Category: friendship

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Powerful Twitter Thread Explains Why You Shouldn’t Always Wait for Your Friends to Ask for Help

With all of the conversations surrounding mental health and mental illnesses being on the forefront, there are many people who are sharing their powerful advice about helping your friends and family who are struggling.

Many believe that if a friend asks for help, that is your cue to step up and be by their side to support them. But, there are some who believe that if a friend is in need, and you’re aware of this, you shouldn’t wait for them to ask for help. Sometimes, many who are suffering don’t feel as though they should ask for help–or, that they’re worthy of having you help and support them. Instead, sometimes, you should try and help them without being asked or requested.

One writer’s Twitter thread showcased the powerful meaning behind “stepping up” as a friend when someone you love is in need.

Sheila O’Malley was going through a hard time after her dad passed away. She was unable to unpack her new apartment because she was suffering and grieving for such a long period of time–as many of us do when we lose someone close to us.

Note: this article was originally published by our friends at Woke Sloth. Tweets are from Sheila O’Malley which you can follow here: @sheilakathleen

Her friend, David, decided to step up without Sheila asking and rallied his friends together.

He took the risk to help out his struggling friend.

And they delivered.

They also made sure to keep their judgments to themselves and be there solely to support their friend.

Sometimes, people don’t feel comfortable asking for help and when this happens, taking the risk to help them anyway can change their world.

 

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Viral Chart Explains the Crucial Difference Between REAL Support and “Toxic Positivity”

It’s a daily struggle for many people to try to find a silver lining in their lives. Life can really beat you down, and sometimes you just have to dig deep to find positivity and reassurance in yourself so you can move forward and carry on.

That being said, you can’t always do the same for other people. You can encourage and support someone until you’re blue in the face, and it still might not do them any good at the end of the day. Sometimes, all people really want is for their negative thoughts to be validated.

Bottom line: you can’t force a positive attitude or positive feelings on someone if they don’t have it within themselves.

That’s why this chart from Whitney Hawkins Goodman is so useful. In the chart, she explains the difference between support and toxic positivity.

As you can see, there are major differences between the two approaches. On one side, you’re offering actual helpful, validating advice that may allow someone struggling to move forward in some way.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

On the ‘toxic positivity’ side, you’re offering them a platitudinous one-liner that doesn’t really help and may even make the advisee feel unsafe in expressing their negative thoughts in the future. Toxic positivity can also make people who don’t have “good vibes only” feel like something is wrong with them, that they are choosing to be negative

We all have people in our lives who rely on us because they have a difficult time coping. Or perhaps you are that person. Either way, your friends and loved ones or maybe even YOU can use this chart as a starting point for thinking about things in a different light.

Sometimes you just need a little help to change your perspective.

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Scientists Confirm That Pregnancy Can Be Contagious

Most women know that, once you get to a certain age, pregnancy seems to be contagious. You hear about one friend who got pregnant, and suddenly it’s like everyone on your friend circle has gone baby crazy. Meanwhile, you’re either peeing on a stick and hoping or crossing yourself and wearing garlic, depending on your feelings about having a child (or another child).

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Well, back in 2014 the American Sociological Association published a study that supports what we see in our social circles – pregnancy can indeed be contagious.

The study lasted 10 years and analyzed over 1700 women to identify the trend. During the interviews, women mentioned “friendship ties” as a reason they thought more about getting pregnant – basically saying that environment and interpersonal interactions influence decisions around starting or expanding family.

Image Credit: Facebook

Other possible factors for the “contagion” are: seeing a friend managing motherhood may give a woman more confidence in her own ability to do the same, and seeing a friend become a mother may leave a woman feeling behind.

Those friendship ties can also influence the number of children a woman has for the same reason – if your pal can make three kids look easy, then you might feel as if you can do the same, and you might feel left behind if you’ve only got 1 child to her friend’s 4.

Image Credit: Facebook

Interestingly enough, this “contagion” doesn’t extend to siblings, a fact that some researchers attribute to the fact that in today’s day and age, friends are more likely to influence us than family (which is fascinating in its own right).

The moral of the story is that your family size might be tied to your friends, so, as always, choose wisely.

The post Scientists Confirm That Pregnancy Can Be Contagious appeared first on UberFacts.

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A 45 year old Bosnian man named Amir…

A 45 year old Bosnian man named Amir Vehabovic faked his death back in 2007 because he wanted to see who would attend his funeral. Only his mother attended. After this debacle, he wrote dozens of angry letters to his so-called friends and what he thought of their friendship going forward. 00