and asking if they want space might be the best way to support themHow feeling bad when someone doesn’t accept your support indicates that we are offering support because of our unmet needsHow it’s ok to offer a distraction but it important to offer it in concert with something that keeps in mind what’s going as wellWhy we should not offer support that we do not have the capacity to provideWhy you should keep in mind what you learned about the other person through the relationship you built with themHow there is no one-size-fits-all scenario