How To Help A Person With Trust Issues

There are times when we don’t want to trust someone because they might hurt us or betray our confidence. This is why some people struggle trusting other people. They may also fear being taken advantage of or manipulated.
Trust is essential to building relationships. If you want to build a strong relationship with someone, you should start by showing them that you trust them. The way to show trust is to act confident and open towards them.
The following article will help you learn how to be more trustworthy in your life. It can help you become more comfortable with yourself and the world around you which, in turn, will help those with trust issues begin to open up to you.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Apologize When Necessary
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Listen More Than Talk
When you are talking, you should pay close attention to what people say. Listening is much better than talking.
- Don’t Interrupt
When you are speaking, you should allow other people to finish before you start talking again. Interrupting makes others feel uncomfortable.
- 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.
- 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 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.
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.

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: September 24, 2023