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Here are Five Ways to Actually Support Your Friends when they need your help!
To celebrate Pride in June, I added content to my social media to support love, acceptance, and understanding sexuality. To extend that message further, I want to address women’s health this month. I see all kinds of conversations online, memes on Facebook about women and their tribes, but honestly, a lot of it seems like fluff. Women seem to be there for each other on a superficial level when times are good, but how many women can you really trust to be your friend when times are tough? When you are really struggling, when you have made difficult decisions and just want some empathy? Here are five ways to actually support your friends when they really need your help!
Just Listen
I posted a “crowdsourcing” status on Facebook. I asked my friends: If you were going through a difficult time, what’s one thing a friend can do to show she truly cares? The #1 answer I received was just listen to support your friends. We tend to be a society of text messages, status updates, tweets, and image sharing. We write short responses to people’s personal hardships. They are often the cliché “thinking of you” or “things will get better” or “I’m here for you”, but rarely do we pick up a phone and actually say “Hey, I know you’re having a rough time. Let’s talk.” Women make many decisions every day that impact their physical and mental health, and they may need a friend just to talk these through. Take the extra step to show your friend you are truly there for her. Let her know you can meet up to share a cup of coffee or just head to her place for face-to-face conversation if that is best for her.
Get Some Fresh Air
During tough times, many of us tend to be homebodies, and unless someone drags us out of our home, we just hibernate. A walk through your community, a park, a nearby nature trail just to stretch out, get some fresh air, and move around can be exactly what your friend needs. Even if she isn’t ready to talk, just having a companion for a walk outdoors can be a great first step toward feeling better. Be sure not to pressure your friend into conversation. If and when she is ready, she will let you know. Keep things light-hearted and casual if that is what is best for the situation. Enjoy a laugh or the sounds of nature together.
Make One Thing Easier
Several of my friends reminded me that even the simplest of tasks can seem so overwhelming when someone is having a rough patch. Your friend may not be the type who asks for help, so it may be best to just show up with a snack to eat, hands to fold some laundry, maybe even time blocked off to watch her children so she can grab some groceries. Women’s physical and mental health is so important, so whatever we can do to truly support our friends when we can is always appreciated.
Retail Therapy
During hard times, sometimes the best thing to do is something that completely takes your mind off the hard times. A great solution if possible? Some retail therapy! There is always time to talk through problems and discuss potential solutions, but sometimes you just need to find some joy in life. If you can, treat your friend to a new shirt that makes her feel great, get her a new lipstick that looks beautiful on her. A small gesture can make her entire day when she’s going through tough times.
Show Genuine Empathy
Genuine empathy is not easy. We tend to want to tell people “things will be better” or “this will pass soon” or “it could be worse”, but honestly, a lot of that is said because a particular situation makes us feel uneasy, not to actually help our friend. We all have our own beliefs and experiences, and while those are important to us, we need to file those away sometimes to be supportive friends. Be sure you show empathy and love over advice or even guidance. Sometimes a genuine “I know this is difficult” can be so comforting to support your friends.
One situation that could be a challenge to discuss with friends is making the decision to take Plan B One-Step. Plan B is an emergency contraceptive option for women who are not currently planning to get pregnant, but had unprotected sex or a birth control slip-up, click here to learn more. You do not need a prescription or ID to purchase it, there is no age restriction, and it has no impact on a woman’s long-term fertility. The active ingredient, levonorgestrel, is the same ingredient in many common birth control pills, but at a single, higher dose. It helps to avoid pregnancy by delaying ovulation, so the sooner you take it, the more effective it is {Plan B must be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex or birth control failure}. It is not an abortion pill and it will not affect an existing pregnancy. Use as directed, following the package instructions. If you have your contraceptives ready and in search for a fuck buddy, you can also find hot babes looking for sex near you as there are so many on the adult dating sites.
Head to Target where you can purchase Plan B One-Step in the Family Planning section, aisle A17 in most stores. I found it on the bottom shelf near other family planning products. Save $10 OFF here.
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