Mental Health Today

How to Help an Anxious Person Without Being a Jerk   Most people want to help, and they mean well, but sometimes it comes out wrong. John provides helpful tips for someone who wants to help an anxious person and for the anxious person to speak up and say what would be helpful. If you are someone who is anxious a lot, you've probably have had someone in your life say things that made you feel dumb. Things like "Try to think more positive" or "Just do it and it will be fine" or better yet, "Just snap out of it". These comments are not helpful. In fact, they can make things worse. Here are a few tips for both the helper and the anxious person. For the Helper: 1. Don't offer advice. If you have never had true anxiety before you really don't understand what it's like. 2. Do say that you want to understand. It's okay to ask the person what it's like to live with anxiety and how bad it currently is. 3. Don't always try to offer a solution. Calming anxiety i