How To Help Someone Who’s Having a Hard Time This Holiday Season

Tara BellucciNews and Culture Director
Tara BellucciNews and Culture Director
Tara is Apartment Therapy's News & Culture Director. When not scrolling through Instagram double-tapping pet pics and astrology memes, you'll find her thrift shopping around Boston, kayaking on the Charles, and trying not to buy more plants.
published Dec 24, 2017
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Person holding a gingerbread cookie at a festive night market with colorful lights in the background.
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While we can get swept up in all the holiday cheer, it’s possible to forget that not everyone is having a jolly happy season. Non-profit organization Option B is sharing ways you can help out your friends and family who are having a hard time during the holidays.

Option B is an organization started by Sheryl Sandberg that’s meant to help build resistance in the face of adversity, such as grief, discrimination, or assault. The book of the same name is co-authored by friend and Wharton psychologist Adam Grant, who was a big help to Sandberg after the sudden death of her husband in 2015.

The org’s Instagram account is sharing short videos on how to show people who are having a rough time some love this season, when negative feelings can be compounded by the sight of everyone else celebrating.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to say, but Option B gives you the okay to keep it simple:


If a friend or loved one is going through something tough, don’t stress about finding a super-smooth way to talk about it. Just keep it simple. Give them a hug or a warm “hey.” Ask how they’re doing today. Find more advice for starting the conversation at optionb.org/holidays (link in bio). #OptionBThere

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Another video tip is about offering help: “When you make a general offer of help—’let me know if there’s something I can do’—it puts the burden on the person who’s already having a hard time.” A better way is to offer something specific, like a home-cooked meal or help with shopping, according to the account.


When you make a general offer of help—”let me know if there’s something I can do”—it puts the burden on the person who’s already having a hard time. Try making a home-cooked meal or offering to help with holiday shopping instead. (More great ideas at optionb.org—link in bio.) #OptionBThere

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Option B also has some holiday e-cards—illustrated by Emily McDowell—for when generic platitudes of cheer just won’t do.

Learn more about the organization on OptionB.org.

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