Prepare for difficult conversations

Figuring out how to talk to someone about your identity or a mental health issue can be scary. Before having a conversation about hard topics, it’s helpful to plan ahead to emotionally prepare and set expectations.

Use this tool to plan what you want to share about your experiences and read what others are thinking about.

Please take a moment to answer these optional questions before starting the activity. Your answers will help us understand how it affects your emotions, and improve it for people like you!
How positive or negative are you feeling right now?
How intense are your current feelings?
The feelings I'm having right now are:
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  1. What would you want to talk about?

    Thinking through the specifics can help you focus the conversation. This can be about any hard topic that is on your mind.

    0 / 1000

  2. How do you know someone is trustworthy enough to share information with?

    Reflect on who might have these qualities.

    0 / 1000

  3. What is the best response you could receive when you share?

    What would they say to you or how would they react that would make you feel much better?

    0 / 1000

  4. What is the worst response you could receive?

    What would they say to you or how would they react that would make you feel much worse?

    0 / 1000

  5. What do you need from this person to feel better?

    When needs are focused on specific, clear, or concrete actions it helps you stay in control and establishes clear expectations for support. (Example: I need you to my correct pronouns, I need you to call me (x name), need you to listen, I need you to help me navigate how to talk to others, I need you to help me talk to mom and dad, I need you to help me find treatment.)

    0 / 1000

  6. How are you going to take care of yourself after this exchange?

    Whether the response is positive or negative, taking care of yourself is important after any hard conversation. Making sure plan to take care of yourself is the goal.

    0 / 1000

What Others Answered: