How to Offer Support and Compassion to Yourself and Others During Times of Stress

How to Offer Support and Compassion for Yourself and Your Community During Times of Difficulty

How to offer support in a compassionate and meaningful way? This is a question we face often during life especially during times of uncertainty or anxiety.

 

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Throughout The Whole Cure, the exercises I share are designed to help you build mindfulness, strengthen resiliency and find that space between your triggers and response. This makes you more present and able to support yourself and others with compassion. These types of practices help you to learn how to offer support as they allow you to regain the space and ability to pause, observe your thoughts and emotions and gain clarity to act in a compassionate, considered and creative manner. 

Mindfulness Resources for Self-Healing:
      

• Download your free chapters and wellness prescriptions now and get started incorporating a more mindful approach into your life and building resiliency. You can also get your copy of The Whole Cure in paperback or Kindle edition from Amazon.
• My Mindfulness Resources for Crisis and Self-Healing Package provides you with professionally-designed worksheets, handouts and workbooks for creating habits and practicing tools that support optimal stress management, resilience and coping with difficulty.
• Guided meditations and relaxation exercises from my Breathe CD.

Mindfulness Resources for Health Care Practitioners:

   

• If you are a health coach or other health care professional,  I heard from many of you requesting done-for-you content and tools for easy-to-incorporate mindfulness practices that you could use during this time with your clients and patients. To address this need, I want to offer my Done-for-You Package of Mindfulness Resources for Crisis and Calm at 70% off the regular price. Right now you can get the complete package for only $67 here. This Done-for-You Package of Mindfulness Resources for Crisis and Calm provides professional mindfulness resources for coaching and sharing self-healing tools and practices to empower you to teach others how to disconnect from panic, fear and anxiety and build inner peace.
• My newest done-for-you workshop package Rest, Restore & Rejuvenate to Mindfully Manage Stress is the perfect way to offer support for stressful times and everyday optimal health. You can use this completely done-for-you workshop package with your clients or for a virtual teleworkshop or series of sessions. You get everything done for you, from a complete word-for-word script to handouts for your clients to a guided exercise to a complete instruction guide so you are ready to confidently share this guidance with people right away. 

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How to Offer Support and Compassion for Self and Community 

“We must each lead a way of life with self-awareness and compassion, to do as much as we can. Then, whatever happens we will have no regrets.” -Dalai Lama

In times of adversity and uncertainty, it is natural to feel fear and overwhelm. Yet compassion–for ourselves and others–and connection are needed more than ever. Learning how to offer support in a meaningful way enhances your life and the lives of those you care for.

Kindness enhances your connections with yourself, with those you interact with, and with the world around you. Living your life from a place of unconditional kindness, for yourself and others, is a key element of mindfulness practices. When you act with kindness and compassion toward yourself and those around you, you add a much-needed ease and grace to your life

Use This FREE Self-Compassion Journaling Exercise to Foster Mindfulness, Build Positive Habits and Cultivate Self-Love!

We are all walking through this together. Learning how to adapt, practicing reacting to unforeseen difficulties. Creativity adjusting, and creating small moments of happiness in our days.

Knowing that you are a valued and contributing member of society enhances your social and emotional well-being. Compassion and kindness connect individuals at a soul level and pull you up when hope seems lost. When you are supported and connected, you can be hopeful. 

Physical Distancing, Not Social Isolation: How to Offer Support to Prevent Loneliness

An important public health measure during this time is social distancing. Epidemiologists define this form of “social mitigation” as a conscious effort to reduce close contact between people in an effort to reduce community transmission of the virus.

Being restricted to your home may prompt feelings of loneliness and isolation, but there are some strategies that can help to make the experience less stifling and harmful to your health.

Amidst the overwhelming nature of all that troubles our world, hope may seem naive or like a childish dream. But suffering and cruelty often stem from a lack of hope, arising from a vast hopelessness. Conversely, compassion connects us to others at a soul level and pulls us up when hope seems lost. When we are supported and connected, we can be hopeful and make considered decisions to benefit the greater good.

Social isolation has physical impacts on the body. For example, loneliness triggers the stress response within the body, which causes the body to release stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine and shift its energy and blood supply toward survival functions like fighting and fleeing a perceived danger. 

This reaction can contribute to: 

• disrupted sleep, 
• imbalanced hormones, 
• weakened immunity and 
• cognitive distortions (Cole et al., 2015). 

Overall, a lack of strong social support weakens the immune system and exacerbates the effects of other health and psychological stressors.

While we can easily feel powerless in a world full of uncertainty and suffering, we each have the power to touch someone in a positive, meaningful way.  Compassion, empathy and kindness not only help us survive and thrive as a community but also provide immune balancing benefits (Pace et al., 2008). Knowing that support is available can help to dampen the stress response and reduce anxiety.

During this time, it is especially important to find ways to connect with others in a way that is infection safe (physically distancing) yet still meaningful to you. Research indicates that offering support can be beneficial to the offerer in addition to the offeree (Brown, Nesse, Vinokur & Smith, 2003). 

When we face a challenge together in the spirit of compassion for others, patience, and an attitude of looking out for each other we can seek truth, reason, rationality and avoid catastrophizing. This leads to each of us acting with open hearts towards ourselves and for all those in our society which can help us find better solutions.

Here are 5 Steps for How to Offer Support to Yourself and Those Around You Who Are Feeling Anxious, Fearful or Stressed

 

Support can come in various forms. It might be a tangible offer to help a neighbor with yard work or getting groceries or emotional support by checking in with a friend. Knowing that support is available can help to dampen the stress response.

There are effective ways for how to offer and receive support remotely.

• Call or video call with loved ones and actively listen. This can be a great time to strengthen connections and reach out to those who you don’t see often.
• Write emails to friends and family and tell them how much they mean to you.
• Start a virtual coffee chat or book club.
• Send an encouraging text.
• Share comments of encouragement.
• Workout together over video chat.
• Give someone an inspiring ebook.
• Schedule virtual hangouts with a group of friends to have a chat, enjoy a virtual meal together or join in a sing-a-long.

Listen openly and mindfully without interrupting or judging

Call or video call with loved ones and actively listen. Anxiety is one of many valid and normal emotions that many are feeling at difficult or uncertain times. Acknowledge how the other person is feeling, and avoid making judgments or minimizing his or her emotions.

Research has shown that social support can help alleviate emotional distress, increase physical and psychological well-being, and improve personal relationships but how it is worded and conveyed matters. Messages that validate a person’s feelings are more effective and helpful than ones that are judgmental, critical or diminishing of the others’ emotions (Brisini, Solomon & Tian, 2020). 

Instead of being critical or jumping in with advice, offer a listening ear and empathy. Remain fully present to what he or she is saying as you listen mindfully. The act of being present with someone can show that you value and care about them. Having this support reduces anxiety.

Listening with empathy and compassion encourages someone to talk about their thoughts or feelings so that she can come to her own conclusions about how to approach her feelings or behaviors. This applies to your own self-talk and support as well.

 

Schedule virtual hangouts with a group of friends to have a chat, enjoy a virtual meal together or join in a sing-a-long

If you are good with technology, take the initiative to help a group of your friends and loved ones connect. We are all going through this experience together and sharing something as normal as a meal in a new way can help each person regain a sense of belonging and normalcy that reduces feelings of being out of control.

 

Write a thank-you card or email for someone that has helped you

Show people you value them and appreciate their kindness. A heartfelt note can be a gift in itself and helps us feel less alone and anxious. Offer forgiveness, gratitude or love to remind someone you care about that they are cherished. Reconnecting with gratitude and recalling positive experiences is a great way to reduce stress and boost confidence as you face new challenges and conquer fresh experiences. 

 

Leave uplifting, positive comments on social media or blogs you enjoy

Share comments of encouragement and let someone know what you appreciate about him or her. Gratitude encompasses an appreciation for the circumstances, material things, experiences and people in your life. It also involves faith, hope and trust.

Science backs up what your experience with gratitude may have shown you. Those who consciously focus on gratitude and share it with others experience greater emotional well-being and health than those who do not. This benefits both you and the receiver of your heartfelt positivity.

 

Encourage them to unfollow social media accounts or limit news sources that leave them feeling anxious, lacking, or in fear mode

Support others in making space for what they truly desire and what makes them feel most calm and centered. If you feel comfortable, you can offer to take turns staying up-to-date with recommendations and sharing the needed information so no one person becomes overwhelmed with the constantly shifting news.

How do you find meaningful connections and practice compassion in your life?

What ideas do you have for how to offer support?

You can also join me on Instagram for mini-mindfulness moments, exercises and discussions on how to add ease and purpose into life.

Join us on Instagram for more mindfulness moments!

I would love to have you in my Insider’s Community! Join for free and receive your FREE Chapters from The Whole Cure: 52 Essential Prescriptions to Overcome Overwhelm, Reclaim Balance and Reconnect with a Life You Love! You can pick up a full paperback or Kindle copy on Amazon for a wealth of insights, exercises and complete toolkit to help you uncover your true passions, authentic purpose and calm confidence as well.

To keep building your healthy lifestyle and best self through everyday habits, take the next step today to commit to a life you truly love and feel fully alive!

• Pick up a copy of The Whole Cure to build resilience and manage stress in a way that makes life flow with greater ease and joy!
• Access guided relaxation exercises utilizing the power of the breath and mind here.
• Join my next online group Whole Cure Lifestyle Transformation Programs to build more powerful coping strategies and skills for meaningful stress management and a calmer life! Contact me to form your own guided online group or register for the next scheduled online program!

I also support health coaches, physicians and other health professionals in sharing mindfulness and self-healing techniques with their clients and patients. To support you in supporting them, I am offering my newest done-for-you workshop package Rest, Restore & Rejuvenate to Mindfully Manage Stress at a sliding scale so we can reach as many people as possible with support for this stressful time. You can use this completely done-for-you workshop package with your clients or for a virtual teleworkshop or series of sessions. You get everything done for you, from a complete word-for-word script to handouts for your clients to a guided exercise to a complete instruction guide so you are ready to confidently share this guidance with people right away. Contact me for sliding scale prices so we can reach as many people with this guidance. Pay what is most suitable for your current situation so that we can share this with the most people possible and provide more mindful energy into the world. 

Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this post and related resources are for informational purposes only. Jennifer Weinberg is not providing medical advice, diagnosis or treatment information. The information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. Every body is unique so be sure to check with your healthcare professional before making any dietary or lifestyle changes, taking any medication or nutritional supplement or using any treatment for a health issue. Do not use this information provided for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. If you suspect you have a medical problem please contact your healthcare provider promptly and do not disregard professional medical advice based on anything on this website. This website and related resources are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease and do not create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Jennifer Weinberg. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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