What is "support"?

[ThatLady]

Absolutely, Steve. It's not about waiting until a person becomes ill to turn on the support. It's about being there with an open heart whether the person is sick, or well. Everyone needs support and one time or another.

 

[ThatLady]

Absolutely, Steve. It's not about waiting until a person becomes ill to turn on the support. It's about being there with an open heart whether the person is sick, or well. Everyone needs support and one time or another.

 

[HA]

When a person in crisis need support, what are they looking for?

• Are they looking for sympathy?
  
  Surely sympathy cannot be much of a motivator?
  
  What are the specific elements of providing constructive support to a person in need?[/list:u]

• 
  
  I don't believe people are looking for sympathy but rather they are looking for empathy.
  
  Here is a definition which distinguishes one from the other:
  "Sympathy exists when the feelings or emotions of one person give rise to similar feelings in another person, creating a state of shared feeling. In common usage, sympathy is usually the sharing of unhappiness or suffering, but it can also refer to sharing other (positive) emotions as well. In a broader sense, it can refer to the sharing of political or ideological sentiments, such as in the phrase "a communist sympathiser" .
  
  The psychological state of sympathy is closely linked with that of empathy, but is not identical to it. Empathy refers to the ability to perceive and understand another person's emotions, but does not necessarily imply a sharing of these emotions. A capacity for sympathy, however, requires that the recognition of emotion can cause similar emotion to arise in the observer." http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/sympathy
  
  Support groups provide empathy and relieves our feelings of being alone without others truely understanding what we are going through. This is why support groups are so vital. You cannot get the healing that comes from "shared experiences" from medication or psychotherapy.
  
  Support for me is just simply being with and sharing similar experiences to others.
  
  Cheers

 

[HA]

When a person in crisis need support, what are they looking for?

• Are they looking for sympathy?
  
  Surely sympathy cannot be much of a motivator?
  
  What are the specific elements of providing constructive support to a person in need?[/list:u]

• 
  
  I don't believe people are looking for sympathy but rather they are looking for empathy.
  
  Here is a definition which distinguishes one from the other:
  "Sympathy exists when the feelings or emotions of one person give rise to similar feelings in another person, creating a state of shared feeling. In common usage, sympathy is usually the sharing of unhappiness or suffering, but it can also refer to sharing other (positive) emotions as well. In a broader sense, it can refer to the sharing of political or ideological sentiments, such as in the phrase "a communist sympathiser" .
  
  The psychological state of sympathy is closely linked with that of empathy, but is not identical to it. Empathy refers to the ability to perceive and understand another person's emotions, but does not necessarily imply a sharing of these emotions. A capacity for sympathy, however, requires that the recognition of emotion can cause similar emotion to arise in the observer." http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/sympathy
  
  Support groups provide empathy and relieves our feelings of being alone without others truely understanding what we are going through. This is why support groups are so vital. You cannot get the healing that comes from "shared experiences" from medication or psychotherapy.
  
  Support for me is just simply being with and sharing similar experiences to others.
  
  Cheers

 

[healthbound]

For me, I feel supported when someone simply listens and paraphrases me.

 

[healthbound]

For me, I feel supported when someone simply listens and paraphrases me.