How often does your teen get triggered by someone else, wether it be something they did or said?
It is very easy for them to respond with their gut instinct and oftentimes, that reaction was overblown and the result is guilt and a possible damaged connection.
Has your teen ever tried to help someone and gets so frustrated because the person they are trying to help is struggling with such an easy thing, so they give up?
What message does that send to the recipient of their help and what impact does that leave on their self worth?
What about when they struggle with a subject, so they just resign themselves to the fact that they are going to do poorly in this class and stop making any effort at all?
This just makes them feel down on themselves and ensures they will do poorly like they said.
PATIENCE IS THE ANSWER TO RESOLVE THESE ISSUES!
When they get triggered and are able to stop and think before they react, oftentimes the end result is completely different.
Just that brief pause to say:
“What is really going on here?”
“Is this really about me?”
“They may be having a bad day or feeling down and need to act this way to make themselves feel better!”.
How many times has your teen said something hurtful to someone because they were in pain or struggling?
When we learn patience and think before we act, it gives us time to quickly reflect on the situation and tap into our empathy so we can find another response that does not leave us regretting what we said or did.
Even if they feel the person does not deserve empathy, seeing this person does not serve them and disengaging in a mature way avoids conflict and regret.
Patience is key when helping others. Just because they are really good at something and it comes easy for them, does not mean that is the case for everyone else.
Again, stepping back, tapping into empathy and reflecting on what is really happening. Asking themselves “This person is really good at _____ and I struggle with that.”
Recognizing why their support is needed even more and not letting their frustrations and expectations of someone else’s ability to learn impact their responses and reactions is vital to truly helping this person.
When they get frustrated and lose patience, they make them feel worse about something they already feel bad about.
Lastly, with regard to school or learning a new task or skill. Patience with themselves is so important. They all have their strengths and areas they struggle with. Nobody is good at everything.
Giving up after one setback never leads to success. They have to be patient with themselves and recognize that there may be a learning curve and that is alright.
Look at each setback as a lesson to build upon and over time this patience will lead to success at what they are working toward.
Patience is powerful when we can learn to harness and exercise it!
#patience #teenmentalhealth #empathy