5 Tips For Supporting Loved Ones on Their Health Journey

It feels like we all know people who are on their health journey. It isn’t always about “getting fit” - some people we know are focusing on how you look after your future. For some people, that is going to mean weight loss. For others, it’ll mean making some changes to what they eat. Other peopoe will focus on things like exercise, reducing alcohol and/or making mental health the number one priority.

Health journeys are all about focusing on improving yourself, so it’s not one-size fits. So, when it comes to health journeys for a loved one, how can you properly support them?

Here’s a few things you need to know!

Educate yourself about the situation

Educating yourself about the situation when supporting someone on their health journey can help you to provide the best care possible. This may involve reading up on local resources and practices or researching mental illness symptoms and signs. Aside from being interesting, educating yourself about mental illness symptoms and signs can be the key to your loved one's long-term well-being. 

Sometimes, it could be just injuries, and other times it’s about dealing with a bad situation, such as having an illness or disease. It’s important to look into helpful resources such as mesotheliomahope.com, so you know how you can show support.  It could also be worth asking them to see someone who uses an AI medical imaging platform, if they don’t have a diagnosis for the issue yet.

Recognize 'accommodating and enabling behaviours'

Taking the time to recognize 'accommodating or enabling' behaviours will help you support a loved one's health journey. The benefits include reducing your loved one's distress from bad habits, preventing selfish behaviour, and avoiding some more dangerous behaviours. It also helps you recognize the signs of someone needing additional support and will give you the knowledge you need to help them. You need to think of them and what’s best for them, not for you.

Encourage them to find support

Whether it’s a friend or a family member, they must know you got their back. However, sometimes it might be better to help push them in the direction of finding like-minded individuals who also are going through something similar. So, why not help them find a support group, whether it be online, in a forum, or even in person? These communities help build each other up.

Respect their boundaries

Using the appropriate language to set boundaries is vital to a healthy relationship. Only some appreciate being asked to do something they're not comfortable with. Likewise, refusing a request is a great way to maintain control over your life. Depending on the journey, your loved one may not want to share anything about it. So, it’s vital to respect their boundaries.

Ask them what they need

Providing emotional support for someone is a very important part of helping them through a mental health challenge. The best way to do this is to show them how much you care. This can be done by simply being there when they need you. 

You can also show your commitment to them by asking them what they need to support their health journey. You can offer them social support by inviting them to join you in a social activity. You can also provide them with information about their illness and treatment. You may even ask them if you can attend a support group with them for encouragement.

There isn’t necessarily one “right” way and it can be really tricky to support a loved one on their health journey, we hope this helped. You got this!