Episode #8: When & Where – The Right Time & Place

Welcome to Episode 8 in our podcast series, ‘See Something, Say Something, Do Something’. I was originally going to talk about the ‘What’ of Saying something.  But it occurred to me that would make the remaining topic of ‘When/Where’ seem anticlimactic.  So please allow me to interject a brief comment on When and Where before wrapping up Part 2 of our series with the key issue of ‘What’ to say.

In Part 1, we discussed ‘When and Where’ in the context of assessing and ‘Seeing Something.’ Now, we need to move beyond the assessment phase to the need to speak up.

So, when should you speak up and say something to someone who might be experiencing a mental health challenge.  For now, I am going to stay in the context of a mental health challenge rather than a mental health crisis since that is likely to be more common for you.  From Part 1 you will recall that the key to this is in recognizing changes in the B.E.A.T. (i.e., Behavior, Emotions, Appearance and Thoughts).  Remember, significant change in one or more of these dimensions of a person’s life is a sign.  And, if those changes last long enough (and/) or are intense enough that they can have a negative effects  When those effects negatively impact the person’s ability to work, play, enjoy relationships and have  peace of mind, it is time to Say Something.  Although not absolute, in general, if changes with negative impact go on for two weeks or more, it is probably time to act. 

That leads us to the ‘Where’ of saying something.  Where must be combined with When.  It is crucial that you be thoughtful in choosing an appropriate time and place for saying something.  I just talked about the timing.  The most important aspect of the place is that the person you intend to speak to can feel that while talking they will be physically safe and comfortable and have sufficient privacy.  For safety’s sake, you don’t want to pick completely isolated locations, but select a setting that would minimize concern about others overhearing or eaves dropping on the conversation.  That could be a quiet area in their favorite eatery or in the parking lot on the way to your cars.  You get the idea.

Please keep these points about time and place, when and where in mind, BUT do not let the search for a PERFECT time and place cause you to delay too long… “I was gonna…” is not what you want to be saying when it’s too late. Join me next time when I will keep my promise to talk about the all-important ‘What’ to say.