My best friend is really stressed

[KE15]

Hi my best friend is really stressed and im not sure how to help. She says to me that I can't really help in anyway but this overwhelming stress she has is starting to impact other points in her life. She's starting to get less and less sleep and is starting to forget things and that's making her more stressed and when this has apparently happed before she stops eating. I am really worried and I really want to help in any way possible but I'm not sure how. We've had the conversation about how she's stressed but she seems to think I can't help her.

Any advice is welcome thank you very very much. 🙂

[smallwolf]

Ke15,

Hi. Welcome to beyond blue. Ignoring the fact that I am much older than you I can give you some information that might be useful. And will talk in 1st person. So wherever you see "I" insert your friends name.

Firstly though, it is great that you want to be there for your friend. And even though she might say there is nothing you can do, knowing you are there is a big help.

If someone asks me how I am and when I am really down(?) there are so many things racing around my head that rather than trying to blurt them all out and possibly sounding like an idiot it is easier for me to say there is little you can do and I then try to work it out myself.

So what can you do?

Probably 2 things, and I daresay you already do these. 1. Be there for your friend, 2. Ask her if she is ok? and lastly, find some sort of distractions, which might bring her back to the present.

Also she is not alone. Despite what she might think, because we don't talk about MI we think we are the odd man out, so to speak. But there are more of us than you think. You just can't see our problem because it resides in our mind.

Good luck, and if you want to chat more....

Tim

[LavenderTea]

Hey KE15,

Helping out a friend can be tough, especially if you're not sure how to help. As Tim suggesting, just being there and showing your friend that you're there to support them is often a great start, and can sometimes be just enough.

As Tim's suggested, sometimes it can be hard for people to communicate what is happening to them in a way that makes sense, so often people will just not communicate. On this, you've mentioned that this has happened before, so you might know more than you think. Sometimes it's helpful to ask yourself (or her) to think about things that have helped when this has happened in the past. Sometimes there will be small things you or your friend can do to manage the anxiety.

Some tips on reducing anxiety include:

• Practicing breathing techniques (there are many out there which can be found with a google search)
• Exercise: anxiety can just be a build up of energy, so exercise is a healthy way to de-stress and release extra energy
• Mindfulness: this can help with excessive worrying about future tasks, it's related to being present in the moment, concentrating and completing one task at a time, and allowing the mind to have a break from thinking about multiple things

I do also suggest, however, that a gentle recommendation to see a GP might be necessary. If this anxiety is becoming too much for your best friend to handle, it might be helpful for her to see a trained clinician who can provide some therapy.

Hope this helps!

LT.

[KE15]

Thank you very much Tim and LT this is very helpful and I know know a little bit more on what to do. It is great to know that people like you can help and the things you guys do are amazing.

Thank you heaps 🙂

Kai

[KE15]

Thank you very much Tim and LT this is very helpful and I know know a little bit more on what to do. It is great to know that people like you can help and the things you guys do are amazing.

Thank you heaps 🙂

Kai

[LavenderTea]

Anytime Kai,

Glad we could be of help. Feel free to keep checking in. There are some really good posts in our Anxiety thread with some more helpful tips and hints if you wanted to have a bit more of a read.

Glad to be able to help.

LT.