Psychological support can be formal or informal, and can come from friends, strangers, or even pets. It can help individuals cope with stress and strengthen their social support network, and does not necessarily require a paid service or official appointment.
Psychological support, needed by almost all people on their journey through life, does not need to be a paid service, or provided in the rooms of a meeting or counseling session, or even established by an official appointment to be healthy, healer or useful. A conversation with an old friend or even the smile of a stranger could be enough of a spark of connection to be of psychological support to the person in need of assistance. Counseling can be formal or informal, intimate or between strangers, or an internal experience versus an externally based experience. Regardless of its characteristics, it can be classified as supportive if it helps, coaches, or strengthens a person’s coping skills.
Examples of formal types of psychological support systems might be a parenting class, a meeting with a religious leader, a counseling appointment with a therapist, or attending a group meeting such as Alcoholics Anonymous®. Each of these interactions provides a means for a stressed or troubled person to express their feelings and gather feedback from the other participants, the teacher, or the counselor regarding appropriate and healthy responses. In some cases, simply receiving confirmation that you are not the only individual experiencing such stresses or feelings provides psychological support. Other situations might require concrete actions, instructions, or feedback for the stressed person to process. Within such formal support systems, the individual is allowed time to express themselves and learn useful reactions in future situations.
Meeting a friend for lunch, having dinner with the family, or running with a training partner are examples of informal counseling situations. Psychological support can be helpful both informally and in formal situations if the stressed person is helped to deal with life situations in a healthy way. Often, strengthening a person’s social support network is enough to provide positive feedback and supportive measures without discussing the details of a situation as might be expected in formal systems. Individuals in need often need to be reminded of the real need and importance of an informal support system. These types of media are often the first to be sacrificed in a busy lifestyle.
Formal and informal social support systems are not the only types of psychological support. Prayer, meditation or introspection can be helpful if the stressed individual believes in a particular faith. Pets too can provide invaluable emotional and psychological support to those fortunate enough to share a home with them. Those requiring such support need only reach out in most situations.
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