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June
9, 2006:
Helping People In Crisis
Interview
with Lauren Littauer Briggs, author of The
Art Of Helping
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Mike
Carruthers:
When someone we know is sick or in the hospital or suffering
from some sort of crisis, in an attempt to help we often say,
Lauren Littauer Briggs:
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Or "If
there's anything you need, give me a call."
Lauren Littauer
Briggs, author of the book, The
Art Of Helping.
The reality is
your hurting person will not pick up the phone and tell you
what they need. Instead be specific. Like, "I'm on my way
to the store. What can I pick up for you?" "Would
tomorrow be a good time for me to help you with the laundry?"
"Would the children like to come over and play this afternoon?"
That lets our hurting person know that we care.
Lauren, who has
lost two brothers and a child of her own, says it's normal to
feel uncomfortable with a person who is hurting.
And we want to
kind of hurry them up past that. We want them better - to return
to the previous relationship we had with them. And what is so
important to understand is that once someone's life has been
touched by tragedy, they are never the same. And so often we
want to hurry them along, but instead we need to support them
in their present emotional needs.
So uncomfortable
though it may be, being there for a friend in crisis can be
about the best thing you can do.
Because we may
be the only light our hurting person has in the midst of a very
dark and stormy sea.
For transcripts,
visit our web site
somethingyoushouldknow.net. I'm Mike Carruthers and that's
"Something You Should Know."
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