How To Help A Person With Trust Issues

How To Help A Person With Trust Issues

Occasionally, the hesitation to trust others stems from the fear of potential hurt or betrayal. This apprehension can lead to difficulties in forming trust, with concerns about being exploited or deceived further compounding the issue.

Trust, however, is the cornerstone of any meaningful relationship. Establishing a solid bond with someone begins with demonstrating your trust in them. Showing trust involves adopting a stance that is both confident and open towards the other person.

The article outlined below offers insights on how to enhance your trustworthiness. By becoming more secure in oneself and more attuned to the surrounding world, it’s possible to ease the fears of those who struggle with trust issues, encouraging them to be more open.

  1. Be Honest With Yourself

When you have an issue with trust, it can be hard to know what to do about it. You need to ask yourself whether you really trust this person. Are their actions consistent with your expectations? Do they behave as though they care for you?

If you answer no to any of these questions, then you shouldn’t trust them. When you think about it, there are many reasons why you might not trust someone. Maybe they lied to you before.

Or perhaps they cheated on you. Perhaps they didn’t keep promises to you. Whatever the reason, if you feel like you don’t trust someone, then you should stop talking to them.

  1. Don’t Make Assumptions

If you find out something about someone that makes you doubt their character, you should question them further. Find out where they stand on certain issues. Ask them about their past. Try to get a clear picture of who they are.

  1. Listen Carefully

You should listen carefully to what people say. Pay attention to what they tell you. You should try to understand what they mean. If you don’t understand what they are saying, ask them to repeat themselves.

  1. Show Interest In Others

You should show interest in other people. Even if you don’t agree with them, you should still try to see things from their perspective. If you don’t, you won’t be able to communicate effectively with them.

  1. Have Faith In Yourself

It is easy to lose faith in yourself. But you shouldn’t let this happen. Instead, you should believe in yourself. Believe that you deserve good things in life.

  1. Keep Your Word

Be careful about keeping your word. Sometimes, you might promise something that you don’t intend to follow through on. However, if you break your word, you could cause problems for yourself.

  1. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

Give credit where credit is due. People often forget to give credit to those who helped them achieve success. For example, if you ask someone for advice, you should thank them for helping you.

  1. Learn From Mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable. We all make mistakes at one time or another. Learning from mistakes is important. If you learn from your mistakes, you can avoid making similar ones in the future.

  1. Take Responsibility

Take responsibility for your own actions. If you mess up, you should apologize for doing so. Then, you should take steps to correct the situation. This includes apologizing to the person affected by your mistake.

  1. Apologize When Necessary

how to help someone with trust issues

Apologizing is always appropriate. If you hurt someone’s feelings, you should apologize. If you accidentally damage someone else’s property, you should also apologize. In both cases, you should offer an apology.

  1. Be Respectful

Respect is essential in relationships. You should treat everyone with respect. Treat people with dignity and courtesy. Also, you should never use foul language.

  1. Avoid Gossiping

Gossiping is unhelpful. It does nothing but create ill will between people. Gossipers usually spread rumors without knowing anything about the subject. They do this because they want to gain popularity.

  1. Respect Privacy

Don’t invade someone’s privacy. If you have permission to view private information, you should only look at it. Otherwise, you may violate someone’s privacy rights.

  1. Don’t Lie

Lying is dishonest. Lying is not acceptable. If you know that you are lying, you should stop immediately. If you continue to lie, you could end up ruining your reputation.

  1. Be Honest

Being honest is very important. Honesty is the most effective way to build trust. When you are being honest, you are showing that you care about other people.

  1. Be Trustworthy

If you are trustworthy, then you will earn the trust of others. If you are trusted, you can get a lot of benefits.

  1. Listen More Than Talk

When you are talking, you should pay close attention to what people say. Listening is much better than talking.

  1. Don’t Interrupt

When you are speaking, you should allow other people to finish before you start talking again. Interrupting makes others feel uncomfortable.

  1. Show Appreciation

Appreciation goes a long way. If you show appreciation for someone, you can encourage them to help you. Appreciating someone shows that you value their opinion. this also can help yourself to feel better.

  1. Say “Thank You”

Thanking people helps them feel appreciated. Saying “Thank you” lets the person know that he or she has done something good.

How To Help A Person With Trust Issues

How To Approach Someone With Trust Issues

You should be careful when approaching someone with trust issues as that person may have experienced a multitude of trauma that has made them reluctant to trusting people or feel like nobody likes them.

The majority of the time, those with trust issues may appear to have a hostile or cold reaction to you when you approach them. You should remember not to take this personally as this is a projection of their past and nothing to do with you.

However, you can help the situation by not moving too forwardly towards the individual concerned and by maintaining an empathetic awareness about the fact that this individual may find it hard to trust because they have been through a considerable amount of pain.

Conclusion

To conclude, to help someone with trust issues you need to become trustworthy. This means that you must prove yourself worthy of trust and that you deserve to be treated with respect. Once you have established your credibility, you can begin to establish trust with the person who needs it.

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About our Author Michelle Landeros, LMFT license# 115130
Author: Michelle Landeros, LMFT

Michelle Landeros is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist (LMFT). She is passionate about helping individuals, couples and families thrive.

Last updated: April 17, 2024