Friend asked for help and I hope I said the right thing

[Howlingvapor]

My friend just came to me and asked me about therapy. He said he’s been having some mental health problems and he knew I was in therapy and wanted some advice on where to go and how to get help. I told him about my experience and about our college’s mental health counseling in the health office. He’s a lot like me when I started therapy and doesn’t want his family to know about it so he’s gonna try to go through the school. I’m so unbelievably proud of him for getting help and reaching out. I told him that if he feels he needs therapy then he should get therapy, but if he feels he just needs time that’s okay to and he responded with “no man I’ve had enough time I need to do something about this now.” I even offered to go with him to the health office because I know how scared I was and also said I’d be willing to go with him to group therapy if it helped. He said he’s fine but thanked me for the offer.

I feel like I said the right things, but his problems are very different from mine so I tried to refrain from giving advice and tried to just listen. I feel I may have asked too many questions, mainly because his problems are very different than mine, but they weren’t prodding or anything, I was only trying to gauge the severity of his issues and what emotions he was dealing with because he wasn’t very specific.

I don’t know why, but I’m really happy for him. He’s reaching out in a way that took me so long to do. I was so scared when I finally reached out and I basically did it alone. So the fact that I can use my experience to help someone else feels really good. I’m glad that I can give my friend the kind of support I wish I had back then. I guess it shows that when you reach out for help it can sometimes inspire those around you to feel like they can do the same.

I feel like I’m kinda jerking myself off here, but I just had to share this with someone because it honestly made my day. I had always felt like the things I went through were just pointless suffering, but now I see that if I had never gone through that stuff my friend may have never sought help and it brings a smile to my face knowing I made a difference in someone’s life. I hope this doesn’t come off as some sort of virtue signaling or patting myself on the back, I’m only sharing this because I wanted to share this experience in an anonymous way and this was the best way to do that. Again not trying to toot my own horn or anything I’m just really proud of my friend.


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[cheer_mom]

It is so awesome that you were there to help your friend.
I always say we go through things for a reason. Maybe you went through your anxiety so you could help someone else.

 

[Trying123]

So glad your friend came to you for advice. Anxiety often traps me in my own feelings and it's easy to forget everyone has problems and our experience can be a benefit to someone else.