🌍 9 tips on how to support anyone

Nobody is an island. We all depend on each other and because this network of collaboration exists, humanity persists in the world until today. Not everyone knows how to help someone without the person asking for help. Not everyone is comfortable asking for help. This text has several ideas for you to contribute to improving the day of other people, close or not, without much effort.

The following suggestions cover a variety of contexts. Some can even be used to help strangers, while most are about helping people you know, like colleagues, friends, your partner, artists and self employed professionals you follow on the internet, etc.

1. Avoid invalidating people's feelings. If the person fought with her boyfriend or hates her mother, for example, she certainly has reasons for that and invalidating what she feels, saying that every mother loves her children or that her boyfriend did what he did because he loves her are NOT ways of to help. It's ways of being inconvenient and pathetic by repeating silly clichés while invalidating the feeling of the person you're supposed to be helping. 
2. Give emotional support. If you're the type who invalidates other people's feelings, do the world a favour and kill yourself, or change your attitude radically. Giving real emotional support is welcoming the person's feelings and letting them feel it for as long as they need it, without the ridiculous talk of "it'll pass" or any idiocy of that kind. Let the person cry on your shoulder. Don't try to make her feel happy with comforting words like “he'll come back” or “you're a wonderful person and soon you'll get another better one” (if the person was dumped by his/her boyfriend, for example).
3. To praise. It seems contradictory in relation to the previous point, but it is not. To praise is saying, sincerely, that the person is beautiful when they are beautiful. Not when their makeup is all smeared from crying. It is, for example, going out to see a movie that your friend suggested and, liking the movie, telling him that you liked it. It's seeing an art of mine that you thought was cool, commenting, praising and sharing. Or buy it, and whenever someone praises it, you recommend my work.
4. Promote the person's work. It costs nothing, and you can contribute to someone who is interested in what the person does or sells and decides to become that person's customer. I would be happy if all the people who read/see my content on this site and on social media would do this and spread the word about my work in photography and visual arts. Following the profile on social networks, commenting and liking the posts and stories are also ways to help the person gain visibility in the virtual world and can boost their work. Take advantage of this tip and start following me on social networks and interacting with my publications.
5. To encourage. A cousin of praise, this option is for close people, such as friends, relatives, and also for someone you follow on social media and want to change the course of life. If you have a friend who dreams of doing something, even if it's something you wouldn't do, understand that this is important to that person. Fuck that you have no interest in diving in Thailand. If your friend wants it, give it strength! If he asks you to go along, you can say it's not your thing. Without discouraging him. The main point is that you show support for anyone who wants to try something new or stop doing or using something that the person considers bad. If the person wants to stop drinking, it would be great if you didn't drink when you were out with them. It's not just about talking.
6. Do a massage. After a long day at work, or a day when you've been very stressed or anxious, a massage is an excellent way to help someone to relax. If the person is discouraged, depressed or sad and has physical touch as a love language, it can also help them feel better, more welcomed.
7. Helping to keep the house clean, dishes clean, not stressing the person's pets, and not noticing the mess are the minimum expected if you go to someone's house. If you live in the same house, the normal attitude is to divide the tasks so as not to overload anyone. If the person is having problems with the washing machine, for example, offering to wash their clothes at your house can be a valuable help. It's simple.
8. Know how to listen and have empathy. This requires understanding the context of the person. It's about understanding that she has values ​​different from yours, lived experiences different from yours, and therefore also makes choices different from yours. If you don't have that skill, have the dignity to tell the person that you're not the best person to vent to. Offer your support in ways that you are able to really support. Advice without empathy is not support.
9. If the person is going through a process of self-knowledge, know how to respect the process. Just as you update the applications you use on your cell phone, know how to respect the new versions of those who have the courage to follow this path.

Start applying these tips now. If you have any extra tips, use the comments to share them with us. If you would love people to understand you better, share this post with your friends, family, colleagues, everyone...

In appreciation for the content you can hire my services (see the “Services available” page), buy my art (following my profiles on Instagram and Tiktok you can find out about the pieces available), become a sponsor or patron, and follow the fourth and ninth suggestions from the list above. Other suggestions are acceptable in the right contexts. These ones are valid for anyone.

Respect copyright.  This is an original text.

Nycka