5 Ways to Respond to a Melodramatic Cry of Exhaustion
Perhaps at some point in time, some friend of yours may have uttered a melodramatic cry of exhaustion, leaving you to wonder how to respond or how to comfort them. It could be from a stressful day, a heart-wrenching breakup, loss of a loved one, or it could simply be an emotionally challenging time for them. Far from what you might think, finding the perfect response to such an outburst is not rocket science. Depending on their needs and their personality, here are five (5) practical ways to respond to them.
5 Ways to Respond to a Melodramatic Cry of Exhaustion
1. Show Them That You Care
When someone - presumably your friend - has expressed that they're exhausted in such a melodramatic manner, they probably need someone to care about their condition or situation. A good way to respond to them is by showing you care about them and that you care about how they feel at the moment. Depending on their personality, preferences, and dislikes, there are various ways to show how much you care about them. For example, if your friend is feeling emotionally down from a series of unfortunate events, you can simply acknowledge their feelings. Let them know that you understand how they feel and that you do not trivialize those feelings they have. Let them know you're ever there to support them. You should ensure that you make yourself available for them as much as you can. You should pick up the phone whenever they call, spend quality time with them, and allow them to express themselves without any barriers or facades.You could send them a thoughtful text or send a handwritten letter or note to them. This is also a good time to improve your listening skills. Your friend is most probably not in the mood to hear you go on and on about how your day went (regardless if it was good or bad) or about all the things going on with you right now; he or she has enough on his or her plate.
2. Try to Cheer Them Up
When your friend has had a bad or stressful day or feels depressed and has expressed such a melodramatic outburst out of exhaustion, you do not want to sit and mope around either; that will only prove to make him or her even more depressed or sad. This is also not the right time to engage in a 'who had it worse' challenge, neither is it the best time to boast about how good things have been for you or gloat about some recent achievement you have made. Such behavior is uncalled for, mean, petty, and not one of a friend. Instead, you should try to change the mood, charge up the atmosphere, and try to cheer them up. For example, you could keep up a cheerful conversation with him or her, talk about many happy memories you made together, or send them a text of a photo you took of a fun memory (such as a date, or a fun fair). You could also buy them things to make them happy, I mean who hates gifts? Show up with a surprise package, maybe their favorite book or their favorite drink. It will warm their hearts and put a smile on his or her face.
3. Comfort Them in Their Love Language
When we are faced with such an emotional outburst from a friend, it could get uncomfortable or awkward quickly if we do not respond in the way we should. Another factor to consider in choosing the right way to respond to this is the person's love language. Your friend needs comfort at such moments and it must be communicated in a way that they will feel the most. To achieve this, you must truly understand your friend and know their love language. For example, if your friend is a foodie, you could take them to eat out, cook his or her favorite meal, buy them a surprise dessert, or get them their favorite snack as a surprise. This will probably cheer them up more than a trip to a museum would. If your friend is a gamer, you could stop over at his place and play a game of his choice together, or try to drag him out to an arcade center nearby. You could invite him over, although he might not be motivated to come over to yours. If your friend is an outdoor person or someone who loves nature, you could go for a walk in the park together or even plan a surprise picnic for just the both of you. Packed with lots of fun activities to keep them gay and glowing. The major thing is to communicate with them on a frequency that they resonate with. So, if your friend loves art, go to an art gallery; if he or she is a lover of music, then book tickets for a concert (double points if it's their favorite artist) or something. If your friend happens to love sports and exercise, a workout session at the gym might help them loosen up, and you could just as well do some yoga or go on a jog with them.
4. Start a project together
Sometimes your friend may not want to wallow in their current depressed state or might not want to be an object of your pity. In such cases, talking to them about their feelings or some other form of verbal encouragement or support. Or trying to cheer them up with outings and gifts might not work so well. They might perceive it as acts of kindness borne out of pity for them; which they might not like very much. You will need more subtle ways of showing concern about them. One good way to do this is by starting a project with them.This could be anything, from going on a hike to building a machine. For example, if your friend has been let down a lot of times, he or she might begin to feel inferior to other people, like a failure, or as though he or she cannot succeed at anything at all. It may fall on you dear friend to pull them out of that abyss. You can choose an adventurous trip such as a mountain hike together or set yourself on a challenging course or sport. If your friend is a businessman who has lost some opportunities or has had people beat down his ideas, you could choose to partner with him or her on such business idea(s) (if you can afford to do that and are sure that the idea is foolproof). After all, what are friends for?The advantage of this approach is that you end up killing two birds with one stone. You get a chance to pull your friend from his or her depressed state - by showing them the things they can do smoothly and how great they are at it -, and also send a subtle message that you're with them for the long run. This is a great way to let them know that you're a part of their support system and that you'll be there for them every step of the way.
5. Help Them Self-reflect
When your friend is feeling so low, it might help them to take a journey of self-reflection, and it would probably be much easier for them if they weren't alone. You could help them to take that break they have needed for a long time, just to rediscover themselves and what they want out of life. It might not be straightforward, but it is worth it. They may need to adopt new habits, learn and unlearn so many things, and you'd be there for them through it all.For example, you might need to ask some deep questions, questions that matter to who you truly are and what you want to make for yourself. If they help, you could enroll in yoga classes with your friend or register for regular workout sessions at the gym. If getting a pet or going to a pet zoo helps them feel better then you could do that too. You could also choose to volunteer yourselves to work at a charity or some community service.
In Conclusion
We know that seeing a friend or a loved one in shambles is not a pleasant sight to behold, and neither is choosing to stay with them - and work with them through the myriads of feelings they might have - an easy task. This is why we have outlined and explained five different ways to respond to such situations right here for you. The next time someone bursts out in a cry out of exhaustion or frustration or whatever else might have been eating them up, you don't need to wonder or be confused. We also know that being that shoulder to lean on is a tiring experience you may not be in a hurry to go through and we would like you to remember that it could be you needing that shoulder tomorrow.