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INVOLVE YOURSELF WITH LISTENING EARS FREE

You don’t need formal training to do this! It isn’t therapy and shouldn’t be treated that way. I’m always here for you.” This opens the door, but doesn’t force anything on them other than your compassion. “How can I help?” or “Please let me know if you’d like to talk again. You can find out with a simple follow up text or call. It’s possible your friend or family member just needed that one time to talk, and that’s okay. It’s perfectly fine to respond with “I honestly don’t know what to say, but I’m so glad you shared that with me.”

It’s possible they may open up and say or share something you weren’t expecting at all. It’s okay to relate with, “I’ve felt that way too.” But don’t turn it into a conversation about you and your experiences unless, of course, they ask you to share. “It is totally understandable for you to feel that way.” or “In this situation, feeling sad is totally normal.” “I imagine you are worried about losing your job” or “You must have been so scared when you first got the news.”

Help them explore their feelings with open-ended questions such as, “How did you react when you got the news?” or “Tell me how it felt to experience that situation.”.

This must be so difficult for you at this time.” For example: “I hear that you are feeling so overwhelmed with your diagnosis, having to schedule so many medical appointments, and miss work to attend them as well. This is commonly referred to as reflective listening, which is letting someone know you hear what they are saying by summarizing or reflecting their emotions back to them.

Acknowledge what the person seeking support is saying.

With compassion you are saying “I hear you and see you and want to give my time to be here for you.” Empathetic listening is taking action by “stepping in.” Here are some ways to do that successfully Continuing with the Facebook example, you choose to be vulnerable by reaching out directly via a private message or text, recognizing and acknowledging their sorrow in a more one-on-one manner.Ĭompassion – is “where the good stuff happens.” You take action by calling, sending a gift, or stopping by. While it’s meaningful and certainly heartfelt, it is done at arm’s length.Įmpathy – is closer.

You comment with your shared sorrow (“thoughts and prayers”). On Facebook someone posts about a sad event that they have experienced. What is the difference between sympathy, empathy and compassion? See below for an example within the social media world. A key strategy to providing excellent support is to focus on offering empathy and compassion, not sympathy. You are not expected, nor should you necessarily offer, to solve the problem. To truly succeed in supporting that friend, family member, neighbor or co-worker who needs and wants to be heard, remember that your primary goal is to listen. The supporter offers a listening ear, helps the associate cope with the stressor, and can connect them to additional resources if needed.Ĭould you “lend an ear” and be a source of support for someone in your circle? The first step? The ability to listen! Being an empathetic listener – what it does, and doesn’t, mean By being paired with a peer supporter, the person seeking support can speak with a fellow associate, who understands their work-life, and may relate to what they are going through or where they are coming from.

INVOLVE YOURSELF WITH LISTENING EARS FREE

At Nemours Children’s Health System, we offer the Peer Support Program, which provides confidential, free support to all our associates. A listening and non-judgmental ear is often comforting and can be a resource of support without focusing on “fixing” the problem. One way to cope with a difficult or stressful situation is to speak with someone, to be heard and seen. Things are hard, they are different, and everyone processes those hardships and changes in unique ways.

Everyone is doing the best they can, finding ways to cope and adjust to this so-called “ new normal.” But it’s important to remember this: it’s okay to not be okay. It clearly goes without saying that we are living in challenging times.